In a cramped meeting room in Washington Heights, a high school student scurries to set up a laptop and projector. Searching for a free surface in an already packed room, she makes her best effort to connect cords and load her presentation quickly before the committee chairperson calls to order the community board meeting, the student’s very first. The student, Nicole Lugo, is one of over thirty students who have been selected to work at their community board as part of the MAS Planning Center’s CITI Youth program. Across the city, students like Nicole are attending their local community board meetings—projecting maps and creating presentations that correspond to the items being discussed. Continue Reading>>
Wade with daughter Amanda at the 2007 MAS gala when he received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal for his work to save the Park Avenue Armory.
Wade F. B. Thompson, MAS’ dedicated colleague and irreplaceable board member, passed away peacefully last week, after a long battle with cancer.
Wade joined the board of MAS in 1991 and immediately became active on a committee to save the Seventh Regiment Armory, now the Park Avenue Armory.
“Wade was a visionary who cared deeply about his adopted city and contributed enormously to its well-being,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “MAS is indebted to him for his dedication to our work and his personal commitment to the Park Avenue Armory restoration. We were privileged to have Wade serve as an active Board Member for the past 16 years and will miss him greatly. Our thoughts go out to his wife Angela and his family.”Continue Reading>>
On November 3, the 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum focused on the question of whether New York can (and should) try to become more sustainable and grow its own food. Expert panelists Dr. Dickson Despommiers of Columbia University, Nevin Cohen of the New School, Jennifer Nelkin of Gotham Greens, Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects and Colin Cathcart of Kiss+Cathcart architects discuss how this could happen answering questions posed by moderator Neal Peirce of The Washington Post.
For more information about the forum and related issues, visit MAS.org/urbanfarms.
Last week, at the 2nd Annual MAS Jane Jacobs Forum Re-Imagining New York: Designing Urban Farms to Feed our City, moderator Neal Peirce of the Washington Post and panelists Jenn Nelkin of Gotham Greens, microbiology Professor Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, landscape designer Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects in Seattle, Colin Cathcart of Kiss + Cathcart architects in Brooklyn, and environmental studies Professor Nevin Cohen of The New School, engaged in a fascinating discussion of the future of food production in New York.
Representing a variety of perspectives on sustainable agriculture, architecture and planning, and touching on issues as diverse as zoning, organic farming, national agricultural policy, and climate change, the panelists addressed the question: Can New York, a city with a growing population and shrinking acreage, eventually grow enough food within its boundaries to become self-sufficient?
The podcast above is an edited version of the full discussion. A short video of the Forum as well as a full transcript of the discussion will be available soon at MAS.org/urbanfarms. Continue Reading>>
When Houston Street was widened in the 1930s to accommodate the 6th Avenue subway line, the demolition of buildings on both sides of the street resulted in irregular lots that remained vacant for decades. In 1973, Mott Street resident and artist Liz Christy had a vision for at least one of these empty, rubble-strewn parcels.
With the help of friends and neighbors, Christy set out to transform the corner of Bowery and East Houston Street into an urban oasis. Together, Christy, and a group of volunteers who called themselves the “Green Guerillas” cleared the corner site of debris and began planting a garden.
The following spring, the department of Housing Preservation and Development leased the property to the Green Guerillas for a monthly fee of just $1, and thus it became the first community garden in New York City. The Guerillas’ Bowery Houston Farm and Garden was immediately recognized as a success, winning the Citizens Committee of New York City’s Mollie Parnis “Dress Up Your Neighborhood Award” in 1974. Continue Reading>>
The Municipal Art Society of New York, along with six civic organizations, today filed a brief with the New York Supreme Court as amici curiae, or friends of the court, to assist the court in resolving the issues presented in Protect the Village Historic District, et. al, v. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, et. al.
The case arises from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) determination that St. Vincent’s met the judicial test for hardship and could proceed with the demolition of its Edward and Theresa O’Toole Building, on Seventh Avenue between 12th and 13th streets. The Commission reached its preliminary determination in October of 2008, and issued its Final Notice to Proceed in May of 2009.
