It’s hard to believe that August is already upon us, and fall is right around the corner. We at MAS have had a busy summer preparing for a provocative, informative fall season, as we introduce our first annual Next for New York programs.

Next for New York will explore the next wave in urban planning, preservation and climate change, and civic activism, as well as specific projects that will help shape the future of New York City.

This year, Next for New York includes three major events: Preservation & Climate Change Conference, the MAS Summit for New York City and the Jane Jacobs Forum. These programs will engage New Yorkers in stimulating discussions about urban livability and the future of our city and cities around the world.

“There’s no question that cities are pivotal as nations everywhere are dealing with growing populations, climate change and threats to sustainability,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “Through this very exciting annual series, MAS will examine a host of issues that New York is facing as a global city that also is a city of distinct neighborhoods.” 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>>

MAS is proud to announce the inaugural Summit for New York City, a unique gathering of civic-minded New Yorkers and leaders in the fields of urban planning, urban design, housing, economics, and research and development. This cross-section of accomplished thought leaders will gather on October 21 and 22 to discuss key issues and challenge the current thinking about New York City’s livability.

The program, currently in formation, will include thought-provoking presentations, panels and keynotes, as well as smaller sessions that will enable the audience to participate more fully in the debate about our city’s future. For more information, updates, and registration, click here.

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.

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.

Join some of the most brilliant names in urban and fashion design for the follow-up to last week’s sold-out panel on the future of New York’s Garment District. This panel will discuss the cultural, economic and social contributions of creative communities. IDEO Partner Fred Dust, Parsons Dean and branding expert Simon Collins, and fashion entrepreneur Andrew Oshrin will offer their unique perspectives, as NYU sociology professor Harvey Molotch and Columbia University’s Sarah Williams discuss the characteristics of and factors that nurture the growth of these communities. Deborah Marton, executive director of the Design Trust for Public Space, will lead the discussion, drawing from the Trust’s recent Made in Midtown study of the Garment District. For more information and tickets click here or call 212 935 2075.

Urban Creative Districts
Tuesday, June 15, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Reception to follow.
At the School of Visual Arts Theater, 333 West 23rd St. (between 8th & 9th avenues) MAP
Moderator — Deborah Marton, executive director, Design Trust for Public Space
Panel — Simon Collins, dean, School of Fashion, Parsons the New School for Design; Fred Dust, partner, IDEO; Andrew Oshrin, president & CEO, Milly LLC; Sarah Williams, director, Columbia University Spatial Information Design Lab; Harvey Molotch, professor of Sociology and Metropolitan Studies, New York University.

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’s midtown Garment District is one of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods, and it is undergoing rapid change. Join MAS on Tuesday, June 8, to learn about the many interdependent industries and businesses that make the district so distinct. Tim Gunn, chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne, Inc. and host of Lifetime TV’s hit show, Project Runway, will moderate an expert panel on how New York’s fashion industry works today, its role in the city’s economy, and its future prospects.

Panelists include: Sarah Crean, deputy director, New York Industrial Retention Network; Eric Gural, executive managing director, Newmark Knight Frank; Madelyn Wils, executive vice president of the Planning, Development and Maritime division, NYCEDC; Deborah Marton, executive director, Design Trust for Public Space; Michael Meola, consultant, formerly senior vice president, Real Estate and Special Projects, NYCEDC; and Yeohlee Teng, designer, YEOHLEE Inc.

The programs will discuss Made in Midtown, a study of the Garment District, produced by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Design Trust for Public Space, with additional research support from MAS. Visit MAS.org/programs for more information and tickets.

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>>