The Municipal Art Society of New York

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>>

If you’re a young person living or working in New York, you play a vital role in this city. More than one-third of all New Yorkers are under the age of forty and the collective influence of young New Yorkers on this city’s future will be substantial.

Whether you’re a new or a native New Yorker, your voice and passion for urban living is something we at MAS recognize and share. For over ten years, MAS has offered hundreds of individuals, early in their careers, broad exposure to the critical issues of urban planning, design and public space through our Urbanist program.

We invite you to join us! Continue Reading>>

MAS recently sat down with four young people from the Bronx and Brooklyn who are confronting neighborhood planning challenges head-on. Armed with information, enthusiasm and a supportive network of adults, these young people are taking the lead in addressing critical neighborhood issues.

In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Caesar Alcaite and Celeste Del Brey (pictured at left) have been working with UPROSE, a community-based environmental justice organization. When they came to UPROSE, neither had much knowledge of environmental justice issues. However, after spending more time at the organization and working with youth organizers, these teens quickly learned that there is a connection between their local environment and their quality of life. Since coming to UPROSE these teens have developed strong leadership skills — reaching out to neighbors to inform them of local environmental concerns; helping middle school students map neighborhood assets and burdens; and leading neighborhood environmental justice tours for city officials, other youth groups, and most recently, a group of 50 Columbia University graduate planning students. Continue Reading>>

Last Monday evening, MAS welcomed Anthony Flint, author of the new book Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City, who gave an engaging lecture on the clash between these two influential figures.

Flint portrays their battle as the ultimate David-and-Goliath story: Jacobs was the quirky “girl from Scranton” who shunned academics and would later turn down an honorary degree from Harvard. Moses was the “master builder” who graduated from Yale, continued his studies at Oxford, and returned from England with an affected English accent. He wielded his power through appointed positions, while she used savvy activism to mobilize the community and to court both the media and up-and-coming politicians like Ed Koch. Continue Reading>>

The Yolanda Garcia Community Planner Award (YGCP) acknowledges the hard-working leaders of grassroots, community-based planning. The award was created to commemorate Yolanda Garcia, a community activist in the South Bronx. Under Garcia’s leadership, the residents of Melrose challenged the city, created an alternative to an urban renewal plan, and transformed a neighborhood. The organization created by Garcia, We Stay/Nos Quedamos, is bringing that community’s vision to life through planning, design, construction, and programming.

In 2007, MAS presented the second annual YGCP award to Elizabeth Yeampierre for her work with the United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park (UPROSE), which has engaged local residents, particularly youth, in multiple community planning and environmental justice initiatives along the Sunset Park waterfront in Brooklyn. Last year’s winner was Jeanne DuPont, Executive Director of the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. The award recognized her work engaging a diverse community and local youth in open space and environmental issues on the barrier island of Far Rockaway, Queens.
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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 Municipal Art Society yesterday testified before the City Planning Commission expressing our concern about an 18-story building adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO.

While 18 story buildings are not un-common in DUMBO, this site on Dock Street between Water and Front Streets, across the street from the Empire Stores at left (MAP), is exceptional because it abuts the Brooklyn Bridge — a local, state, and national landmark. In fact, a portion of the development site even runs underneath the Bridge’s span.

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s most iconic historic structures, and it is one of only 11 National Historic Landmarks — the highest recognition a building can receive in America — in Brooklyn. As such, it should be protected from large-scale development encroachments. MAS believes that the development proposed for the site will mar iconic views both of the bridge from DUMBO’s streetscapes, and from the bridge of DUMBO, the Manhattan Bridge, and the East River. The development is currently going through the city’s land use review procedure for zoning changes. Continue Reading>>

Today the New York Times reported that Senator Charles E. Schumer has a plan to jump start work on the Moynihan Station project, by using some federal stimulus money to build a train station in the Farley Post Office to be used by Amtrak.

According to the Times, Senator Schumer is “calling for the injection of $100 million in federal stimulus funds to convert the post office building, expand the city’s transportation infrastructure and employ thousands of workers. Mr. Schumer also renewed his call for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to take charge of the project and asked them to invest $1 billion.”

MAS President Vin Cipolla today said, “The Municipal Art Society wholeheartedly supports Senator Schumer’s plan to achieve a new Moynihan Station. By dedicating federal stimulus funds to this project we can create near-term jobs while enhancing our mass transit system for the long term. Federal funding also enables us to protect the public’s interest in this project, creating a grand work of civic architecture that that stands as an inspiring gateway to New York City. This project has a real functional purpose; it will increase capacity and improve the experience for the nearly 500,000 people who move through Penn Station every day. Continue Reading>>

Internationally acclaimed architect David M. Childs has been named Chairman of the Municipal Art Society, succeeding the incumbent Philip K. Howard. Mr. Childs, who served as a design partner and Chairman of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, and has been a board member of MAS since 1986, will work alongside new President Vin Cipolla, a nationally recognized leader in the preservation, arts and business communities, who joined the organization in January of this year. Mr. Howard will assume the role of Chairman Emeritus.

