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.”

Next for New York kicks off from October 15 – 17 with our Preservation and Climate Change Conference:
Can old buildings play a role in making New York a more sustainable city? We’ll dispel the myth that old buildings are energy hogs and explore the green opportunity in New York’s older buildings and raise awareness of the role preservation can play in the fight against climate change. The conference, on October 16 at Columbia University, will be preceded by a kick-off keynote event the night before, and followed by a day of preservation and sustainability related tours on October 17.

Then, MAS will take a bold look at livability from October 21 – 22 with the MAS Summit for New York City:
MAS will present two days of fresh ideas on improving livability in our city, from sidewalks to skyline. Thought leaders from the planning, design, housing, economics and urban policy worlds will explore the challenges New York faces through provocative keynote addresses and lively discussions. The Summit will begin by examining the factors that make New York livable as well as those that hamper livability. Then, the focus will shift to learning how real change is created on a grassroots level with civic participation. Finally, we will explore new media and how its proliferation is transforming the city’s development and growth in surprising ways, as we consider both global and local perspectives on issues that affect the quality of life in New York City.

Our programming will continue in November (date to be announced) with our annual Jane Jacobs Forum:
Once again, we’re partnering with the Rockefeller Foundation to present the Jane Jacobs Forum—highlighting the legacy of Jacobs in New York City today. The success of MAS’s second annual Jane Jacobs Forum on urban farming last November solidified the event as one at which expert participants challenge traditional assumptions about fundamental urban issues and propose innovative, yet feasible, ideas for the future. This year, MAS will focus the forum on a true Jacobsean issue: The Walkable City, with an emphasis on urban design, health and safety.

In addition to our Next for New York events, MAS will be offering our wonderful walking tours. More information on all of our fall events will follow in the coming weeks, so keep checking MAS.org, or sign up for our biweekly e-bulletin, MAS Update.

We found this letter from Robert Moses, addressed to MAS President Electus D. Litchfield, dated December 24, 1936, while sifting through the archives. Moses was appointed as the Commissioner of the Department of Parks in 1936 by then-Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Moses also served as head of the State Parks Council, head of the State Power Commission, and chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. Electus D. Litchfield was the president of MAS in the 1930s. The following is Moses’ somewhat testy response to a letter from Litchfield regarding the construction of East River Drive (known today as FDR Drive), which started in 1934 and was completed in 1966:

(Click-through for larger images.)

December 24, 1936

Miss Irene V. Walsh,
The Municipal Art Society,
119 East 19th Street,
New York City

Dear Miss Walsh:

Mr. Litchfield’s letter of November 11th was answered by sending him printed reports which clearly indicated the answers to his questions.

I am happy, however, to answer them again in this letter.

The new East River Drive from Corlear’s Hook to 63rd Street is under the jurisdiction of the Borough President of Manhattan. The Parks Department is, however, making the plan for the new park outside of the Drive on filled land between Grand Street and 14th Street. The Borough President builds the bulkhead and places the fill back of it, and will then let contracts for park work on our plans. Similarly, there are several new playgrounds along this Drive which are under the jurisdiction of the Park Department, the most important being at 42nd Street and the East River.

From 63rd Street to 92nd street it is proposed that the East River Drive follow York Avenue. From 92nd Street to 125th Street the East River Drive is being constructed by the Triborough Bridge Authority with the cooperation of the Park Department. It will be under the jurisdiction of the Park Department, excepting for the pavement which will be under the Borough President of Manhattan.

I may say in passing that I do not believe that the East River Drive plan between 53rd and 63rd Streets is very practical and I cannot see at all the use of York Avenue for a milk and a half as a connecting link. It seems to me that in the end it will be necessary to follow the waterfront, Exterior Street and East End Avenue, and take care of at least a substantial part of this traffic. This, however, is in the future. The immediate program involves only the section from Corlear’s Hook to 53rd Street.

