We thought you might enjoy this bit of history from the MAS Archives, and we plan to share more with you over the next few weeks.

We found this letter from Robert Moses, addressed to MAS President Electus D. Litchfield, dated December 24, 1936, while sifting through the archives. Moses was appointed as the Commissioner of the Department of Parks in 1936 by then-Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Moses also served as head of the State Parks Council, head of the State Power Commission, and chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. Electus D. Litchfield was the president of MAS in the 1930s. The following is Moses’ somewhat testy response to a letter from Litchfield regarding the construction of East River Drive (known today as FDR Drive), which started in 1934 and was completed in 1966:

(Click-through for larger images.)

December 24, 1936

Miss Irene V. Walsh,
The Municipal Art Society,
119 East 19th Street,
New York City

Dear Miss Walsh:

Mr. Litchfield’s letter of November 11th was answered by sending him printed reports which clearly indicated the answers to his questions.

I am happy, however, to answer them again in this letter. Continue Reading>>

As New York prepares to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, MAS is arranging for its annual presentation of Tribute In Light. A world-renowned symbol of commemoration and healing, Tribute In Light’s majestic beams of light will illuminate the lower Manhattan sky beginning at dusk on Saturday, September 11, and fading with the dawn of Sunday, September 12.

Funded by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, with the generous support of Con Edison, the project was co-founded by MAS and Creative Time. Tribute In Light was first presented on April 11, 2002, six months after the attacks. Continue Reading>>

Seating is limited for the MAS Summit for New York City which will feature lively debates, discussions and new ideas about the livability of our city, from sidewalks to skyline. The conference, a first for MAS, will be held on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22 at the Penn Plaza Pavilion.

You can register now on the recently-launched Summit website, massummit.org, where you can get up-to-the-minute program updates. As of today, 88 of 400 tickets have been sold for the conference, with a roster that includes Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, Designer Yeohlee Teng, New York Times Reporter Sam Roberts, Central Park Conservancy Founder Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, and High Line Founder Robert Hammond, plus dozens of other thought leaders talking on a variety of important subjects. Continue Reading>>

Currently there is a debate about whether the proposed 15 Penn Plaza development should go forward as planned. Vornado Realty Trust wants to build a skyscraper at 15 Penn Plaza (where the Hotel Pennsylvania now stands), which would rival the Empire State Building in prominence in the city’s skyline. Vornado’s skyscraper, which was approved by the City Planning Commission in June, would be only 34 feet shorter than the Empire State Building. Because of the two buildings’ close proximity, 900 feet apart, 15 Penn Plaza would partially obstruct views of the Empire State Building. Some fear Vornado’s building will crowd “the distinctive skyline in the city,” as Malkin Properties President Anthony Malkin, who owns the Empire State Building, said in yesterday’s New York Observer. To read the full article, click here.

Although MAS does not oppose the project, we submitted testimony on 15 Penn Plaza in June to the City Planning Commission, raising concern for the need for a comprehensive transportation plan in the area, considering the influx of people that the proposed development would bring to the already congested Penn Station neighborhood.

“Now that the project is before the City Council, MAS thinks that it is an appropriate time to discuss the impact 15 Penn Plaza will have on the Empire State Building and on our skyline,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “The viewsheds and view corridors of certain iconic buildings should be considered in these cases,” he continued.

So what do you think?

Take a stroll down Convent Avenue in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem and you’ll pass the buildings that Duke Ellington, Jimmy Rushing and Cab Calloway once called home. Nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for its many layers of New York City history, this broad residential street has been home to some very notable New Yorkers. Extending from 127th Street, through City College and up to 152nd Street, Convent Avenue is one of the city’s most cherished exclusively-residential streets. Shaded with trees and lined with rows of small-scale residential buildings it remains a kind of time capsule, largely unchanged since the early days of jazz.

