The Municipal Art Society of New York

The proposed Ridgewood North Historic District is comprised of the earliest examples of “Mathews Model Flats,” built by speculative developer Gustave X. Mathews and designed by architect Louis Allmendinger between 1908 and 1911. Considered to be some of the most innovative housing in New York City, these “new law” tenements were designed with more space and better sanitation than their overcrowded 19th Century counterparts. By making use of generous lot sizes, introducing wide air shafts to provide improved air and light quality, including bathrooms in each unit, and controlling occupancy, Mathews established a new housing paradigm that was a welcome departure from the congested, polluted slums of the Lower East Side. The three story apartment buildings were simple, sturdy, and relatively cheap to construct, and therefore became the standard for subsequent tenement house construction. Exhibited at the 1915 Panama Pacific Fair in San Francisco, the Mathews Model Flats were heralded as an exceptional achievement in affordable housing. Continue Reading>>

MAS is researching the history of the Fulton Fish /New Market Building at the South Street Seaport and collecting images (both historic and modern) to include in a report arguing for the building’s preservation.

But, as you can see, our photograph doesn’t do the building justice, so we need your help. Please add your best shots to our Flickr pool or e-mail them to Melissa Baldock mbaldock [at] mas.org.

All pictures may be used by us in the report, but the best shot will receive your choice of an elegant auto-open umbrella, featuring a detail of Grand Central Terminal’s world-famous zodiac ceiling or a copy of Robert A.M. Stern’s famous New York 1960.

Part of the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s full agenda tomorrow is considering several new items for designation as landmarks. The agency plans to designate two individual landmarks: the Society House of the American Society of Civil Engineers at 220 West 57th Street (home of the Lee’s Art Shop) and St. Nicholas Orthodox Church on 10th Street and Avenue A. The LPC will also be taking public testimony on three public schools and the proposed Ridgewood Historic District.

In addition, the LPC plans to “calendar,” (the first step in the designation process) eight other individual landmarks and one small historic district on W. 29th St. in Manhattan. Check out the buildings in the slide show above.

Last October, MAS launched ImagineConey, an initiative to develop bold new ideas for the future of Coney Island. Since then, more than 500 New Yorkers and an international team of experts have contributed their ideas through a “charrette” (an intense design workshop), two public workshops and a website, ImagineConey.

In January 2009, an exhibit displaying all of these ideas will open at the Municipal Art Society, and the deadline for submission of ideas has recently been extended from December 15, 2008, until January 15, 2009. So, if you have an idea for the future of Coney Island you want to submit for inclusion in the exhibit, please visit ImagineConey.com and upload it before the deadline.
Over 200 ideas have been submitted thus far and can be viewed in the gallery at ImagineConey.com. The ideas fall into eight categories: general principles, planning concepts, programming ideas, new structures, rides, art and culture suggestions, sustainability and energy concepts, and ideas for new events. Continue Reading>>

The Ear Inn, aka the James Brown House, located at 326 Spring Street in Manhattan, has nearly two centuries of incredible history.

The James Brown House was built in 1817 for the reputed African American revolutionary war hero and aide to George Washington. Following the war, James Brown made his fortune in the profitable tobacco trade. His success afforded him a modest Federal style home, which at the time, was sited a mere five feet from the lapping shores of the Hudson River on Spring Street. Continue Reading>>

Now that 2008 is drawing to a close we are again seeking nominations for our 2009 MASterwork Awards.  Each year, the Municipal Art Society honors the year’s top building projects for their excellence in architecture and urban design, and their contribution to New York’s built environment. This year’s Awards Committee will be considering New York City projects that are completed within the 2008 calendar year.

If you have been responsible for, or know of a recently completed project that you wish to nominate, please download and fill out a nomination form. Nominations are due by January 31, 2009. Continue Reading>>

Irascible and caustic, tender and enthusiastic, more than a mercurial innovator, Le Corbusier was considered to be the very conscience of modern architecture. At tomorrow night’s book program and lecture, Nicholas Fox Weber author of the new biography of the man, Le Corbusier – A Life, will discuss Le Corbusier the precise, mathematical, practical-minded artist whose idealism — vibrant, poetic, imaginative; discipline; and sensuality were reflected in his iconic designs and pioneering theories of architecture and urban planning. Weber’s engrossing, entertaining portrait of his complex personality is full of provocative insights and welcome surprises.

Book Program: Le Corbusier: A Life
Tuesday, December 9, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
At the Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, New York
The program is free, but reservations are encouraged. RSVP to 212-935-2075.

The Third Church of Christ, Scientist, at 583 Park Avenue, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, won a legal victory against the City that is of great concern to the Municipal Art Society (click here to read a New York Times report).

