“A renewal effort has to be conceived as a process of building on the inherent social and economic values of the community. Neglecting these values through programs of massive clearance and redevelopment can disrupt an entire community.”

These words could easily have been written by South Bronx activist Yolanda Garcia. In the early 1990s, she founded an organization known as We Stay/Nos Quedamos, and led a movement of residents who wanted to remain in their neighborhood despite the City’s plan to redevelop it with low-density, mixed-income housing.  They created an alternative plan for affordable housing development at Melrose Commons that is still being implemented today.

However, the words above are actually the opening statement of the Cooper Square Alternate Plan, written in 1961 by a group of activists from the Lower East Side, including Frances Goldin. Known as the Cooper Square Committee, they opposed Robert Moses’ urban renewal plan to demolish and redevelop more than 2,500 housing units in their neighborhood.

On July 13, the Municipal Art Society celebrated the kindred spirits of these two community activists by presenting the annual Yolanda Garcia Community Planner (YGCP) Award to Ms. Goldin. MAS created the YGCP award in 2006 to honor the memory of Ms. Garcia, who passed away in 2005. Selected from an open nomination process by a panel of judges consisting of former honorees and leaders in the community planning field, the awardee must have no formal training in planning, and must have demonstrated his or her ability to overcome the many obstacles to grassroots planning and bring neighborhood need and vision into New York City’s planning process. Continue Reading>>

MAS announced the winners of its Annual Awards honoring individuals and groups that help define the character of New York City at its annual meeting earlier this week at the Chelsea Art Museum. This year’s awards were highlighted by the Brooklyn Flea, the flea market that is becoming an essential weekend activity for all New Yorkers and IRT: A Tragedy in Three Stations, an original play that actually takes place in the subway. This year’s award-winners also included the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival; Sustainable Streets Strategic Plan for the New York City Department of Transportation 2008 and Beyond; and the Center for New York City Law.

“It is an honor for us to be able to recognize all of these unsung heroes and institutions that contribute to New York City’s greatness and we are privileged to do so every year,” said Vin Cipolla, president of MAS. Continue Reading>>

At yesterday’s annual meeting, MAS launched its new Annual Report Advocate, Effect Change, Support, Convene, Enlighten, Celebrate, which is now available for download in PDF format.

Most computers support PDF, but if you have problems viewing the report, you might need to download Adobe Acrobat. It is available free here.

To download previous year’s annual reports going back to 2002, visit www.mas.org/annualreport.

Every year, we ask our members to nominate candidates for our annual awards, which are given at our annual meeting to those groups, individuals, structures, and events we believe have contributed most to making New York a more livable city. If you would like to nominate a candidate, click here to download the nomination form, or click here to nominate online. The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, March 31.

Last years’ winners included: American Ballroom Theater’s Dancing Classrooms a program for NYC’s 4th graders; the customer service line for all New Yorkers, 311; Solar One; the Long Island City Cultural Alliance; and the amazing comeback of the very mammal that appears on the seal of New York City, as a symbol of industriousness, but has not been seen in the city since the early 1800s, the beaver (specifically José the Beaver in the Bronx River).

E-mail nomination forms to Genevieve Sherman at gsherman@mas.org or mail them to: Annual Awards, The Municipal Art Society of New York, 457 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

Last week, the MAS Urbanists got a behind-the-scenes look at New York City’s state-of-the-art 311 call facility. Winner of a MAS Annual Award in 2008, 311 was launched five years ago and now receives more than 40,000 calls per day. Executive Director Joe Morrisroe and members of his staff enthusiastically presented the ins and outs of this information hub.

Even though most calls are predictable (noise complaints in the summer, heat/hot water in the winter, parking questions year round) there are always important anomalies. They offer social services, and have provided informational services for over 2,000,000 callers during peak times like during  the NYC transit strike of 2005. Continue Reading>>

Each year at the MAS Annual Meeting individuals, groups, events and extraordinary efforts are celebrated that have contributed to the quality of life in New York City. Honorees are awarded the MAS Certificate of Merit. Amongst those honored this year were American Ballroom Theater’s “Dancing Classrooms.”

This company has much to celebrate and to be proud of. Since Pierre Dulaine taught the first ballroom dance class in one public school in l994, the outreach program “Dancing Classrooms” has developed into an amazingly popular and successful Arts-in-Education initiative in New York City’s public schools. Continue Reading>>

Q: When do you know you really love New York?

A: When you join fellow New Yorkers to celebrate the people who help make NYC the greatest city in the world.

The 115^th annual meeting of the Municipal Art Society of New York, held last Wednesday (July 9) at the TimesCenter, gave MAS members a wonderful occasion to revel in their collective devotion to New York City. MAS president, Kent Barwick, called the meeting to order with the wooden walking stick from the first MAS annual meeting in 1893 and which once belonged to Benjamin Franklin. Awards were given to the Dancing Classroom program for NYC’s 4^th graders; the customer service line for all New Yorkers: 311; Solar One, the Long Island City Cultural Alliance, and the amazing comeback of the very mammal that appears on the seal of New York City, as a symbol of industriousness, but has not been seen in the city since the early 1800s. On behalf of Jose the Beaver, the award was presented by Justin Rockefeller (whose family arrived in New York around the same time that we last saw Jose’s!)

MAS was also especially proud to give its Third Annual Yolanda Garcia Community Planner Award to Jeanne DuPont. Jeanne founded the Rockaway Waterfront Park Project in 2005 to build a grassroots movement dedicated to protecting one of New York’s most unique neighborhoods. Commissioner Adrian Benepe awarded MAS’ prestigious W. Allison and Elizabeth Stubbs Davis Award to Andrea Williams of the City’s Parks Department.

Wednesday, July 9, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Join us to celebrate the best of New York City at our annual meeting at The Times Center, 242 West 41st Street, New York City, NY 10036, between 7th and 8th avenues.

From its inception in 1893, the MAS has actively encouraged citizen participation in shaping the growth of the city. Every year, we ask our members to nominate candidates to receive awards, which are given to those groups, individuals, structures, and events we believe have most contributed to making New York a more livable city. To see a list of last year’s winners, click here. Continue Reading>>

The MAS annual meeting in June provides the setting for recognizing individuals, groups and events that have made New York a more livable city. MAS members submit nominations for review by an awards committee. The committee’s selections are approved by the MAS Board of Directors, and the winners are presented with a Certificate of Merit. Continue Reading>>