Once a rural countryside, Alexander Hamilton – the first United States Secretary of the Treasury – acquired a 32-acre tract of land in the summer of 1800 for the site of his country estate, which he named Hamilton Grange. Convent Avenue itself was officially laid down in the mid-19th century after the erection of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, which stood just south of 136th Street. Continue Reading>>

The Rockefeller Foundation and MAS proudly congratulate the recipients of the 2010 Jane Jacobs Medal—Joshua David and Robert Hammond, co-founders of the High Line and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, founding president of the Central Park Conservancy and current president of the Foundation for Landscape Studies. The medal, which is administered by MAS, was created in 2007 to honor the author and activist who died in April 2006. It is awarded annually to New Yorkers whose work creates new ways of seeing and understanding the city.

“MAS is delighted the Rockefeller Foundation has chosen Joshua David, Robert Hammond and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers as Jane Jacobs Medalists,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “All three recipients embody Jane Jacobs’ tenets and demonstrate true dedication to New York City. With their innovative stewardship and activism, these medalists have created a more livable city for all to enjoy.” Continue Reading>>

MAS applauds last week’s decision of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, which upheld the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s re-designation of two buildings on the Upper East Side. The buildings, which were built at the turn of the 20th century, are part of the City and Suburban Company’s First Avenue Estate model tenement complex and are important for their innovative design as well as in their role in social housing reform. MAS filed an amicus brief (that is, a brief filed as a friend of the court) in support of the designation.

“MAS is very pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the LPC’s designation,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “It is crucial that we celebrate both our architectural and social heritage, and the lasting impact of the City & Suburban Company’s efforts to improve low income housing through projects like the First Avenue Estate. Continue Reading>>

Photographs by Giles Ashford.

Last month’s Spotlight on the Garment District programs were a resounding success, with more than 400 audience members joining in on the discussions on the future of New York City’s fashion industry. The first panel, moderated by Tim Gunn, reinforced the significant findings of the Made in Midtown study conducted by the Design Trust for Public Space and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The speakers highlighted the district’s role as a fashion research and development hub, where the city’s fashion industry nurtures new talent while making significant contributions to the city’s economy. The second panel, moderated by Deborah Marton of the Design Trust, dealt more generally with the unique qualities of creative urban districts and how they might be sustained.

MAS plans to continue focusing on how the city’s built environment, the fashion ecosystem that interconnects the users and uses that make the Garment District so important, affects entrepreneurship and how the Garment District can be used more effectively to secure New York City’s position as a fashion capital of the world. Future programming planned for the fall will reflect on the ways in which foreign countries are reacting to the globalization of the industry, and how existing fashion capitals can stay competitive when emerging economies offer cheaper labor and lower production costs. MAS will look at the garment industry in several nascent fashion capitals in Asia to better understand the composition of the industry there and the national policies that promote it. Check back with MAS for more on the developments of the Made in Midtown study and for future related events.

Last night’s panel, Made in Midtown: The Garment District Today & Tomorrow, was a huge success. More than 250 people came out to hear Tim Gunn, of television’s Project Runway, moderate a discussion on the future of New York’s Garment District. Join MAS next Tuesday, June 15, as we pick up where last night’s panel left off. We’ll be discussing Urban Creative Districts.

The story of New York City cannot be told without understanding the role dynamic creative communities play in defining the identity of particular neighborhoods. Drawing on the Design Trust study, Made in Midtown, this discussion will invite leading creative thinkers and practitioners to imagine the future of the Garment District as an urban creative ecosystem. Panelists will discuss the cultural, economic, and social contributions of creative communities, and explore how improved visibility of the activities within these neighborhoods can strengthen those creative industries and New York City. Continue Reading>>

New York City’s Midtown Garment District presents a host of planning, economic development and preservation issues as the district has undergone significant change over the last four decades.

To chart a course for the future, the Design Trust for Public Space, with its partner, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, has launched Made in Midtown, a project that will document how New York’s fashion industry works today and how it could be the catalyst for future improvements in the Garment District.

The Design Trust’s findings, including specific research on international fashion centers provided by The Municipal Art Society, will show how New York’s fashion industry functions as an interconnected ecosystem that is integral to our city’s economy, identity, and sense of place. The Design Trust will launch the project website, madeinmidtown.org, with a day-long event open to the public on June 3 at the Port Authority Pop-Up Space, at Eighth Avenue at 41st Street. Following the launch, the Design Trust and MAS have organized public programming throughout June to publicize the findings and to guide this issue into a public discussion. Continue Reading>>