Background: For over a year, The Municipal Art Society has been pressing for a better plan for Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center (1956-62), now Terminal A, a New York City landmark and icon of modern design. As part of the expansion of JFK Airport, the Port Authority wants to demolish portions of the landmark and construct a huge new U-shaped terminal around its “airside,” blocking the view of the tarmac that was Saarinen’s greatest inspiration and achievement. Hundreds of architects, design professionals, and enthusiasts of modern design have joined civic organizations in protesting these plans. During the summer of 2001 the Society hosted a press conference featuring notable architects Philip Johnson, Robert A.M. Stern, and Peter Samton, all of whom emphatically and enthusiastically support the full preservation of this very unique and significant Modernist masterpiece. Continue Reading>>

On November 1st and 2nd, the Planning Center and Hunter College Urban Affairs and Planning organized Planning into Practice: A Conference for Community-Based Groups, Planners & Professionals. The conference was well-attended by close to 400 participants including city agencies, elected officials, community-based planning organizations and planning professionals. Continue Reading>>

The MAS continues to advocate for sound planning in the much-anticipated redevelopment of Manhattan’s west side waterfront into a continuous public park. As a result of intense lobbying by the Hudson River Park Alliance, of which the Society is a charter member, Governor George Pataki has endorsed the Hudson River Park Conservancy’s concept plan, and more importantly, re-committed the State’s pledge of $100 million contribution from the City. With the Alliance, the largest coalition of civic and environmental organizations devoted to the creation of a public park between Battery Park City and 59th Street, the MAS is pressing for the realization of this long-awaited amenity. Continue Reading>>

Four enormous city blocks, just south of the United Nations along the East River, offer a rare opportunity for a world-class development in Midtown Manhattan. Con Edison’s plan to close the Waterside plant now occupying the site could lead to the conversion of an isolated industrial area into a lively, mixed-use destination tied into the surrounding neighborhoods and connected to the East River. Last year, the Municipal Art Society convened a committee of board members, architects and engineers to explore the potential of the Con Ed site. Continue Reading>>

NINE PRINCIPLES FOR REBUILDING NEW YORK

New York’s core values must form the basis for the rebuilding of our city. In the wake of unimaginable loss, we should celebrate these core values and the diversity of New York, while creating a city that is fairer and more respectful of the environment.

Although much of the damage from the September 11 attacks was felt at ground zero and in Lower Manhattan, other significant impacts have reverberated far beyond the sixteen acres. People throughout the entire region lost loved ones and suffered from the economic effects of the attacks. Therefore, any redevelopment plan must take a citywide and regionwide approach and above all, must be accomplished through an open, inclusive and robust public process. Continue Reading>>

At the Imagine New York summit held on June 1 at the New School University, over 300 participants and facilitators reconvened to finalize the vision statements that appear in the report to decision-makers. In his opening remarks, Municipal Art Society President, Kent Barwick, said, “I think the most important thing that will come out of the report is not the ideas but the criteria by which the ideas will be judged. It’s not that the each of these people here today or 4,000 people that participated in the workshop should be the designers or have the design ideas. But that they should be the client.” The MAS will present an Imagine New York summary report to decision-makers and others on June 10. To read the over 18,000 ideas gathered though the Imagine New York project, visit the idea gallery at imaginenewyork.org. Click here to the Imagine New York Summary Report. 

Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, in association with Hugh Hardy, the New Penn Station has, at its heart, a gridded glass fan sheltering the main ticketing hall in the mid-section of the building. This signature feature clearly signals the entrance from points east and west. Passengers will descend from the concourse to the platforms below which are crowned by the building’s original skylight. The original Pennsylvania Station’s most cherished quality – the filtering of natural light down to the train tracks – will be recreated here in modern dress. The flagship post office at the top of the grand Eighth Avenue stairs will be carefully refurbished and new retail and passenger services will surround the station’s main rooms. Continue Reading>>

“All the curves, all the spaces and elements right down to the shape of the signs, display boards, railings and check-in desks were to be of a matching nature. We wanted passengers passing through the building to experience a fully-designed environment, in which each part arises from another and everything belongs to the same formal world.”
Eero Saarinen, 1959 (from Peter Gossel and Gabriele Leuthauser. Architecture in the Twentieth Century, p.250). Continue Reading>>

Amid the canyons of the financial district, it is hard to imagine how one could conceal an acre of public space that offered daylight, harbor breezes and a gull’s-eye view of the East River waterfront.

But the builders of 55 Water Street, New York City’s largest office tower, managed the feat three decades ago by elevating their plaza 35 feet above the street as part of a planned skyway system that never materialized. The isolated and barren plaza has drawn few visitors over the years, though it generated a development bonus of 410,000 square feet of office space in a 3.6 million-square-foot building. Continue Reading>>

The Society is pleased to announce its partnership with the World Monuments Fund, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Preservation League of New York State, and the New York Landmarks Conservancy to create an emergency preservation fund for lower Manhattan’s historic structures. In all, there are 67 designated landmarks near the World Trade Center site and even more which are listed or may be eligible for listing on the National Register. The partnership is establishing guidelines and will soon invite grant applications for documentation, assessment, planning and conservation projects that alleviate the impact of the disaster. The Fund for the City of New York has generously agreed to hold the monies at no charge and your contributions, made out to The Fund for the City of New York, are welcome through the Society. For more information, please contact Vicki Weiner, the Municipal Art Society’s Kress Fellow for Historic Preservation, at vweiner@mas.org or 212/935-3960.