The Municipal Art Society of New York

The best way to explore New York City and learn about its treasures is to take a Municipal Art Society (MAS) walking tour. Led by experts in architecture, art and urban history, preservation and geography, tours range from strolls through New York’s most exclusive neighborhoods to explorations of celebrated parks and off the beaten path excursions. MAS offers exclusive private walking tours for individuals and groups of up to 35 people. Most tours last about two hours and can be customized for your group or unique needs. Continue Reading>>

The prize, endowed to permit a cash award, is given annually to the creator of a specific work such as a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film or choreographic work completed in 2011 that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.

Nominations are still being accepted for the 2011 Brendan Gill Prize through November 23, 2011.
Learn more and nominate today

MAS testified in front of the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection yesterday regarding impediments to the installation of solar energy systems in New York City. MAS wants to encourage the use of renewable energy by helping to develop solutions for the appropriate installation of solar panels on the city’s older and historic buildings.

New York City aims to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 1% a year over the next ten years, or 30% by 2030. One way the city is looking to accomplish this goal is by considering forms of renewable energy, such as solar energy. Continue Reading>>

Over the last ten years, Columbia University has proposed an ambitious redevelopment plan for their new Manhattanville campus, and other universities, such as Fordham and NYU have also recently released proposals to enlarge their campuses.  Not satisfied with the existing expansion efforts of New York City based universities, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), this past summer, issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Applied Sciences NYC.  The RFP seeks a university or partnership to develop and operate a campus in New York City in exchange for access to city-owned land, as well $100 million in infrastructure upgrades. Continue Reading>>

Last week’s fourth annual Jane Jacobs Forum focused on the impact of three books, published within three years of each other (1961-63), written by women: Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson and Betty Friedan. These books—and the activism of their authors—changed the conversations of their time and spurred movements of global significance: urbanism, environmentalism, and feminism. Continue Reading>>

Building on a session on public housing at the MAS Summit for New York City, MAS is pleased to be partnering with Rosanne Haggerty and her colleagues at Community Solutions, to look at the challenges and opportunities in New York City’s long under-developed city assets of public housing, which occupy key land tracts across the five boroughs. Continue Reading>>

On November 16th, the Preservation League of New York State, along with MAS and The New York Landmarks Conservancy, will bring together experts in the NYC and NYS Energy Conservation Codes and Historic Preservation, to discuss the implementation of the NYC Energy Conservation Code. This program will provide lessons and guidance on the NYC Energy Code for those who work with historic buildings with the city. Continue Reading>>

In advance of our 2011 MAS President’s Report, please take a moment to view this video message from President Vin Cipolla.

We are grateful to our loyal members and generous supporters for helping us advocate for a more livable and sustainable New York.  Thank you for continuing your support as we enter our 119^th year. Continue Reading>>

Streit’s Matzos, Economy Candy, The Ear Inn, Chinatown Senior Citizens’ Center, The Bowery Mission and the Tenement at 109 Washington Street—all long-time Lower Manhattan staples and now winners of the 2011 Place Matters Awards. The honors are awarded annually by Place Matters, a joint project of MAS and City Lore, to celebrate the historically and culturally significant places that make New York, New York. Continue Reading>>

Is New York City’s much-modified 1961 zoning resolution the best framework for creating a more livable, sustainable and equitable city? Our panel of zoning experts at the MAS Summit for New York City didn’t think so. Deftly moderated by Vicki Been, director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at NYU, the panel consisted of Donald Elliott, a zoning consultant with a national practice; Michael Kwartler, architect, planner and founder of the Environmental Simulation Center; Mitchell Silver, president of the American Planning Association and Jerilyn Perine, executive director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council. Continue Reading>>

Join MAS for the 2011 Jane Jacobs Forum, Women as Public Intellectuals: The Legacies of Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson, and Betty Friedan. The forum will reflect on the conditions that led Jacobs, Carson and Friedan to have the revolutionary impact they did. Our moderator will be Robin Pogrebin, along with esteemed panelists Roberta Brandes Gratz, Melissa V. Harris-Perry, Sally Helgesen, and Urvashi Vaid. Together, they’ll also discuss what they see as necessary to encourage women in this role. This event is free, but registration is required. Learn more and register.

MAS teamed up with the website Architizer.com to produce two short videos about the working styles of two of our city’s greatest architects: David Rockwell and Charles Renfro.  The videos introduced a fascinating discussion at the Summit between the two architects, which was moderated by Marc Kushner, founder of Architizer.com. Continue Reading>>

Last week’s second annual MAS Summit for New York City was a tremendous success. Leaders from around the world came together to discuss livability, smart urban design, and to examine the challenges faced in NYC, from sidewalk to skyline.

Video highlights are now on the Summit homepage, as are longer-format videos on our Livestream page. Stay tuned for more Summit video updates, including interviews with attendees and participants.

One year after our Garment District panel discussion at the 2010 MAS Summit, we’re excited to be releasing Fashioning the Future: NYC’s Garment District at the 2011 edition of the Summit, a report which is the culmination of our work on one of the fashion industry’s greatest assets – Manhattan’s Garment District. Continue Reading>>

New York is considered one of the greatest cities on earth, but how do New Yorkers feel about life in the city that never sleeps? We fielded the second annual MAS Survey on Livability to find out what real New Yorkers, the people who live and work here, think about their city. Continue Reading>>