In filing the brief, MAS and other amici have taken the uncommon step of supporting neither party to the litigation. The primary function of the submission is to assist the court in reaching its determination by outlining the proper judicial test for hardship relief, as well as the regulatory takings analysis on which that test is premised. Continue Reading>>
Pioneering architect, planner and theorist Denise Scott Brown brings her singular perspective to MAS on November 12 for what is sure to be a lively evening. Ms. Brown, who was educated in the 1940s and 1950s at Witwatersrand University in South Africa, the Architectural Association, and the University of Pennsylvania, has taught and led her Philadelphia firm, Venturi Scott Brown and Associates since the 1960s in collaboration with Robert Venturi.
“I have come to feel like a grandmother in architecture, a guardian of its institutional memory who knows its pitfalls and where the bodies are buried.”
– Denise Scott Brown
Following a short talk about her new book, Having Words, Denise Scott Brown will be joined by architects Sarah Whiting and Hilary Sample for a panel discussion moderated by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA.
Denise Scott Brown: 40 Years of Evolving Architectural Imagination Thursday, November 12, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., at MAS, 457 Madison Avenue
Free, but reservations required. Reserve your place online or call 212-935-2075. MAP.
This program is underwritten by Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown.
MAS started out the month with the opening of the exhibit Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil on October 1. It is co-sponsored by PennDesign and on view in our galleries through December 4, 2009. Click here for more information about MAS exhibits, including gallery hours.
MAS was proud to present Robert A.M. Stern and Peter Malkin with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal on October 26, MAS’ annual award given to individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary impact on the quality of New York’s built environment. For more information on this year’s honorees, click here.
Our President, Vin Cipolla spoke at a Save America’s Treasures event on October 21, to benefit Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in upstate New York. Vin was also the guest speaker at the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s annual Architectural Preservation Awards on October 22, where he spoke on the architectural character of Murray Hill and the importance of preservation. Continue Reading>>
Last Saturday, MAS, the Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE), and the Pratt Institute Planning Student Association sponsored the Livable Neighborhoods Program at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Students of Pratt and other city universities, joined members of the local community for a half-day of training sessions focused on the public’s role in New York’s planning decisions.
Launched in 2007, the Livable Neighborhoods Program (LNP) provides New Yorkers with the tools and resources necessary to effectively plan their neighborhoods. GCPE has recognized the value of the program to train incoming students on planning processes in New York City.
For more information on the LNP, visit MAS.org/lnp.
Join tour leader and architectural historian Tony Robins this Sunday, November 1, for a stroll along one of the fanciest boulevards in the city. Walking from Rockefeller Center to the Plaza Hotel along a stretch of Fifth Avenue that has evolved from a posh 19th-century residential area to a major 20th-century commercial center, we’ll consider clashing images of a glamorous district — the 19th-century residential model of mansions, clubs and churches, versus the 20th-century model of skyscrapers, hotels and department stores.
Fancy on Fifth:
From Rockefeller Center to the Plaza Hotel Sunday, November 1, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet at 457 Madison Ave. at 51st St., MAP. $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour.
Details of other upcoming MAS tours and programs through the New Year can be found at MAS.org/calendar.
Wade with daughter Amanda at the 2007 MAS gala when he received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal for his work to save the Park Avenue Armory.
Designing Urban Farms to Feed Our City (edited): 
Pioneering architect, planner and theorist Denise Scott Brown brings her singular perspective to MAS on November 12 for what is sure to be a lively evening. Ms. Brown, who was educated in the 1940s and 1950s at Witwatersrand University in South Africa, the Architectural Association, and the University of Pennsylvania, has taught and led her Philadelphia firm, Venturi Scott Brown and Associates since the 1960s in collaboration with Robert Venturi. 
MAS started out the month with the opening of the exhibit Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil on October 1. It is co-sponsored by PennDesign and on view in our galleries through December 4, 2009. Click 
Join tour leader and architectural historian Tony Robins this Sunday, November 1, for a stroll along one of the fanciest boulevards in the city. Walking from Rockefeller Center to the Plaza Hotel along a stretch of Fifth Avenue that has evolved from a posh 19th-century residential area to a major 20th-century commercial center, we’ll consider clashing images of a glamorous district — the 19th-century residential model of mansions, clubs and churches, versus the 20th-century model of skyscrapers, hotels and department stores.