The Municipal Art Society of New York

On November 3, the 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum focused on the question of whether New York can (and should) try to become more sustainable and grow its own food. Expert panelists Dr. Dickson Despommiers of Columbia University, Nevin Cohen of the New School, Jennifer Nelkin of Gotham Greens, Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects and Colin Cathcart of Kiss+Cathcart architects discuss how this could happen answering questions posed by moderator Neal Peirce of The Washington Post.

For more information about the forum and related issues, visit Jane Jacobs Forum 2009.

The annual Jane Jacobs Forum is sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.

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Last week, at the 2nd Annual MAS Jane Jacobs Forum Re-Imagining New York: Designing Urban Farms to Feed our City, moderator Neal Peirce of the Washington Post and panelists Jenn Nelkin of Gotham Greens, microbiology Professor Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, landscape designer Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects in Seattle, Colin Cathcart of Kiss + Cathcart architects in Brooklyn, and environmental studies Professor Nevin Cohen of The New School, engaged in a fascinating discussion of the future of food production in New York.

Representing a variety of perspectives on sustainable agriculture, architecture and planning, and touching on issues as diverse as zoning, organic farming, national agricultural policy, and climate change, the panelists addressed the question: Can New York, a city with a growing population and shrinking acreage, eventually grow enough food within its boundaries to become self-sufficient? Continue Reading>>

When Houston Street was widened in the 1930s to accommodate the 6th Avenue subway line, the demolition of buildings on both sides of the street resulted in irregular lots that remained vacant for decades. In 1973, Mott Street resident and artist Liz Christy had a vision for at least one of these empty, rubble-strewn parcels.

With the help of friends and neighbors, Christy set out to transform the corner of Bowery and East Houston Street into an urban oasis. Together, Christy, and a group of volunteers who called themselves the “Green Guerillas” cleared the corner site of debris and began planting a garden.

The following spring, the department of Housing Preservation and Development leased the property to the Green Guerillas for a monthly fee of just $1, and thus it became the first community garden in New York City. The Guerillas’ Bowery Houston Farm and Garden was immediately recognized as a success, winning the Citizens Committee of New York City’s Mollie Parnis “Dress Up Your Neighborhood Award” in 1974. Continue Reading>>

The Municipal Art Society of New York, along with six civic organizations, today filed a brief with the New York Supreme Court as amici curiae, or friends of the court, to assist the court in resolving the issues presented in Protect the Village Historic District, et. al, v. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, et. al.

The case arises from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) determination that St. Vincent’s met the judicial test for hardship and could proceed with the demolition of its Edward and Theresa O’Toole Building, on Seventh Avenue between 12th and 13th streets. The Commission reached its preliminary determination in October of 2008, and issued its Final Notice to Proceed in May of 2009. Continue Reading>>

Pioneering architect, planner and theorist Denise Scott Brown brings her singular perspective to MAS on November 12 for what is sure to be a lively evening. Ms. Brown, who was educated in the 1940s and 1950s at Witwatersrand University in South Africa, the Architectural Association, and the University of Pennsylvania, has taught and led her Philadelphia firm, Venturi Scott Brown and Associates since the 1960s in collaboration with Robert Venturi.

“I have come to feel like a grandmother in architecture, a guardian of its institutional memory who knows its pitfalls and where the bodies are buried.”
– Denise Scott Brown

Following a short talk about her new book, Having Words, Denise Scott Brown will be joined by architects Sarah Whiting and Hilary Sample for a panel discussion moderated by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA.

Denise Scott Brown: 40 Years of Evolving Architectural Imagination
Thursday, November 12, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., at MAS, 457 Madison Avenue
Free, but reservations required. Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075. MAP.
This program is underwritten by Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown.

MAS started out the month with the opening of the exhibit Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil on October 1. It is co-sponsored by PennDesign and on view in our galleries through December 4, 2009. Click here for more information about MAS exhibits, including gallery hours.

MAS was proud to present Robert A.M. Stern and Peter Malkin with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal on October 26, MAS’ annual award given to individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary impact on the quality of New York’s built environment. For more information on this year’s honorees, click here. Continue Reading>>

Last Saturday, MAS, the Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE), and the Pratt Institute Planning Student Association sponsored the Livable Neighborhoods Program at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Students of Pratt and other city universities, joined members of the local community for a half-day of training sessions focused on the public’s role in New York’s planning decisions.

Launched in 2007, the Livable Neighborhoods Program (LNP) provides New Yorkers with the tools and resources necessary to effectively plan their neighborhoods. GCPE has recognized the value of the program to train incoming students on planning processes in New York City.

For more information on the LNP, visit MAS.org/lnp.

Join tour leader and architectural historian Tony Robins this Sunday, November 1, for a stroll along one of the fanciest boulevards in the city. Walking from Rockefeller Center to the Plaza Hotel along a stretch of Fifth Avenue that has evolved from a posh 19th-century residential area to a major 20th-century commercial center, we’ll consider clashing images of a glamorous district — the 19th-century residential model of mansions, clubs and churches, versus the 20th-century model of skyscrapers, hotels and department stores.

