Join architectural historian Anthony Robins for the first of four weekly sessions on how to unearth detailed information about New York City buildings this Wednesday, February 25. Each week in his short course If Walls Could Talk: Researching the History of Buildings in New York City, Mr. Robins tackles a different angle, teaching course-takers how to successfully conduct research on: the building, the client, the architect, and miscellaneous sources, before wrapping it all up with a field trip to the Manhattan Department of Buildings, New York City Conveyance Records, the Municipal Archives and the Municipal Reference Library.

8.0 CES credits (6.0 CES credits/lectures; 2.0 CES credits/field trip). Lectures and field trip cannot be purchased singly, only as short course. Location: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, at E.51st St. Cost: $250, $200 MAS members/students. Purchase tickets online or call 212-935-2075.

What an excellent class! It was thorough, comprehensive and entertaining — a must for anyone interested in the history of buildings in NYC.” – Ms. P. Esposito, 2008

Join architectural historian Francis Morrone this Wednesday, January 28, for the second in his four lecture series Architecture and Changing Lifestyles. New Yorkers’ lifestyles have changed continually over the years, constantly reinventing our notions of what it means to be a New Yorker. This lecture will take attendees beyond tenements to the many apartment houses the middle & upper classes constructed for themselves in New York City during the 1870s and 1880s.

In four illustrated lectures, Francis Morrone examines four episodes of lifestyle change in New York history. Each of these episodes demonstrated remarkable innovation and adaptation to changing social and economic conditions, and causes us to imagine what lifestyle revolutions await us in the future. The third and final lectures in the series will be held at MAS on Wednesday, February 4, and Monday, February 9, respectively.

Beyond Tenements: Apartment Houses for the Middle & Upper Classes, 1870s & 1880s
Wednesday, January 28, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075.

For more information and tickets for other lectures in this series, click here.

Due to emergency surgery, architectural historian Francis Morrone will be unable to give the first of his four lectures on Architecture and Changing Lifestyles this Wednesday, January 7. Instead, his short course will begin on Wednesday, January 14 and end on Monday, February 9. Apologies for the short notice. It was unavoidable.

The revised schedule (reservations requested):

1. The Beginnings of Suburbanization
   Wednesday, January 14, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
   Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075.
2. Beyond Tenements: Apartment Houses for the Middle & Upper Classes
   Wednesday, January 28, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
   Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075.
3. Gentrification Begins: Row House Renovations and Stable Conversions
   Wednesday, February 4, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
   Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075.
4. Deluxe Apartments in the Sky
   Monday, February 9, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
   Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075.

All with reservations will be contacted for rescheduling or refunds. Those with other questions about the series should contact Tamara Coombs, Director of Programs & Tours at 212-935-3960 or tcoombs [at] mas.org. Continue Reading>>

Last Saturday, community advocates and students from the Pratt Institute, Cornell University and Manhattan Borough President’s Scott Stringer Urban Fellows program came together for the MAS Planning Center’s Livable Neighborhoods Program (LNP) training.

The session focused on training community members on the use of the tools they need to effectively plan their neighborhoods, and introducing Pratt and Cornell planning and historic preservation students to members of the surrounding community. The training also complemented the students’ studies with LNP tools and techniques. Continue Reading>>

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>>

Click on the play icon on the image at left to watch video. In mid-November 2007, MAS hosted a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) panel discussion on law policy and urban retail diversity, titled Mom and Pop Among the Chains, which investigated the legal mechanisms available that could be used to help maintain diversity – large and small retailers, national chains, and mom and pop shops – in the city’s retail that has witnessed a noticeable growth in national chain stores in certain areas.

The program touched on a wide range of issues, some of which were also raised at a Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York panel discussion, titled “The Oversuccessful City: Neighborhood Character in the Face of Change”, a short video of which can be viewed here.

For more on the changing nature of retail in New York, click here.

February 20 & 27, March 5, 12, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. & Field Visit

Curious about one of New York’s wonderful buildings, or maybe an entire neighborhood? Unleash your inner Sherlock Holmes. New York boasts more resources for tracking building histories than any other American city. Join our Urban Genealogy seminar and learn how to uncover architects’ names, construction dates, clients, tenants, photos, maps, and more. Instructor: Anthony Robins, former Director of Survey at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Continue Reading>>