The Municipal Art Society of New York

Come celebrate your love for New York City by dancing the night away with MAS!

Following the presentation of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to Diane von Furstenberg on Thursday, April 28, the MAS Urbanists are pleased to host the first annual MAS After Dark Benefit. This is the first time MAS will be extending the scope of the Gala evening to reach its dedicated, younger supporters. Continue Reading>>

MAS held its 118th Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 29, at the New World Stages, with the set of Avenue Q as our backdrop.  Rocco Landesman, National Endowment for the Arts chairman, opened the evening with a keynote on the importance of the arts community as an economic and cultural catalyst in cities. Continue Reading>>

MAS members will be treated to a special appearance at our Annual Meeting on March 29 by Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts and longtime friend of MAS. Landesman will deliver a keynote address as part of our 20-year retrospective on the transformation of Times Square, and will open the program with remarks on the creative economy and the importance of the arts community as a cultural and economic driver.

“We are so delighted that Rocco will be with us that night, since he was one of the pivotal players in the revitalization of Times Square,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. Continue Reading>>

Over the years, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) and MAS have partnered to bring New Yorkers fascinating programs on our great city and its notable characters. MCNY has generously offered to extend their members’ discount on all public programs to the MAS family, through September. MCNY is continuing their speaking series on Mayor Lindsay with tomorrow night’s program, Who Broke New York? John V. Lindsay & the Fiscal Crisis, moderated by Sam Roberts of the New York Times. More information on this panel, and other upcoming MCNY programs, follows below.

“MCNY is an esteemed institution that celebrates the heritage and future of New York City, an objective MAS strongly supports. In May, MAS was a proud co-sponsor of the Museum’s symposium on The Lindsay Years. These Lindsay programs are a wonderful opportunity for all of us to learn more about a mayor who truly redefined our city,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. Continue Reading>>

Highlighting MAS’ upcoming July and August program and tours on New York City’s livability and sustainability, the July-August issue of the MAS newsletter is hitting mailboxes across the city right now. To read or download the July-August newsletter, click here. MAS thanks the Liman Foundation for its ongoing support of our newsletter.

MAS members receive the newsletter six times annually as a benefit of membership. To join MAS, visit MAS.org/membership.

Highlighting MAS’ upcoming June program and tour series on Manhattan’s Garment District and announcing our new initiative, Preservation and Climate Change, the May-June issue of the MAS newsletter is hitting mailboxes across the city right now.

To read or download the May-June newsletter, click here. MAS thanks the Liman Foundation for its ongoing support of our newsletter.

MAS members receive the newsletter six times annually as a benefit of membership. To join MAS, visit MAS.org/membership.

During a recent tour of Time Out New York‘s offices, the MAS Urbanists were invited to design the cover for an upcoming issue of the magazine. Check out the ideas they came up with below, and watch the slideshow from member Anita Aguilar.

If you’re a young person living or working in New York, you play a vital role in this city. More than one-third of all New Yorkers are under the age of forty and the collective influence of young New Yorkers on this city’s future will be substantial.

Whether you’re a new or a native New Yorker, your voice and passion for urban living is something we at MAS recognize and share. For over ten years, MAS has offered hundreds of individuals, early in their careers, broad exposure to the critical issues of urban planning, design and public space through our Urbanist program.

We invite you to join us! Continue Reading>>

After nearly 30 years at the Villard Houses, MAS is moving its headquarters to the Steinway Hall Building, at 111 W.57th Street in mid-January. As we prepare to vacate our erstwhile home, we took the opportunity to consider the history of this notable palazzo-style brownstone building that was originally built as six townhouses. And who better to do this with than MAS Richard Morris Hunt Patron, Clarence Fahnestock Michalis, who was born in the Villard Houses at 455 Madison Avenue more than 80 years ago?

MAS Director of Annual Giving, Robin Lynn, traces the early days of these buildings with Mr. Michalis, whose great-grandfather was the first occupant of 457 Madison Avenue, and reflects on their changing identity and ownership over the intervening 124 years.

Click the ‘play’ icon on the player above to listen to this podcast or click here to launch iTunes and download the file to your mp3 player.

To learn more about MAS Richard Morris Hunt Patrons program or other levels of MAS membership, visit MAS.org/membership.

November started with a bang here at MAS. The 2nd Jane Jacobs Forum on November 3 was heavily attended, with people coming out in droves to hear panelists Dr. Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, Nevin Cohen of the New School, Jennifer Nelkin of Gotham Greens, and architect Colin Cathcart of Kiss+Cathcart, discuss urban farming. Neal Peirce, of The Washington Post, moderated. If you missed the event, check out the podcast or video.

We were very excited to have Denise Scott Brown with us on November 12, to discuss her new book, Having Word, followed by a discussion with fellow architects Sarah Whiting and Hilary Sample, moderated by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA.

