The Municipal Art Society hosted its third Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course of the fall earlier today. Commercial Uses of Parkland: The Law Governing New York’s Open Spaces, was moderated by Michael Gruen, Esq. and co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Section and Historic Preservation and Parks Committee of the New York State Bar Association, focused on issues surrounding the use and alienation of parks in New York City and State. Panelists highlighted the significant case law, doctrine, and policy concerns that shape and determine New York parks and commercial uses within them.

MAS is delighted to announce that its final CLE program of the year – Clean Vehicles in New York: The Past & Future of Alternative Fuels for City Fleets - will be held next Thursday, December 11.  To learn more about this exciting course focused on a current issue, click here, and to register, click here.

The impact of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) is being felt throughout the country as municipalities must reconsider their planning for, and zoning of, religious institutions under the threat of RLUIPA litigation. The Act’s contentious origins aside, RLUIPA is now a well established law with tremendous implications and MAS has organized a continuing legal education (CLE) program to discuss the federal statute’s constitutionality and its influence on local governments next Wednesday, October 23.

The program will introduce the statute, reviewing its constitutional grounds and operative language, and then take a closer look at the impact of the statute generally and locally. Continue Reading>>

Tuesday, November 13, 8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., at the Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Ave. MAP
“Intricate minglings of different uses in cities are not a form of chaos.”
- Jane Jacobs, Death and Life of Great American Cities

This CLE course will address legal issues relating to maintaining urban retail diversity in New York City, including those issues relating to the concentration of uses in major business and residential districts; the resulting loss of small non-chain stores; the economic and legal factors that promote the current conditions; case-studies and zoning initiatives taken by New York and other municipalities to promote retail diversification; and the economic case for small scale diversification. Continue Reading>>