The MAS Reference Library
Established in 1978 as The Information Exchange/Greenacre Reference Resource (TIE/GRR), the MAS reference library is a well-known and esteemed repository of materials on New York City’s built and natural environments. The heart of the library is an exceptional and ever-growing collection of several hundred thousand clippings culled from major city dailies as well as neighborhood weeklies, national periodicals, and local newsletters. Urban planning, historic preservation, buildings, public art, open spaces, real estate development, and zoning are among the general topics represented. TIE/GRR is supported with funds from the Greenacre Foundation.
Why Should I Use the Library?
The library’s voluminous files of clippings taken from an array of publications, plus its distinctive collection of books and government pamphlets dating from the 1800s to today, provide a rich perspective on the long historical view. Visitors often comment that our concentrated holdings saved them considerable research time and effort. The number of clippings files now stands at 3,330, including new additions on the Gowanus Neighborhood, the proposed Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, and the Silvercup West Mixed-Use Development. Recent book acquisitions range from a rare 1912 Miniature Map of the Borough of Manhattan to New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism between the Bicentennial and the Millennium.
How Can I Use the Library?
The library provides a variety of services. Staffers will answer inquiries about New York City and/or suggest other research facilities over the phone or by e-mail. At the library they will work with you to find exactly what you are looking for. Materials can be photocopied at a charge of $.25 a page plus pre-paid postage and handling if pages are to be mailed. Or materials can be faxed at a charge of $1.00 per page, $2.00 for international.
Where is the Library Located?
TIE/GRR is temporarily located in the Municipal Art Society’s Lower Manhattan office at 55 Exchange Place, Suite 401, New York, NY 10005 MAP.
In the fall of 2010, it will be moved to the MAS offices at 111 West 57 Street.
How Do I Contact the Library?
You can contact the library by phone at 212-935-3960, ext. 1243, fax at 212-753-1816 or e-mail askmas@mas.org.
Staff is available to answer your questions directly and to make appointments for you to visit in person. Since space in the library is limited, an appointment is required.
Can I Ask a Question Without Visiting the Library?
Of course! Please fill-in the form below and click ‘submit’. We do our best to respond to inquiries within 72 hours.
A sample of previous questions and answers can be found below the comment box.
Previous Questions & Feedback
Comment from Colleen Crews
There is a little street with what look to be 18th century brick homes that is a stop the “architect” in “Hannah and Her Sisters” makes on his tour of favorite NY architecture. Please let me know where I can find it. We were so tickled to come upon the building he despised in the movie -a synagogue near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks in advance for any assistance-
Comment from Brian Nesin
Hello MAS,
How can I find out what specific features (e.g. linear feet of seating, quantity of space, etc.) an Owner of a particular Privately Owned Public Space is required to provide? Is this information public?
Thank you
Brian Nesin
Comment from Ilene Sumberg
Will you be having walking tours as you do in July and August – Brooklyn particularly- in the months of Sept. and October? Thank you!
Comment from admin
Ms. Crews, thanks for your question, it really tested the knowledge of MAS’ movie buffs, and here is the answer, courtesy of New York Magazine:
http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/columns/realestate/12451/
Built to resemble the London stage set from a romantic 1910 play called—what else?—Pomander Walk, the enclave is chiefly made up of 27 Tudor-style houses, most lining a narrow pathway and carved into 63 co-op apartments. Its Alice-in-Wonderland feel, fostered by its charming English gardens, has attracted fans like Humphrey Bogart, who lived there, and Woody Allen, who has one character in Hannah and Her Sisters wax poetic about it. Once residents enter the gates, “the city just drops away,” says actor Peter Francis James, who has called it home since 1980. “People are always peeking through the gates,” adds musician Pete Smith, who’s been accosted by passersby asking if they can stroll through. (They can’t; it’s private.)
Comment from admin
Mr. Nesin,
According to Vanessa Gruen, MAS Director of Special Projects and resident expert on streetscapes and public space issues,
“I think each space is separately negotiated and there are no hard set rules, but The Department of City Planning should have that information.”
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/home.html
Hope this helps.
Comment from admin
Ms. Sumberg,
MAS runs walking tours every weekend of the year throughout the city. Upcoming tours can be found at MAS.org/tours or on our calendar at MAS.org/calendar, both of which are updated regularly and contain at least one month of future tours. For weekly reminders of what’s going on at MAS, sign up for This Week at MAS!. It covers the following week’s tours, events and programs and we send it out every Thursday afternoon.
Comment from Hazel Balaban
Thank you for contacting ASK MAS. We will respond to your question within 3 days.
Sincerely,
The Municipal Art Society of New York
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