It may also be added that we have so constructed the East River Drive at 125th Street that it can be carried northwest under the bridge when the proper time comes.

As to the west side, the jurisdiction of the Borough President ends at 72nd Street where the Park Department picks up the Drive. Everything from there north is under the Park Department, including all the work of reconstructing Riverside Park, the building of the Drive through this park, the continuation of the Drive and various park plans at Fort Washington Park and the connection of the Drive with the Henry Hudson Parkway and Dyckman Street.

The jurisdiction of the Dock Department includes various marginal streets on the East Side and of course all docks which are not wiped out by the shore improvement. Generally speaking the lower East River Drive is elevated where there are shipping and active waterfront uses and runs along the waterfront on the ordinary street level where there are none. On the West Side above 72nd Street there are various pieces of shorefront still under the control of the Dock Department outside of the park areas, for example, at 125th Street north of the Manhattan terminal yards and at Dyckman Street.

Very truly yours,
Robert Moses
Comissioner

For inquiries regarding the archives, contact Kathy O’Callaghan, Manager of MAS Archives at kathyoc[at]mas.org

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.

“Tribute In Light is one of the most poignant reminders of the tremendous losses we suffered on that day, as well as the resilience we as a city displayed in the aftermath of September 11,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “I am so proud that MAS continues to present Tribute to honor the victims as well as those who worked tirelessly to help the city deal with its greatest trial.”

Comprising 88 7,000-watt xenon light bulbs positioned into 48-foot squares that echo the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers, Tribute In Light is assembled each year on a rooftop close to the World Trade Center site. The illuminated memorial reaches 4 miles into the sky and is visible from as far as 30 miles away. The two arrays cast the strongest shaft of light ever projected from earth into the night sky.

Tribute In Light was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz.

A private ceremony for MAS members at the Contributing level and higher (including MAS Urbanists) is planned immediately before the lighting of the memorial on September 11th.

For more information on Tribute In Light, click here.

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.

“No other civic organization tackles the concept of livability as holistically as we do,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “The Summit will examine the demographic shifts we are experiencing, challenges we all face in today’s New York, and new tools to democratize urban planning. We’ll also look at specific projects — like Moynihan Station — and discuss why public investment in these endeavors is so critical.”

The program also includes special tours, including an early-morning guided bike ride from the Battery to the Summit’s midtown location across from Penn Station.

As the Summit nears, the public will be invited to participate in online discussions on massummit.org about New York’s livability.

Currently there is a debate about whether the proposed 15 Penn Plaza development should go forward as planned. Vornado Realty Trust wants to build a skyscraper at 15 Penn Plaza (where the Hotel Pennsylvania now stands), which would rival the Empire State Building in prominence in the city’s skyline. Vornado’s skyscraper, which was approved by the City Planning Commission in June, would be only 34 feet shorter than the Empire State Building. Because of the two buildings’ close proximity, 900 feet apart, 15 Penn Plaza would partially obstruct views of the Empire State Building. Some fear Vornado’s building will crowd “the distinctive skyline in the city,” as Malkin Properties President Anthony Malkin, who owns the Empire State Building, said in yesterday’s New York Observer. To read the full article, click here.

Although MAS does not oppose the project, we submitted testimony on 15 Penn Plaza in June to the City Planning Commission, raising concern for the need for a comprehensive transportation plan in the area, considering the influx of people that the proposed development would bring to the already congested Penn Station neighborhood.

“Now that the project is before the City Council, MAS thinks that it is an appropriate time to discuss the impact 15 Penn Plaza will have on the Empire State Building and on our skyline,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “The viewsheds and view corridors of certain iconic buildings should be considered in these cases,” he continued.

So what do you think?

