The 19th Annual MAS Summer Boat Tour
Toward a Sustainable Upper Bay
Wednesday, July 28, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Come along as the sun goes down for a boat tour of the Harbor Islands, the Buttermilk Channel and Gowanus Bay—the scenic and the hidden parts of New York’s Upper Bay. We’ll hear about successes and challenges on the way to a sustainable future—from imaginative and dedicated individuals who are helping to lead the way.

Our Host:
Vin Cipolla, president, Municipal Art Society. Devoted to preservation, conservation and the arts, Mr. Cipolla has consistently provided civic leadership in these areas throughout his adult life. He was appointed president of the MAS in early 2009. Continue Reading>>

When you think of National Parks, it’s unlikely that New York Harbor is the first thing that pops into your head but several of the nation’s most significant parks are located in our maritime backyard. Think Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Governors Island National Monument, Gateway National Recreation Area and more. Come along on the MAS boat tour on July 28 in the knowledgeable company of Maria Burks, Commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, to look and learn about the key role the National Parks play in our local economy, the ways their carbon footprint is being reduced and the sociological and cultural challenges to their long term sustainability. Continue Reading>>

The City’s Parks Department will hold an April 23 public hearing on a proposal to regulate the sale of “materials or objects with expressive content” — such as books, paintings, photographs and sculptures — in the City’s parks.

The proposed rule will designate the number of specific locations where vendors of expressive material may sell their goods in four Manhattan parks: Battery Park, Union Square Park, the High Line Park, and heavily trafficked areas on Central Park. Vendors would not be restricted in less congested areas of Central Park. The rule also regulates vendors of expressive matter in other parks.

MAS testified in favor of the measures, which should improve pedestrian flow and overall enjoyment of the parks, at this morning’s hearing. To read our testimony in full, click here. “Since its founding, MAS has been both an advocate for the arts and for limited commercial activity in our parks,” said President Vin Cipolla. “We are extremely sensitive to the needs of entrepreneurial artists who need to make a living, but we also want to make sure the needs of the greater public are considered.” Continue Reading>>

With the 40th anniversary of Earth Day just around the corner, MAS is supporting New York’s first “green” auction, which will promote awareness about conservation as well as raise funds for four prestigious environmental nonprofit organizations.

On April 22, Christie’s will hold The Green Auction: A Bid To Save The Earth, featuring top celebrities, industry leaders, philanthropists and conservationists from around the globe. Funds raised from this silent and live auction will benefit Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Conservation International, and New York’s own Central Park Conservancy. Continue Reading>>

Essential preservation funds, historic sites and parks will be impacted by proposed state and federal budget cuts. MAS encourages its members to take action to urge lawmakers to restore funding for these important programs.

“In these difficult economic times, some may argue that preservation and parks are luxuries we can do without. But preservation isn’t just about reminding us of our past. The restoration work funded through Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America has generated sorely needed jobs and helped to build sustainable communities. New York State’s Parks and Historic sites offer inexpensive recreational opportunities to New Yorkers just when they need them most,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla.

The proposed federal budget cuts may eliminate two long-standing historic preservation funds, Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America. The former was established in 1998 by President Clinton and is a public-private partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since its creation, the program has awarded almost $294 million in federal grants to over 1,100 preservation efforts across the country. In turn, these grants have leveraged more than $377 million in required matching- and non-federal funds, and the funded construction projects alone have created more than 16,000 jobs. Continue Reading>>

Lynden Miller was a painter with a passion for plants when Betsy Rogers, as administrator of Central Park and head of the Central Park Conservatory, handed her an assignment: restore the Conservatory Garden at 105th St. and Fifth Ave. That was 1982, when that end of the park was often considered dangerous. In addition to restoring the garden, Lynden was also charged with raising the money to do it and finding a way to bring people back to it. The Conservatory Garden was the beginning of her career as a public garden designer. Gardens all over town followed, including those at Bryant, Wagner, and Madison Square parks.

Now Lynden Miller has written a book, Parks, Plants and People, which tells others how public gardens can be created, including a resource directory on everything from the art of garden design to park advocacy and funding sources, plus a plant list of those she has found to be hardy, reliable and relatively low-maintenance. She dedicates the book to William H. Whyte, from whom she learned the elements of a successful public space. In addition to practical advice, Lynden Miller provides telling anecdotes. When a taxi driver dropping her at the Conservatory Garden in the early 1980s expressed concern for her safety, she invited him to accompany her into the partially restored garden, where the crab apples were in bloom. One down.

This Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., join us at the Municipal Art Society for an engaging and inspirational talk with Ms. Miller, buy an autographed book at a 25% discount, and talk with fellow urban garden lovers over a glass of something refreshing. $15, $10 MAS members. Reservations recommended. Purchase tickets online or call 212-935-3960. MAP.

Directly across the East River from the United Nations, Gantry Plaza State Park has stunning views of Manhattan, but it was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for its main attraction: restored gantry cranes. Now dramatic industrial sculptures, these gantries were the nexus for providing goods and supplies to Long Island via the Long Island Rail Road tracks that used to run to the water’s edge. Built in the 1920s, the gantries hoisted rail cars from floats and barges onto land and vice versa, opening up the Long Island waterfront for industrial activity and inland for residential communities.

But the gantries are just one feature that pays homage to the Long Island City waterfront’s industrial past, which is quickly giving way to residential buildings. The Long Island City waterfront was originally a site for tanneries and other factories, including the Pepsico bottling plant in Hunters Point. The iconic ruby-red Pepsi Cola sign was dismantled late in 2008 to be re-situated further north in the newest section of Gantry Plaza State Park, which just opened July 1, 2009. 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>>

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.

Last Wednesday, MAS hosted an all-star panel of park designers, administrators, and other experts to discuss the latest on some of New York’s most exciting park projects. The projects ranged in scale from small — the new Concrete Park Project in the South Bronx — to extremely large — Fresh Kills in Staten Island and Riverside South on the Upper West Side. The presentations and discussion focused on the challenge of developing sustainable parks on challenging sites in a time of economic uncertainty.

For those who were not able to make the event, we’ve put together a highlight of the Fresh Kills presentation – a project that, as its administrator Eloise Hirsh acknowledged, MAS was instrumental in making happen. For more information, visit www.mas.org/freshkills.