From AI to investment in third spaces: A moderated conversation with Shamichael Hallman and John Surico on community engagement and neighborhood preservation

June 18, 2025 Lunch and Learn: Libraries and open streets serve as fundamental neighborhood institutions, where residents of all walks of life are welcome and able to participate in activities that connect them to each other. In the urban sphere, the idea of connection to community is fostered first with family, then in the places we work and then, in “third spaces.” Third spaces anchor our sense of community identity; they are places that we visit regularly without specific purpose because we look forward to being there, enjoying the company that we find in these neighborhood institutions.

From top: Shamichael Hallman, Urban Libraries Council; John Surico, Center for an Urban Future; L. Danielle Cylich, Neighborhood Preservation Center

Moderator: NPC Chair L. Danielle Cylich 

Danielle Cylich is an experienced senior manager with over 20 year’s experience in operations administration, strategic support, and client development for non-profit and for-profit organizations She has worked at cultural, educational and community organizations -  creating innovative programming; driving fiscal stability; and leading supportive processes that enhance operational growth. Currently, she provides client management services for a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green’s Employment Labor and Workforce Management practice. An active volunteer consultant, Ms. Cylich is currently engaged in organizing activities to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence for Putnam County. Additionally, she serves as President of two private family foundations focused on preservation and conservation activities in Putnam County, New York. Ms. Cylich also serves on the youth sports advisory group and Booster Club at North Salem High School. Ms. Cylich received her JD from the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She has a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and Bachelor of Arts in Art History, from Binghamton University. She completed the Executive Leadership Training Program at Fordham University. She is always ready to share her enthusiasm about the rich history and beauty found in the built environment and in protecting our natural resources.

Speakers 

John Surico (Senior Fellow for Climate and Opportunity at the Center for an Urban Future, Chair, 31st Ave Open Street Collective, Inc.)

John Surico lives in Queens and is Chair of the 31st Ave Open Street Collective. He is also a journalist, teacher and researcher, focusing specifically on issues of mobility, sustainability and open space. His reporting can be regularly found in The New York Times, Bloomberg, VICE, and elsewhere, and he holds a Master of Science in Transport & City Planning from University College London’s The Bartlett School of Planning. He currently teaches undergraduate reporting on cities at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and serves as the Senior Fellow for Climate and Opportunity at the Center for an Urban Future.

Shamichael Hallman (Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council) 

Shamichael Hallman serves as the Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at Urban Libraries Council, an innovation and action tank of North America's leading public library systems. In this role he's working to advance conversations about public libraries as essential city and county infrastructure, including their value as physical spaces and a connector of diverse lived experiences. From 2017 - 2022 he served as the Senior Library Manager of the historic Cossitt Library (Memphis Public Libraries), tasked with overseeing the multi-million-dollar renovation of this space which reimagined the roles that a branch library could play in the community. During his tenure with Memphis Public Libraries, the library system was awarded the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Science by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and was recognized as the Nation's Most Innovative Public Library by Smithsonian Magazine in November of 2021. His 2020 TEDx talk "Reimagining the Public Library to Reconnect the Community" garnered international attention among librarians and social innovators.He holds a MS in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, and was a '23 Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.