This Wednesday, April 28, the Moynihan Station Development Corporation (MSDC) is holding a hearing on the updated plans for Moynihan Station. They are seeking comments on two technical documents they released earlier this month, the Draft Amended General Project Plan and the Environmental Assessment.

The two documents reflect how similar the project is to what was approved in 2006, and provide details on the few key differences. The project has now been broken down into manageable phases that are achievable (described below), and Amtrak is identified as the primary transportation tenant in the new station — something MAS and other civic groups have long advocated for.

Phase 1, which consists largely of improvements below ground, will begin this year and be completed in 2015. This phase is fully funded and will result in improved circulation and greater access to platforms. The most visible part of this work will be two new entries into the Farley Post Office building, at street level on Eighth Avenue. Continue Reading>>

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is devoting tomorrow morning to the consideration of 5 new individual landmarks in Manhattan, images of which can be viewed in this slideshow. Continue Reading>>

MAS testified yesterday to the City Council’s Economic Development and Land Use Committees, who held an oversight hearing on the development of Coney Island. We raised concern about recent recommended changes to the rezoning that we fear would harm the district, particularly expanding the size of retail units to 10,000 square feet, transforming the amusement area into a large-scale shopping district rather than one with local businesses and world-class amusements. MAS urged the City Council to reject this recommended change.  Click here to read the entire statement.

Similar concerns about those troubling changes were echoed in a press release issued by a coalition of community, arts and planning groups, including MAS. The group affirmed that the City of New York is the only entity that can create a great amusement destination at Coney Island. It also highlighted the critical issue of land ownership. MAS President Vin Cipolla said, “We believe that the economics do not currently allow for the creation of an amusement park on privately-owned land, and we strongly support the city’s efforts to acquire private property in the amusement area.” Click here to read the entire statement.

On Tuesday, the City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Robert Lieber, announced the formation of the Coney Island Amusement Advisory Panel. The panel will also assist the City in continued planning efforts for a permanent amusement operation and development of a 27-acre amusement and entertainment district at Coney Island. MAS will be on the panel along with a group of leading amusement industry experts that will help structure and expedite the City’s plans for interim amusements at Coney Island in Summer 2010. Click here to read entire statement.

The Municipal Art Society yesterday testified before the City Planning Commission expressing our concern about an 18-story building adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO.

While 18 story buildings are not un-common in DUMBO, this site on Dock Street between Water and Front Streets, across the street from the Empire Stores at left (MAP), is exceptional because it abuts the Brooklyn Bridge — a local, state, and national landmark. In fact, a portion of the development site even runs underneath the Bridge’s span.

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s most iconic historic structures, and it is one of only 11 National Historic Landmarks — the highest recognition a building can receive in America — in Brooklyn. As such, it should be protected from large-scale development encroachments. MAS believes that the development proposed for the site will mar iconic views both of the bridge from DUMBO’s streetscapes, and from the bridge of DUMBO, the Manhattan Bridge, and the East River. The development is currently going through the city’s land use review procedure for zoning changes. Continue Reading>>

Over the past several months, over a thousand people have participated in the ImagineConey initiative. The results – on display at MAS through Wednesday, March 11 – have been extraordinary, convincing us that Coney Island’s potential is truly unlimited.

While we support the City’s overall goal of revitalizing Coney Island, we are concerned that their proposed rezoning would threaten that potential, by restricting the size of the amusement area, locating high-rise buildings between Surf Avenue and the ocean, and offering insufficient protection for historic buildings in the amusement area.

Tomorrow, Brooklyn Community Board 13 will hold the first public hearing of the ULURP process on the rezoning. Please consider joining MAS in asking the City to make critical changes to the plan to ensure that we create a great Coney Island.

