Next Sunday, join tour leader and architectural historian Francis Morrone as he leads what is becoming an annual visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Alice Austen House in Rosebank, Staten Island.

Recently, we asked Francis what it was that appealed to him so much about a quiet corner of a little-known borough. He replied:

“Both the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Austen house are among the lesser-known gems of New York. The former is a great folk-art shrine, a stunning example of how old-world folkways and spiritual traditions have been translated to the big modern city. The Austen house has it all: a colonial house transformed into the city’s finest surviving Downingesque cottage; the story of Alice herself, whose life exemplifies the progressive woman of the early 20th century and who was also a great pioneering photographer; and a unique, beautiful waterfront setting. What the two have in common is that they show layers of time, and tell complicated, compelling stories. Rosebank, as a whole, symbolizes a whole Italian-American way of life, the semiotic transposition of contadini values to the New World. This resonates powerfully with me, for it is bound up with my own family history and intense interest in Italian-American history.”

Sunday, March 21, 12:45–approximately 4:30 p.m.
A Stroll through Rosebank, Staten Island
Bring a MetroCard. $15, $10 MAS members. Includes admission fee for Alice Austen House and refreshments. Reservations required. Meet at the top of the escalators in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, next to Battery Park. (Transit: #1 train to South Ferry; R train to Whitehall). MAP. Call 212 935 2075 for tickets — we only have a few places left.

For more upcoming MAS tours and events, visit MAS.org/calendar.

I LEGO N.Y. is an imaginative new look at life in New York City constructed entirely out of LEGOs. The former New Yorker illustrator, Christoph Niemann, posted photographs of his creations along with his handwritten captions on his New York Times blog. Resident and honorary New Yorkers around the world responded enthusiastically to the clever and minimalist inventions, which captured both the iconic (the Empire State Building) and the mundane (man standing on a subway platform) in fewer LEGO pieces than one might think possible.

This book includes all of the original images, plus 13 new creations. The resulting collection is delightful in its simplicity and moving in its ability to capture the spirit of life in New York in so few strokes.

Published on March 1, 2010, by Abrams Image, and priced at $14.95, I LEGO N.Y. is available now for purchase online at www.urbancenterbooks.org, the MAS bookstore for architecture and design. MAS members receive 10% off all purchases at Urban Center Books. (Note: discount is deducted from total cost post-sale. You will see the reduced price on your credit card bill, not at check-out.) To become a member of MAS, visit MAS.org/membership.

Place Matters is a joint project of City Lore and MAS.
The Kentile Sign along the Gowanus Canal was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for serving as a symbol of Gowanus’ industrial heritage and for being a remnant of this former Brooklyn business. Highly visible from the both the Gowanus Expressway and the F train, this 8-story-high sign dominates the Gowanus skyline even though Kentile Floors left Brooklyn in the late 1980s and the sign’s neon purple letters are no longer illuminated.

Founded in 1898 by Arthur Kennedy (hence the name, Kentile), the company had factories in both Queens and Long Island before building a new plant on 2^nd Avenue along the Gowanus Canal in 1949.  The iconic “Kentile Floors” sign was likely erected at this time. Kentile specialized in vinyl and asphalt floor covering that featured bold colors and patterns. Continue Reading>>

Senator Charles Schumer announces the federal stimulus funds for Moynihan Station outside the Farley Post Office today.

One of MAS’ most urgent priorities for New York — the transformation of the James A. Farley Post Office to Moynihan Station – took a significant step forward today, when US Senator Charles Schumer announced that the federal government will award $83 million in stimulus funds to begin the first phase of the project.

MAS President Vin Cipolla welcomed the news. “With today’s announcement, the federal government is recognizing what the Municipal Art Society has long known, that the construction of a new train station is critical to the future economies of New York City and State. The new station will create construction jobs in the near term; improve the capacity of Penn Station and the whole Northeast Corridor; and, once complete, will be a catalyst for development on Manhattan’s far West Side,” he said.