This evening was followed by yet another great author’s talk. On November 17, Roger Kennedy visited MAS to give an illustrated lecture on his new book When Art Worked, focusing on what artists and their work did for the United States during the Great Depression. MAS friend David Rockefeller, Jr., introduced Kennedy.

On November 19, MAS was proud to award the 22^nd Brendan Gill Prize to artists Mike and Doug Starn for See it split, see it change, a permanent installation at the South Ferry subway terminal. For more information on the prize click here.

The end of November will see the publication of Unpacking My Library: Architect’s and Their Books, a co-publication of MAS and Yale University Press, edited by MAS’ own Jo Steffens, director of Urban Center Books. For more information on the book visit Urban Center Books. Be sure to join us next month, on December 8, for the book launch, featuring a panel discussion led by Barry Bergdoll, chief curator of design at MoMA, with architects Stan Allen, Bernard Tschumi, Tod Williams, and Billie Tsien, all of whom are featured in the book. An invitation to the event is accessible here.

Finally, some November tour highlights included: the Urbanists, MAS’ young members group, pub tour of Williamsburg (November 8), Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City (November 8), Beyond Bauhaus, a tour of Midtown Manhattan and its role in modern architecture (November 14), Downtown’s Lost Neighborhood, a tour of Liberty Street down to the Battery (November 21), and Woodside Avenue, Queens (November 22). Check out our upcoming events, including a tour of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on November 29, here.

With about a month and a half left at the Villard Houses, before our move to Steinway Hall, stop by to see MAS’ old haunts! Our exhibit, “Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil,” is on view in our gallery through December 4, 2009. Click here for more information, including gallery hours. Also, MAS invites you to our Villard House holiday party farewell on December 10. Purchase tickets here.

Click here to sign up for the biweekly MAS e-newsletter, MAS Update, or our new, weekly events listing e-mail This Week at MAS.

“What if you could live, work and raise sheep in the same building?” is just one of the provocative ideas raised by the proposals commissioned by the Downtown Alliance in the newly installed exhibit in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Chris Reynolds, MAS Urbanist and Assistant VP of Planning for the Downtown Alliance, and representatives of the firms Beyer Blinder Belle and ARO/Architecture Research Office recently led a group of MAS Urbanists on a special guided tour of the exhibit.

The Downtown Alliance, also known as the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District, commissioned input from architects, urban planners, and artists for this outdoor exhibit, imagining the changes that might lead to a vibrant future for “Greenwich South,” an area roughly bounded by Broadway to the East, West Street to the East, Liberty Street to the North, and Battery Place to the South. Continue Reading>>

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>>

James Ames was like so many of our steadfast MAS members: he came to many events, he supported our advocacy work and he renewed his membership every year. Mr. Ames was an MAS member for well over thirty years and he remained a loyal member until his death in 2008.

MAS was honored to learn recently that Mr. Ames had left a bequest to MAS: a generous, unrestricted gift of $20,000. “Everything will go to the programs he enjoyed, from advocacy efforts to public activities,” says James S.J. Liao, MAS Vice-President for Finance and Administration.

Born in the Bronx in 1926, Ames was a lifelong New Yorker who remained an active and involved resident of the city for his entire life. He worked for over four decades for the City as an engineer for the Department of Environmental Protection. He lived in Jackson Heights, within a historic district, and was active in the Catholic Church there. Continue Reading>>

About eight years ago, architectural historian Matt Postal read about two fellows who wanted to transform a derelict railroad structure into a park. Matt soon got the go-ahead for a walking tour, “In the Shadow of the High Line,” from then-tours director Jill Anson.

Neither Jill nor Matt knew if anyone would be interested. Sixty people showed up the first time MAS offered the tour — and the second time it was offered, and the third. Matt continued to lead the walk every year, as the park became a reality. For years, tour takers wended their way along the base of the High Line, through a then-raffish neighborhood of warehouses and meat markets. Last Saturday, on a perfect summer’s day, Matt led MAS members up the stairs and into the light. They had a shared, audible response. Wow. Continue Reading>>

It is forecast that by 2030, there will be one million additional people living in the City of New York. However, our transit systems – our roads, our subways, our buses – are already at or near capacity. How will all these people get around? Will the city they inhabit have a people-friendly, walkable cityscape, or will they inhabit a warren of automobile corridors?

On June 16th, the MAS Urbanists participated in a walking tour of some of the areas of Manhattan in which the Department of Transportation (DOT) is testing how street capacity can be increased. Led by Ed Janoff, DOT Senior Project Manager for Streetscapes and Public Spaces, urbanists observed how the agency, with a small budget, cooperation from other city departments, and a very limited design vocabulary, is creating new public spaces. While these spaces will have more permanent design elements added over the next three years, part of the beauty of these new spaces derives from the ingenuity with which they were arranged. Continue Reading>>