WHAT: Community Board Hearing on Coney Island Rezoning
WHEN: Tuesday, March 3, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Lincoln High School (by the Ocean Parkway stop on the Q train)
ADDRESS: 2800 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11235 MAP

If you plan to testify, please consider mentioning the following points: Continue Reading>>

The proposed Ridgewood North Historic District is comprised of the earliest examples of “Mathews Model Flats,” built by speculative developer Gustave X. Mathews and designed by architect Louis Allmendinger between 1908 and 1911. Considered to be some of the most innovative housing in New York City, these “new law” tenements were designed with more space and better sanitation than their overcrowded 19th Century counterparts. By making use of generous lot sizes, introducing wide air shafts to provide improved air and light quality, including bathrooms in each unit, and controlling occupancy, Mathews established a new housing paradigm that was a welcome departure from the congested, polluted slums of the Lower East Side. The three story apartment buildings were simple, sturdy, and relatively cheap to construct, and therefore became the standard for subsequent tenement house construction. Exhibited at the 1915 Panama Pacific Fair in San Francisco, the Mathews Model Flats were heralded as an exceptional achievement in affordable housing. Continue Reading>>

On Monday, December 1, Community Board 4 held a public forum on the plans for the Eastern Rail Yards at Penn Station (the area of the rail yards between tenth and eleventh avenues and 30th and 33rd Streets). Related Properties presented their concept for the area, which abuts the Eastern Spur of the High Line along its Southern boundary.

Frank Sanchis, testifying for MAS, argued for the preservation of the Eastern Spur, which may be threatened by the development.

“Reference to a map of the High Line”, he said, “shows that its Northern segment (including the Eastern Spur) surrounds the Eastern and Western Rail Yards development, holding the entirety in its embrace and connecting the rail yards historically and visually to the southern segment of the High Line. This is just the way the MAS thinks it should be.”

Now is your chance to tell the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) that you support the designation of the Prospect Heights Historic District. The LPC will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, October 28, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building. This hearing is the second step in protecting one of Brooklyn’s finest – and most endangered – historic neighborhoods.

Prospect Heights is threatened by the Atlantic Yards project, a proposal by the developer Forest City Ratner to build 16 towers and a sports arena on a 22-acre site that abuts the boundaries of the proposed historic district.

Encompassing roughly 870 properties, the proposed Prospect Heights Historic District is rich in historic architecture, with blocks of beautiful Italianate and neo-Grec rowhouses, interspersed with churches, small commercial and apartment buildings. Located just north of Prospect Park, the neighborhood has seen few changes since it was first developed in the late-19th Century. Click here to read more about the history.

MAS has worked in partnership with the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Corporation (PHNDC) in advocating for the designation of this neighborhood since 2006 Continue Reading>>

Join MAS tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for a news conference announcing our opposition to the South Street Seaport redevelopment plan proposed by General Growth Properties (GGP). The news conference will take place just prior to the hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) at which MAS will ask the LPC to reject the GGP proposal on several grounds relating to inappropriateness to the historic district.

Most importantly, we believe that the project overwhelms the historic buildings of the district, further severs the Seaport from its history, and destroys the sanctity of views from and of the Brooklyn Bridge. MAS believes that the entire concept of the project is flawed and misguided, and that it should be entirely re-conceptualized.

The news conference will be held in the plaza just south of the Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street (at Chambers) at 2:00 p.m. The LPC hearing is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 9th floor.

Images of the proposed redevelopment can be found here.

980 Madison Avenue was back at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday, but it did not yet get the go-ahead from the Commissioners. The project had been significantly redesigned after the LPC rejected the original proposal by Norman Foster to build a 30-story glass addition on top of the 1949 Parke-Bernet Galleries last year.

The re-conceptualized proposal for a four-story addition was originally presented to the LPC in June. Today, the architects presented additional modifications to this design, primarily a lightening of the color of the addition’s bronze cladding. Since several Commissioners were unable to make the hearing, the LPC decided to delay the vote on the project.

To learn more about 980 Madison Avenue, click here.