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.

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.

The Municipal Art Society is pleased to welcome fashion designer Yeohlee Teng to its board of directors. Ms. Teng established her own design house, YEOHLEE, in New York City in 1981, and her work is now known worldwide.

As General Secretary of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Teng is an active leader in the campaign to keep fashion manufacturing in New York City’s Garment District, an advocacy effort MAS strongly supports.

For more information about the MAS Board of Directors, visit MAS.org/directors.

Director of MAS Planning Center Eve Baron and MAS Senior Planner Susanna Schaller review the most important issues raised at last week’s panel discussion on the future for manufacturing in New York City.

A few years ago, many believed that manufacturing was dead in New York City, but now it is widely understood that manufacturing jobs are critical to a diverse, decentralized, and healthy economy as well as to a greener New York. Manufacturing jobs are also good jobs, which pay $10,000 more per year than restaurant work or entry-level retail jobs. Plus, over 60% of manufacturing jobs come with health care coverage, unlike most restaurant and retail work.

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>>

A few years ago, many believed that manufacturing was dead in New York City. But now it is widely understood that manufacturing jobs are critical to a diverse, decentralized, and healthy economy as well as to a greener New York. Manufacturing jobs are also good jobs, which pay $10,000 more per year than restaurant work or entry-level retail jobs. Plus, over 60% of manufacturing jobs come with health care coverage, unlike most restaurant and retail work.

Join us tomorrow night and listen to an outstanding panel discuss opportunities and challenges ahead from their varied perspectives.

Manufacturing a Greener New York: More Industries, More Jobs
Tomorrow Night – Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Reception to follow.
At The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, MAP.
Moderator: Adam Friedman, executive director, New York Industrial Retention Network. Panelists: Andrew Kimball, president and chief executive officer, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp.; Omar Freilla, founder and director, Green Worker Cooperatives; Rebecca Lurie, director of development, Consortium for Worker Education; and Dawn Ladd, founder and president, Aurora Lampworks.

$15, $10 MAS members. Purchase tickets online or call 212 935 2075.

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>>

The Department of City Planning is holding a hearing today about its proposal to rezone 25 blocks along the Gowanus Canal to allow for a mix of uses, including residential, commercial, retail, light industrial, community facility and artist spaces.

MAS believes that existing businesses in this thriving manufacturing district should be nurtured and safeguarded, and that the rezoning presents a tremendous opportunity to create space for new industries and jobs. We are concerned that, given the area’s industrial past and present, and the lack of adequate sewage and storm-water infrastructure, new residential development may not be the best solution for the Gowanus neighborhood. Read our full statement here.

The video above is also available as a podcast below, and through iTunes.

For more information about MAS advocacy on Gowanus, click here.

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>>

Joining founder of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg Ward Dennis were: moderator and president of the Society for Industrial Archaeology Mary Habstritt; MAS director of advocacy and policy Lisa Kersavage; president & chief operating officer of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Andrew Kimball; and preservation consultant to the Austin, Nichols, warehouse rehabilitation Robert Powers. Continue Reading>>