In response to the deterioration of many of New York City’s outdoor statues and the limited resources to preserve them, MAS initiated the Adopt-A-Monument program in 1987. Since then, and with ongoing and generous support of corporate and private donors, many of the city’s most neglected public statues have been conserved and restored to their former glory.

In the short movie above, Director of MAS’ Adopt-a-Monument program, Phyllis Cohen, gives an overview of the program and tells the story of three notable restorations – the Die Lorelie Fountain in the Bronx, the Bellringers in Herald Square, and the Evangeline Blashfield Fountain in Midtown.

This Friday the Tribute in Light will illuminate the skies over Lower Manhattan for the eighth year to commemorate the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Tribute in Light honors those who were lost on September 11, as well as those who worked so hard to get our city through its greatest trial.

The idea for the lights was independently conceived by several artists and designers, who were brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time. The Tribute in Light is now produced annually by the MAS on the September 11th anniversary. It was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz. Tribute in Light is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and with the generous assistance of Con Edison. Continue Reading>>

 City of Art: New York's Hidden Treasures Revealed: Play Now | Play in Popup

Ahead of the panel discussion City of Art: New York’s Hidden Treasures Revealed which MAS is hosting on Thursday, April 16, at 6:30 pm., leading environmental artist George Trakas talked to Elizabeth Werbe of MAS about his recent public art work in New York City.

Widely acclaimed for numerous projects in North America and Western Europe over the past thirty years, Trakas has recently completed a major piece of work for the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn. Commissioned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program, his creation makes approximately 1,000 feet of shoreline accessible to the public. Continue Reading>>

The deadline for nominations to our 2009 MASterwork Awards has just been extended from this Friday, January 30, to noon on Friday, February 13. So, if you have been responsible for, or know of a project completed within the 2008 calendar year that you wish to nominate, please contact Genevieve Sherman on 212-935-3960 or gsherman@mas.org.

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. You can download nomination forms here.

The photo above is of Frank Gehry’s brilliant IAC Building which won a 2008 MASterwork Award for Best Building. Continue Reading>>

MAS Director of Special projects Vanessa Gruen, commented in an article last week on an illegal billboard advertisement for Chanel’s Mobile Art Pavilion designed by architect Zaha Hadid.  Today, New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff comments on the Pavilion itself, which as essentially a corporate advertisement, he states, has no more place in a public park than on the public street.

In other news, the MTA is now considering puting digital advertisments on the sides of buses, says the New York Post. Advertisements can then change during the bus’ route to target specific communities, their primary languages, and consumer preferences.  MTA will test the ads on the M23 bus line. Continue Reading>>

Over a century ago, when MAS was founded, its goal was to beautify New York City with works of art, but while our concerns have broadened to include pressing issues of urban planning, design and preservation, we returned to our founding premise with the launch of the Adopt-A-Monument program in 1986 to preserve the public art which means so much to New York. Twenty statues from five boroughs were selected for the pilot program; thirty-eight have been restored. Of the original twenty only one has not been conserved – the heroic bronze Rocket Thrower.

Theme piece for the 1964 World’s Fair, Donald De Lue’s Promethean figure still stands on its original site in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park long after the fair buildings have vanished. Celebrating the space age, this forty-five-foot high semi-nude male hurls a long arc-shaped object through a circle of stars into outer space. It remains symbolic of our country’s aspirations and confidence during the era of our first explorations beyond the stratosphere. Continue Reading>>

The New York Observer interviewed Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Lieber this week on the future of major development projects occupying the Bloomberg administration during its last year – notably Moynihan Station, Willets Point, and Coney Island.  Lieber suggested that while the City is trying to acquire more land at Coney Island, the major landowner Thor Equities is still vacillating on selling – in which case the City would proceed with rezoning. MAS testified that the City’s revised plan – which already reduced the size of the open-air amusement park to accommodate Thor – is too small for the needs of New Yorkers and would deprive Coney of living up to its potential at New York’s premier waterfront amusement and entertainment area.

In other news, Harlem State Senator Bill Perkins convened a hearing yesterday on reforming eminent domain laws Continue Reading>>

On this, the seventh anniversary of Tribute in Light, MAS Senior Vice-President Frank Sanchis describes the origins of tribute and how the memorial is put together annually on September 11.

Tribute in Light will be visible from dusk this evening until dawn tomorrow in the sky over Lower Manhattan. It is produced annually by the MAS and made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

If you are taking photographs of Tribute in Light this year, or took some great shots in previous years, please visit www.flickr.com/groups/til and share them in our Flickr pool. The best shot, selected by a panel of MAS directors, will win a $50 voucher for Urban Center Books.

Next Thursday, Tribute in Light will shine for the seventh year to commemorate the attacks on the World Trade Center. If you’re planning to take photographs of the lights — which will shine from dusk on the evening of September 11th through dawn on the 12th — you should join our Tribute in Light Flickr Pool and share your photos with us and other group members.

To submit your photographs, visit www.flickr.com/groups/til and join the group. Please note that you need to already have, or be ready to create, a Flickr account to become a member and share your pictures.

Prize for the Best Shot
A panel of MAS board members will select the winning shot and award a $50 Urban Center Books gift voucher to the photographer. (UCB was named among the best independent bookstores in New York City by New York Magazine earlier this year). The photo will also be featured on our website next week. Continue Reading>>

Commemorating the seventh anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Tribute in Light — two great beams of light — will shine again on 9/11 this year from Lower Manhattan and fill the night sky. The Tribute in Light honors those who were lost on September 11, as well as those who worked so hard to get our city through its greatest trial.

The idea for the lights was independently conceived by several artists and designers, who were brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time. The Tribute in Light is now produced annually by the MAS on the September 11th anniversary. It was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz. Tribute in Light is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.