“It was more than a decade ago that the Municipal Art Society began working with Senator Moynihan to conceive of a new station that would reclaim Penn Station’s lost grandeur and create a great new gateway into New York City,” he continued. “By awarding Moynihan Station this grant, the federal government is not only achieving its goals of creating jobs and improving the nation’s rail infrastructure, but also helping to create a station that will make all New York proud.” Continue Reading>>

MAS to administer awards program on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation

2009 Jane Jacobs Medal Recipients Richard Kahan (left) and Damaris Reyes (center) with Judith Rodin, Mary Schmidt Campbell, and George Campbell.

The Rockefeller Foundation announced today that it is opening the public nominating process for the 2010 Jane Jacobs Medal — awarded to two living individuals whose creative vision for the urban environment has significantly contributed to the vibrancy and variety of New York City. Nominations can be submitted by anyone, but must be made by Monday, March 1, 2010. Nominations should be made online here.

The Municipal Art Society is honored to again administer the Jane Jacobs Medal nomination process on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation, as we have done since 2007 when the Foundation first established the award to honor the activist, author and urbanist who died in April 2006 at the age of 89. MAS will also sponsor a series of walking tours and the annual Jane Jacobs Forum this fall to coincide with the medal presentations. Continue Reading>>

The Municipal Art Society has convened a panel of renowned architects, developers and design experts to serve on its 2010 MASterworks Awards Committee. Launched in 2001, the MASterworks Awards celebrate new development in New York City by honoring excellence in architecture and urban design.

The 2010 Awards Committee members are Vishaan Chakrabarti, Marc Holliday Professor, Columbia University GSAPP and Founding Principal, VCDC, Thomas Woltz, principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, Toshiko Mori, Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and principal, Toshiko Mori Architect, and Alan Suna, developer and CEO, Silvercup Studios. Continue Reading>>

Last month, Chinatown’s neighborhood advocates placed a strong vote of confidence in the power of proactive community planning. The Chinatown Working Group — comprising over 40 community-based organizations and three community boards — has been meeting for over a year to hash out the issues that matter most to the people who live, work, and go to school in the neighborhood. The MAS Planning Center provided support to the Working Group process early on by providing area maps and timely information on community-initiated planning.

The group voted to pursue a 197-a plan—one of the City’s most comprehensive planning tools. Named for the section of the City’s Charter that enables them, 197-a plans provide a way to capture a community vision and translate that vision into policies and strategies. (You can view summaries of all of the City’s adopted 197-a plans here.) The Chinatown Working Group has already begun work identifying themes and principles that will guide their work over the coming year. Continue Reading>>

In late October 2009, we reported that the Department of Buildings and the AIA New York Chapter had teamed up with an array of other civic organizations to organize an international design competition to re-imagine the maligned sidewalk construction shed. Yesterday, the city announced that a winning design has been chosen from three finalists.

The winning design, chosen by a jury including MAS Chairman David Childs, is titled Urban Umbrella and was developed by Young-Hwan Choi, a 28-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania. His design will improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety, and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks, while also complimenting the city’s architectural beauty. Continue Reading>>

Westbeth was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for both its past role as the home of Bell Laboratories and its current role as a thriving artists’ housing project. Occupying the entire block bounded by West, Bank, Washington, and Bethune Streets, Westbeth is a remnant from the time when the Greenwich Village waterfront was an industrial neighborhood and is an early example of the rebirth of industrial spaces for artists’ live-work housing.

The Bell Laboratories, originally known as Western Electric and part of the larger American Telegraph & Telephone Company (AT&T), moved its headquarters to a newly-constructed building on West and Bethune Streets in 1898.  Over the years, the company expanded on the block while developing some of the most important technological advances of the first half of the twentieth century.  Continue Reading>>

As of Saturday, January 23, 2010, MAS’ bookstore, Urban Center Books, will close when we vacate the Villard Houses for the Steinway Hall Building at 111 W. 57th Street.

Until then, we are holding a sale with 40% off all stock. Print this voucher and bring it to the store to claim your discount. Come in today to take advantage of the sale in its final week. UCB stocks books on a diverse range of topics including, architecture, design, New York, landscape, urbanism, sustainability, interiors, construction, theory, magazines, journals, and much more.

We expect UCB to reopen in a new location in the fall. In the meantime, visit us at www.urbancenterbooks.org to order books and receive your MAS member discount.