MAS President Vin Cipolla opened the day by posing a series of questions that the three panels and keynote interview addressed, “How does New York City build?  How do the city’s neighbors shape their communities?  What, exactly, is distinct about the way New York City plans its neighborhoods and development?…What changes do we want to see?  What are the consequences of those changes?  What mechanisms are already in place to address shortcomings in the land use process, and are they working?” He continued, “As you can probably tell, today’s program is likely to provide more questions than answers, and that’s ok.  MAS, and others, are going to continue to work on these issues until we are that much closer to solving them.”

The conference’s triad of panels brought together some of New York City’s, and the country’s, leading voices on land use issues, and provoked interesting discussions among the panelists and the audience. The first panel, moderated by Ethel Sheffer, AICP (principal, Insight Associates), addressed what is distinct about New York City’s land use process.  The panelists discussed how the process works both in theory and in practice, from the perspective of the city government, developers, and the community.  They then compared New York City’s process with model practices and the land use processes of other jurisdictions country-wide.

In the second panel, moderator Eugenie L. Birch (MAS board member, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education, Department of City and Regional Planning, School of Design, at the University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research.) invited panelists to suggest ways to improve the city’s land use process.  Suggestions included re-examining and reforming fair share provisions, community board reform, “197-a” community planning reform, oversight of projects not subject to the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), developing comprehensive plans, and the possibility of a future charter revision commission for implementing these changes.

In the afternoon, the third panel, moderated by Vicki Been (MAS board member, Boxer Professor of Law at New York University’s School of Law School and Director of NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy), took a close look at community benefit agreements (CBAs), which are private agreements between developers and a coalition of organizations meant to represent the local community.  CBAs are an increasingly popular practice throughout the country and generally result in developers providing amenities and improvements to the community in exchange for local support of the underlying development or project.  The panel examined how CBAs attempt to address issues outside of the land use process, and questioned whether or not they are beneficial to developers, communities, and cities, including New York City.

In the closing keynote, MAS Board Member and Chair of Manhattan Community Board 1, Julie Menin, interviewed Eric Lane, former executive director and counsel to the New York City Charter Revision Commission and former chair of the New York City Task Force on Charter Implementation. The interview was a frank discussion on the successes and failures of the 1989 Charter Revision Commission (the last charter revision commission to address land use in a meaningful way), the 2010 Charter Revision Commission, and what land use issues should be considered for charter revision in the future.

The conference’s program as well as bios on all the moderators and panelists can be found at MAS.org/landuse. More photos of the conference, a transcript of the discussion, and media from the event will be posted in upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned!

Once a rural countryside, Alexander Hamilton – the first United States Secretary of the Treasury – acquired a 32-acre tract of land in the summer of 1800 for the site of his country estate, which he named Hamilton Grange. Convent Avenue itself was officially laid down in the mid-19th century after the erection of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, which stood just south of 136th Street. The area remained largely unpopulated until the late 1880s when the elevated train was extended above 125th Street along Eighth Avenue, and a cable car railway began running along what is today Amsterdam Avenue. Linked to the flourishing commercial districts of downtown, the area attracted speculative real estate developers who bought up the plots of land that lined Convent Avenue. Before long, single-family houses sprung up and middle-class white professionals moved in.

A second wave of development at the start of the 20th century, led to a number of low-rise apartment buildings with luxurious lobbies and spacious interiors that attracted even more tenants, many of whom where employed at the newly relocated College of the City of New York, just a short walk away.

Throughout the post-depression years, successful black professionals began to replace white residents as the population of Central Harlem soared. Historian John Henrik Clarke Housel, civil rights leader Walter White, composer Billy Strayhorn, writer and critic George S. Schuyler, Althea Gibson, the first black tennis player to win Wimbledon, and Harold Stevens, the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of New York State, all took up residence on this street.

Convent Avenue continues to attract visitors today. The varied silhouettes of the rooftops and the small scale of the street drew director Wes Anderson to film The Royal Tenenbaums here in 2001.

