Greetings from the Bronx — the birthplace of hip hop, the breathtaking site of the New York Botanical Garden and home base for the 2009 World Series Champions, the Yankees. Now the Bronx has even more to celebrate, as six of the borough’s notable locations will be recognized on December 3rd by Place Matters.

The six honorees are:
52 Park in Longwood is a popular urban oasis run by the NYC Parks Department with the help of 52 People for Progress (52PFP). When the South Bronx experienced its bleakest period in the 1970s, the open space at 52 Park became a danger zone. Since 1980, 52PFP, a volunteer group formed by local residents Al Quiñones, Fred Demera, Eduardo Rivera and Victoria Medina, has committed itself to maintaining a safe and welcoming public park. Continue Reading>>

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>>

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.

MAS recently sat down with four young people from the Bronx and Brooklyn who are confronting neighborhood planning challenges head-on. Armed with information, enthusiasm and a supportive network of adults, these young people are taking the lead in addressing critical neighborhood issues.

In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Caesar Alcaite and Celeste Del Brey (pictured at left) have been working with UPROSE, a community-based environmental justice organization. When they came to UPROSE, neither had much knowledge of environmental justice issues. However, after spending more time at the organization and working with youth organizers, these teens quickly learned that there is a connection between their local environment and their quality of life. Since coming to UPROSE these teens have developed strong leadership skills — reaching out to neighbors to inform them of local environmental concerns; helping middle school students map neighborhood assets and burdens; and leading neighborhood environmental justice tours for city officials, other youth groups, and most recently, a group of 50 Columbia University graduate planning students. Continue Reading>>

Just in time for the last few weeks of summer, Place Matters has identified 10 Great summertime spots, spanning all five boroughs. These summertime spots might not be the city’s most popular or most well-known summertime destinations, but they have demonstrated cultural significance, hold memories and anchor traditions for individuals and communities. We urge New Yorkers to visit these places, and take in the flavors, the history and the cultural traditions that help make New York such a special and livable city.

1. Jahn’s Ice Cream at 81-04 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, offers chilled relief from summer heat. “This king of ice cream emporiums goes back to 1897 and earlier,” one nominator wrote. “It has always been a traditional gathering place for locals, singles, partners, groups and families.” Best known for their ‘Kitchen Sink’ sundae, this Jahn’s outpost is the last of several locations that once dotted the city.

2. For another famous Queens confection, head over to the Lemon Ice King of Corona at 5202 108th Street in Flushing. Continue Reading>>

The Amalgamated Housing Cooperative abutting Van Corlandt Park in the Bronx, is the oldest limited-equity housing cooperative in the United States. While it was not the first co-op in the United States, the Amalgamated was nominated to the Census of Places That Matter as an early and enduring model for cooperative housing in New York City throughout the 20th century.

In the late 1920s, population densities in New York City – especially in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods like the Lower East Side – were among the highest in the world and people were looking for alternative housing, often outside of Manhattan. Continue Reading>>

Last month, three CITI Youth interns were honored by their community boards. These students, who have worked as map technicians for the past year, are part of the CITI Youth program, a project of the MAS Planning Center. The CITI Youth program helps young people connect with their community through the use of technology. Using the website www.myciti.org, CITI interns create and display maps at community board meetings to help facilitate the community decision-making process. Over 30 CITI interns are currently working as map technicians in community boards throughout the city.

CITI interns Merlin Valdez and Brandon Rutishauser are map technicians at Bronx CB 7 (Fordham). According to Merlin, their maps have earned them a reputation as the “wizards of technology”, with Bronx CB 7 routinely expressing their appreciation of the maps and the student’s service. Brandon and Merlin were both awarded with the 2009 Bronx Community Board 7 Unsung Hero Award at their June board meeting. The students, who are new to the program, have been enthusiastically invited to continue working at the board this coming fall. Continue Reading>>

The Landmarks Preservation Commission agenda is packed today with numerous worthy designation items. Check out our slide show of the items being calendared, heard, and designated today. MAS is particularly pleased with the proposed designation of the Prospect Heights Historic District in Brooklyn. For nearly three years, the MAS has worked closely with community members, elected officials and the LPC towards protecting the unique character of this largely intact neighborhood with landmark designation for over 800 buildings. Click here to read more about its history. Continue Reading>>

Join tour leader Alexis Torres-Fleming and her colleagues from Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPG) this Saturday (June 20th) for a tour of Concrete Plant Park and adjacent areas of the South Bronx.

The tour is really a window into the enormous challenges and impressive successes to be found in this section of the South Bronx. Here, dedicated residents have fought for environmental justice and a concrete plant ruin has become a beautiful park, designed with the help of the community.

Saturday, June 20, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Concrete Plant Park and the Blooming Bronx
Meet at YMPJ, 1384 Stratford Avenue, Bronx. (Transit: #6 train to Morrison/Sound View Ave., walk one block West to Stratford Ave., then North to YMPJ). $15, $10 MAS members. Please walk-up and pay. Tour will go ahead rain or shine. MAP.

For the third and final installment of our podcast series of interviews with winners of the Yolanda Garcia Community Planner (YGCP) award, Eve Baron, Director of the MAS Planning Center, speaks with Yolanda Garcia’s daughter, Yolanda Gonzalez. Gonzalez succeeded her mother, for whom the award is named, as Executive Director of We Stay/Nos Quedamos, a community organization in the South Bronx that developed an alternative plan for Melrose Commons in the 1990s, and now oversees the plan’s implementation. Baron and Gonzalez discuss the plan’s creation, and the challenges and victories of community organizing in the South Bronx. The YGCP award jury is currently in the process of choosing the 2009 winner. This year’s award will be presented at MAS’ annual meeting in July.

The image above shows Yolanda Gonzalez, center, joined by her family and South Bronx elected officials, at a street renaming ceremony in honor of her mother, Yolanda Garcia in February of this year. Third Avenue between 156th and 157th Streets is now known as “Yolanda Garcia Way.”

Visit www.mas.org/ygcpa for more information about the Yolanda Garcia Community Planner Award and past year’s recipients.