“We are honored that David Childs will serve as Chairman of MAS as the organization enters a new phase of growth and influence in New York City,” said Mr. Howard. “He (Mr. Childs) is an urban champion, and, as Chair, will provide powerful leadership for MAS in its mission to achieve intelligent urban planning, design and preservation.”

“I am excited to take on this new role at MAS, which has been a tireless advocate for New York City and those who love it,” said Mr. Childs. “MAS has an opportunity to provide invaluable guidance as the city evolves to meet new challenges and to further establish its position as a model for sustainable urban development and living.” Continue Reading>>

Recently, we were asked the following question on our Facebook page “With all the talk about President Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package and its billions of dollars for public works projects, what’s happening with the Moynihan Station project?”

MAS remains a strong supporter of Moynihan Station. The project will increase capacity at the over-crowded (and miserable) Penn Station, which is the nation’s busiest transportation hub, with nearly half a million people passing through it every day. We don’t know whether the project will receive money from President Obama’s stimulus package, but it certainly seems to be eligible. Continue Reading>>

What is the role of the amusement business in a recession-era urban economy? Does Coney Island have the potential to become a true economic engine for New York?

Please join us at MAS for a panel discussion of these issues tonight at 6:30 p.m. Panelists will include: former Disney executive and Managing Director at real estate advisory firm RCLCo David Malmuth; former Six Flags executive and Senior Vice-President of PARC Management Dan Aylward; President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Seth Pinsky; and owner of Astroland Amusement Park Carol Albert.

Wednesday, February 11, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
A Serious Business: The Future of Amusements in an Urban Economy
A panel of experts discuss the future of urban amusement parks in New York’s recession-era economy. $15, $12 MAS members.To purchase tickets, click here or call 212-935-2075.

Visit the MAS exhibit ImagineConey: Bold Ideas for the Future of Coney Island, now on display through Wednesday, March 11. Gallery hours>>.

As the recent economic slowdown gives us the opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate New York City’s planning processes, community-based plans can provide a framework for a future that works for all New Yorkers. The plans featured in this monthly column will provide examples of how inclusive planning processes work on the ground, and ideally will help inspire future community planning efforts.

Sunset Park 197-a Plan
Sunset Park encompasses a large stretch of Brooklyn’s East River waterfront, bordered by the Prospect Expressway to the north, Bay Ridge to the south, and the Gowanus Expressway to the east. The area has served as a maritime hub for over 100 years. The Bush Terminal was established there in 1895, and eventually grew to over 200 acres. Continue Reading>>

MAS will tonight present the results of the ImagineConey project, offering ideas for a visionary new 21st century amusement district and the steps necessary to achieve it.

At a public meeting at Our Lady of Solace Chuch at 6.30PM (MAP), MAS will present ideas generated by a team of international design, planning and amusement experts, as well as concepts generated through an innovative online “call for ideas” and from public workshops convened in Brooklyn.

Building on the City’s recent actions to revitalize the area, MAS will also set forth the steps it believes are necessary to successfully return Coney Island to its former place as a dynamic and robust entertainment and amusement destination.

Join us tonight!

Last October, MAS launched ImagineConey, an initiative to develop bold new ideas for the future of Coney Island. Since then, more than 500 New Yorkers and an international team of experts have contributed their ideas through a “charrette” (an intense design workshop), two public workshops and a website, ImagineConey.

In January 2009, an exhibit displaying all of these ideas will open at the Municipal Art Society, and the deadline for submission of ideas has recently been extended from December 15, 2008, until January 15, 2009. So, if you have an idea for the future of Coney Island you want to submit for inclusion in the exhibit, please visit ImagineConey.com and upload it before the deadline.

Over 200 ideas have been submitted thus far and can be viewed in the gallery at ImagineConey.com. The ideas fall into eight categories: general principles, planning concepts, programming ideas, new structures, rides, art and culture suggestions, sustainability and energy concepts, and ideas for new events. Continue Reading>>

The Third Church of Christ, Scientist, at 583 Park Avenue, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, won a legal victory against the City that is of great concern to the Municipal Art Society (click here to read a New York Times report).

With a dwindling membership and a need for funds to repair their building, the Church (designed by architects Delano and Aldrich and constructed in 1923) sought to introduce an income-generating use into their building. The church signed a lease with the catering organization Rose Group Park Avenue, who used the church space to host parties and events that could seat 800 people. Nearby residents fought the catering use because of associated noise and traffic in the residential area. The DOB, which had issued a pre-consideration determination permitting catered events at the church, on which the congregation relied, eventually sent a final determination that did not allow for the use. The DOB rightly determined that the large catering hall was not an “accessory use” to the church and thus in violation of the area’s residential zoning. Continue Reading>>