Explore this historic avenue with MAS this Saturday, August 14th, at 10:30am, as urban historian Marty Shore conducts a tour of the Harlem Renaissance that will end along Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights.

To read more about the Convent Avenue, log on to Place Matters. Please tell your friends about these places of history, memory, and culture and invite them to join the Place Matters e-mail list.

Take engaging speakers, fine weather, a great harbor, the cinematographer’s “magic hour” and you get one terrific boat tour. For the 19th Annual MAS Summer Boat Tour on July 28, we found ourselves on a brand new boat with an air conditioned interior, expansive outside decks and an excellent sound system. We managed to avoid a regatta and make our way among the Harbor Islands, down past Robbins Reef, over to the Brooklyn waterfront and north to linger in Gowanus Bay. We headed up through the Buttermilk Channel intending to get a close view of Brooklyn Bridge Park, but President Obama’s helicopter departure gave us a lesson in harbor security and sent us back to the Hudson River as the sun set. The evening was a fine mix of fascinating sights, informed commentary and sufficient silence.

Our special thanks to speakers Maria Burks, commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, Leslie Koch, president of the Trust for Governors Island and Eric Goldstein, director, National Resource Defense Council’s New York City Environment.

See you next year for the 20th anniversary boat tour. A lot has changed in the upper bay since our first tour in 1991, in part because of the advocacy of MAS and our supporters.

To read the article, click here.

The Bushwick and Sunset Park tours already passed, but don’t miss the Boerum Hill tour, which is later this month.

Saturday, August 28, 10:30 a.m.
Boerum Hill: Inside & Outside the District
Meet in front of the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, at corner of Ashland and Hanson Pl. MAP
Simon Boerum’s 18th century farm was developed between the 1840s and 1870s with some of New York City’s finest townhouses. Several blocks of remarkably homogeneous, primarily brick townhouses were designated as a New York City Landmark District in 1973. This walk will be mostly outside the landmarked district, viewing streets lined with rows of fine 19th century residential and commercial buildings. We will also view recent infill buildings and speak with people from the community about their preservation efforts. Leader: Joe Svehlak, urban historian and preservationist.
$15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.

The 19th Annual MAS Summer Boat Tour
Toward a Sustainable Upper Bay
Wednesday, July 28, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Come along as the sun goes down for a boat tour of the Harbor Islands, the Buttermilk Channel and Gowanus Bay—the scenic and the hidden parts of New York’s Upper Bay. We’ll hear about successes and challenges on the way to a sustainable future—from imaginative and dedicated individuals who are helping to lead the way.

Our Host:
Vin Cipolla, president, Municipal Art Society. Devoted to preservation, conservation and the arts, Mr. Cipolla has consistently provided civic leadership in these areas throughout his adult life. He was appointed president of the MAS in early 2009.

Featured Speakers:
Maria Burks, commissioner, National Parks of New York Harbor. Ms. Burks now oversees Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, Governors Island National Monument and Gateway National Recreation Area. Before coming to New York, Ms. Burks managed Alcatraz Island, served as superintendent of Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia and of Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Eric Goldstein, director, NRDC’s New York City Environment. Mr. Goldstein is a senior attorney in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s New York office. He has worked for more than 30 years on urban environmental issues, including air pollution, solid waste, drinking water and environmental justice. Mr. Goldstein is co-author of The New York Environment Book.

Leslie Koch, president, Governors Island Preservation & Education Corporation (GIPEC). In 2005, approximately 8,000 visitors took the ferry to Governors Island. In 2009, the number had risen to 275,000, in large measure due to Ms. Koch’s leadership. GIPEC received a special recognition award from MAS at this year’s annual meeting for “entrepreneurship, imagination and creativity” in its “tangible enhancement” of the city’s livability.

$50, $40 MAS members. MAS members may bring a guest at the same rate.

UPDATED: Registration is now closed. Tickets are still available at the dock (Pier 83, 42nd St. and 12th Avenue, MAP).