MAS arranged two tours related to the theme of its April 28 panel discussion, Manufacturing a Greener New York. The first of these took place this past weekend. The second, Look for the Union Label takes place on Friday, May 22, 2:00 p.m.

President of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), Andrew Kimball, led a MAS bus and walking tour of the extraordinary industrial park that is the Brooklyn Navy Yard last Friday afternoon, briefing tour-takers about the site that contains 40 buildings, 4 million square feet of leasable space and 5,000 employees. On our first stop, we saw the Perry Avenue Building, the nation’s first multi-tenant, multi-story green building — in fact a LEED Gold Building. (All future buildings at BNY will at least meet LEED Silver standards). To our right was the red brick 1889 Paymaster’s Building where burial shrouds for Hasidic Jews were made (niche market, indeed). Striking juxtapositions were everywhere. Continue Reading>>

Preservation advocates received good news last week regarding the future of the Con Ed Powerhouse, located in the northern reaches of Hell’s Kitchen, on the block bounded by 11th Avenue and 59th Street, and 12th Avenue and 58th Street in Manhattan. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced plans to hold a public hearing, to consider the individual landmark designation of the building, on July 14th, 2009.

The former Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) Powerhouse was designed by acclaimed architect Stanford White, of McKim, Mead & White, and was built in 1904 in the Renaissance Revival style. The splendidly detailed, industrial building has been considered by the LPC twice before — once in 1979 and again in 1990 — but was never granted landmark status. Earlier this year, in keeping with our commitment to the preservation of New York City’s industrial heritage, MAS sent a letter to the LPC supporting the proposed designation. Continue Reading>>

In light of the City’s plan to rezone 25 blocks of the Gowanus Canal corridor, MAS is conducting an investigation of the area’s historic resources, including the canal itself. Although the Gowanus Canal is sometimes better known for the pollutants from decades of heavy manufacturing and industrial use which earned it the nickname “Lavender Lake,” the canal should also be considered a historic industrial landscape. In fact, the waterway has been officially recognized as eligible for inclusion on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.  MAS recently completed a historic resources survey of the Gowanus Canal rezoning area, and will expand the study to include the other blocks along the canal and adjacent to the rezoning area that may be affected by the rezoning. The survey has already identified several unprotected potential historic buildings and structures, many of which are featured in this slide show.  Continue Reading>>

Joined by preservationists throughout the city, MAS is calling for the individual landmark designation of the IRT Powerhouse, which occupies the entire block running from 58th to 59th Street, 11th to 12th Avenues. The monumental building was originally constructed in 1904 to provide electricity to the Interborough Rapid Transit Construction Company’s (IRT) subway lines; power generated within the building was fed to eight substations to help run the subway’s signal and lighting systems.

By the 1950s, the building was no longer needed for the subway system and was given over to Con Ed, who still uses the building to provide steam for nearby property owners. The recent demolition of two other Con Ed powerhouses, the Waterside No. 2 Power Station on Manhattan’s east side and the Kent Avenue Power Plant in Williamsburg, have made the preservation of this structure all the more imperative. Continue Reading>>

The City is proposing to rezone 25 blocks along the canal to allow for a mix of uses, including residential, commercial, retail, light industrial, community facility and artist spaces. The Department of City Planning will have a hearing tomorrow about the rezoning. MAS will be there and share how the thriving manufacturing district could be a tremendous opportunity to nurture and safeguard existing businesses and create space for new industries and sorely needed job growth. Continue Reading>>

As the recent economic slowdown gives us the opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate New York City’s planning processes, community-based plans can provide a framework for a future that works for all New Yorkers. The plans featured in this monthly column will provide examples of how inclusive planning processes work on the ground, and ideally will help inspire future community planning efforts.

Sunset Park 197-a Plan
Sunset Park encompasses a large stretch of Brooklyn’s East River waterfront, bordered by the Prospect Expressway to the north, Bay Ridge to the south, and the Gowanus Expressway to the east. The area has served as a maritime hub for over 100 years. The Bush Terminal was established there in 1895, and eventually grew to over 200 acres. Continue Reading>>

The New Year’s Eve Steam Whistle Blow at Pratt Institute, located at 200 Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn, was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for being a literal New Year’s Eve blast!

Steam whistles, salvaged from trains, riverboats, ocean liners and factories, are kept in Pratt’s steam-powered plant, the oldest, privately-owned, continuously operating, power plant of its kind in the country. Conrad Milster, Pratt’s longtime Chief Engineer, blew the first whistle of his collection on New Year’s Eve 1965. Over the past four decades his collection has grown, as has the popularity of his annual New Year’s Eve steam whistle blast. Pratt’s website boasts, Continue Reading>>

An MAS panel last Wednesday night spoke to the multitude of merits of preserving industrial heritage, says the New York Times.  In addition to the social significance of industrial factories and work life in American history, the panel pointed out the economic and environmental benefits of preserving industrial buildings and infrastructure, such as providing critical blue collar jobs and reducing construction waste.  Watch a video summary of the panel here.

In other news, studies on the impacts of parks on proximate residential property values are sparking interest in directing property taxes toward parks. The Friends of Hudson River Park is examining models, such as Business Improvement Districts, that could tap into increased property values and get residents and businesses to act as stewards for their neighboring parks. Continue Reading>>

New York City was once the nation’s power house for manufacturing, and many of the buildings and factories that fueled that industry remain. Preserving these buildings and using them to foster green-collar industries or adapting them to new housing, cultural, and retail uses is the most sustainable action New York could take.

Tonight’s program, Recycling New York’s Industrial Past: Inspiration From Home and Abroad, will explore two approaches to preserving industrial buildings: keeping them for manufacturing uses (which also means retaining good-paying jobs) or adapting these buildings to new uses, like the ice skating rink at the former Coking Plant in Essen, Germany, above at left. Tickets are still available for the program and can be purchased by calling 212-935-2075. Continue Reading>>

Brooklyn’s Industrial Waterfront is the focus of a major designation day at the Landmarks Preservation Commission next week. On Tuesday, October 30, the Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed DUMBO Historic District and vote on the designation of the Eberhard Pencil Factory Historic District. Both sites were highlighted in the MAS’s successful nomination of the Brooklyn industrial waterfront heritage to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Places for 2007. The Commission’s action on DUMBO and Eberhard Faber follows the designation of the Domino Sugar Factory in September.

DUMBO is significant for its association with the rise of the city of Brooklyn as a major American industrial center and is unique to New York City for its nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial buildings, Belgian block streets, and its location on the East River by the imposing anchorage of the Manhattan Bridge. Continue Reading>>