With a dwindling membership and a need for funds to repair their building, the Church (designed by architects Delano and Aldrich and constructed in 1923) sought to introduce an income-generating use into their building. The church signed a lease with the catering organization Rose Group Park Avenue, who used the church space to host parties and events that could seat 800 people. Nearby residents fought the catering use because of associated noise and traffic in the residential area. The DOB, which had issued a pre-consideration determination permitting catered events at the church, on which the congregation relied, eventually sent a final determination that did not allow for the use. The DOB rightly determined that the large catering hall was not an “accessory use” to the church and thus in violation of the area’s residential zoning. Continue Reading>>

On Monday, December 1, Community Board 4 held a public forum on the plans for the Eastern Rail Yards at Penn Station (the area of the rail yards between tenth and eleventh avenues and 30th and 33rd Streets). Related Properties presented their concept for the area, which abuts the Eastern Spur of the High Line along its Southern boundary.

Frank Sanchis, testifying for MAS, argued for the preservation of the Eastern Spur, which may be threatened by the development.

“Reference to a map of the High Line”, he said, “shows that its Northern segment (including the Eastern Spur) surrounds the Eastern and Western Rail Yards development, holding the entirety in its embrace and connecting the rail yards historically and visually to the southern segment of the High Line. This is just the way the MAS thinks it should be.”

The Municipal Art Society hosted its third Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course of the fall earlier today. Commercial Uses of Parkland: The Law Governing New York’s Open Spaces, was moderated by Michael Gruen, Esq. and co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Section and Historic Preservation and Parks Committee of the New York State Bar Association, focused on issues surrounding the use and alienation of parks in New York City and State. Panelists highlighted the significant case law, doctrine, and policy concerns that shape and determine New York parks and commercial uses within them.

MAS is delighted to announce that its final CLE program of the year – Clean Vehicles in New York: The Past & Future of Alternative Fuels for City Fleets - will be held next Thursday, December 11.  To learn more about this exciting course focused on a current issue, click here, and to register, click here.

The Municipal Art Society is pleased to welcome Manhattan Community Board 1 (MN CB1) and high school students Alina Lee and Karen Wang to the CITI Youth program. MN CB1, which covers Lower Manhattan and Tribeca is an ideal place for students to engage with real-life planning issues. And this new team of interns has been working very hard to understand the nature of New York City’s local government, develop new mapping skills, and exchange information with other students in the program as they learn about community planning. Continue Reading>>

Last Sunday, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine was rededicated seven years after a fire which spread smoke and soot throughout the sanctuary. The painstaking cleaning has removed decades of grime and transformed the church into a light-filled space in which architectural details can be seen for the first time in living memory, from carvings in the once-dark corners of the chapels to bas-relief angels some 200 feet overhead. If you have a head for heights, sign up now for the members-only vertical tour plus Matt Postal commentary on Saturday, December 13. Call 212-935-2075 to RSVP. $30. Tours begin at 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Space is limited.

Click here for more information on the vertical tour and here for the other six holiday tours.

The New York Times reports that the Third Church of Christ, Scientist at 583 Park Avenue won their Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) case in Federal District Court yesterday, allowing the Church to maintain a catering hall in an area whose zoning prohibits commerical activities. MAS held a continuing legal education course on the impacts of RLUIPA on city planning and zoning surrounding religious institutions. To learn more, click here.

In other news, preservations are supporting the Cipriani family’s attempt to landmark the Rainbow Room… Continue Reading>>

The New York Times reported Sunday that the City of New York granted the Yankees rights to three billboards along the adjacent expressway in return for an exclusive luxury box at the new stadium.  The hubbub following the release of a series of email messages between Bloomberg aides focuses on the loss of advertising revenue to the city, however the recent signage regulations passed by the Department of Buildings ban all signage along arterial highways. To learn more about MAS’ advocacy on illegal outdoor advertising, click here.

In other news, the interior renovation of Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on the Upper West Side is nearly complete the full interior of the cathedral is now open and free of scaffolding after a fire damaged much of the artwork and pipe organ in 2001. Continue Reading>>

Last Friday, 30-odd MAS tour-takers boarded a train at Grand Central bound for New Haven. In two hours, the group of us were standing outside of Kahn’s Yale University Art Gallery, across the street from one of the most controversial buildings ever erected. What was formerly known as Yale’s School of Art and Architecture is hand-battered concrete, a Brutalist design that was so disliked in the 1960s that many assumed the 1969 fire was arson (it wasn’t). Now the building has been restored and rehabilitated and renamed for Paul Rudolph. A comprehensive book on Rudolph has yet to be written, but the building is an exhilarating illustration of his ability to visualize, and to manipulate space.

We walked over Rudolph’s bridge across the review space while students were their having crits below, arrayed across the paprika-colored carpet (the same shade as the original). We walked through the studios and visited the library, which is filled with natural light, but focused inward to encourage studying. The school isn’t just about a modernist past. The basement shop has the most sophisticated digital model-making equipment of any architectural school in the country and is open to students 24 hours a day. And unlike most schools in New York, Yale welcomes visitors into the library and other public areas of Paul Rudolph Hall. All aboard.