Fancy on Fifth:
From Rockefeller Center to the Plaza Hotel
Sunday, November 1, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet at 457 Madison Ave. at 51st St., MAP. $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.

Details of other upcoming MAS tours and programs through the New Year can be found at MAS.org/calendar.

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Dr. Dickson Despommier, panelist at the upcoming 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum Re-Imagining New York: Designing Urban Farms to Feed our City, recently spoke to Tamara Coombs of MAS about why he sees urban “vertical farms” as key to the future, not just of cities, but of the planet.

Ten years ago, Columbia University microbiology professor Despommier began investigating different approaches to agriculture that would feed the additional 3 billion people that are estimated to be born in the next 50 years. This research project, which he conducted with the help of his students, has grown into a popular website The Vertical Farm Project, an op-ed in The New York Times and a new book coming out next year, and garnered attention from municipalities (Newark, NJ), architecture and engineering companies, and the Obama administration along the way. Continue Reading>>

Sidewalk sheds are required whenever renovation or new construction takes place on a building, or a Department of Buildings inspector suspects an unsafe condition exists. These sidewalks sheds are erected in order to protect pedestrians and typically remain in place for nearly a year, sometimes even longer. Currently there are more than 6,000 sidewalk sheds standing in New York City, spanning more than a million linear feet.

The Department of Buildings and AIA New York Chapter have teamed up with an array of other civic organizations to organize an international design competition called UrbanShed that seeks a brighter future for this unique New York City structure. Contestants had been asked to design a sidewalk shed that is sustainable, economical and attractive.  Continue Reading>>

After more than 25 years in the Villard Houses on Madison Avenue, the Municipal Art Society is moving its headquarters to the Steinway Hall Building at 111 West 57th Street, as of February 2010. MAS President Vin Cipolla remarked earlier this week,
“Having a new home in such a storied building coincides perfectly with our plans to reaffirm our mission of advocacy for all New Yorkers. I am excited to call 111 West 57th Street MAS’ new home, and look forward to many productive years there.”

MAS signed a lease for the entire 16th floor at 111 West 57th Street, located between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue. The 17-story office building is owned by Steinway & Sons. Built in 1925, 111 West 57th Street was designed by legendary architects Warren and Wetmore. For more information about the building, read the press release here.

Plans are underway for the continuation of our exhibition programming and our bookstore operations.

Please stop by the Villard Houses to view our current exhibit, Re-Imagining cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil, co-sponsored by PennDesign. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is on display at MAS through Friday, December 4. Click here for more information about MAS exhibits, including gallery hours.

Today is another large Designation Day at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The focus of today’s hearing is expanding some of the city’s existing historic districts to include worthy buildings that were excluded from the original designations. See our slide above and continue reading to learn more about the LPC’s activities today. Continue Reading>>

Dating from 1697, the Queens County Farm Museum at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Queens, is the longest continuously farmed plot of land in all of New York State. Spanning 47 acres, the site is also home to the largest remaining parcel of working farmland in New York City.

The focal point of the farm museum is the “Jacob Adriance Farmhouse.” The oldest portion the house was built in 1772 and originally consisted of just three rooms. According to the 1976 landmark designation report, the design of this section of the house “reflects a mixture of Dutch colonial and New England influences common in old homes of Long Island where the two cultures met.” However, the house was altered through a sequence of additions as the property changed hands throughout the 19th century. Continue Reading>>

“What if you could live, work and raise sheep in the same building?” is just one of the provocative ideas raised by the proposals commissioned by the Downtown Alliance in the newly installed exhibit in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Chris Reynolds, MAS Urbanist and Assistant VP of Planning for the Downtown Alliance, and representatives of the firms Beyer Blinder Belle and ARO/Architecture Research Office recently led a group of MAS Urbanists on a special guided tour of the exhibit.

The Downtown Alliance, also known as the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District, commissioned input from architects, urban planners, and artists for this outdoor exhibit, imagining the changes that might lead to a vibrant future for “Greenwich South,” an area roughly bounded by Broadway to the East, West Street to the East, Liberty Street to the North, and Battery Place to the South. Continue Reading>>

1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the west Bronx, nominated by Mark Naison, where DJ Kool Herc initiated the “breakbeat” that played a central part in the development of hip hop.

In 1973, Kool Herc (Clive Campbell), who emigrated here from Jamaica at the age of 12, held the first of many parties in the community room of the General Sedgwick Houses, where he lived with his family. The music he played that night caught everybody by surprise. Using two turntables and two copies of the same record, he cut back and forth between them to prolong the “break”–the instrumental solo in a song when percussion takes over. This gave the young dancers time to dance to the rhythms provided by the break–thus breakdancing. Herc was so good he could make his cuts without the aid of headphones. Most of the music’s worldwide fans know that hip hop started in the Bronx. 1520 Sedgwick is one of its birthplaces.

The nomination for 1520 Sedgwick comes from the Bronx African American History Project at Fordham University. Log on to learn more about this important effort.