The Municipal Art Society of New York

On May 12, MAS hosted the 6th annual Livable Neighborhoods Training. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer gave the welcome address to a group of more than one hundred people representing all five boroughs. The all-day training was held at Pratt Manhattan and co-sponsored by Pratt Institute’s Programs in Sustainable Planning and Development. The semi-annual event brings together a diverse group of participants from community boards Continue Reading>>

Last Friday, ten 9 and 10 year old boys and girls from the Henry Street Settlement Youth Council visited the Settlement headquarters to survey the number of electrical devices in each office. This survey is part of an effort to illustrate how staff can help reduce energy consumption.

Experts participating in the Henry Street Settlement eco-charrette–a collaborative design and solutions-seeking process–that took place last year, identified occupant behavior has a huge factor in the amount of energy used. Of particular concern was the office plug loads Continue Reading>>

MAS’s planned restoration of the “Rocket Thrower” statue and our energy retrofit at the Henry Street Settlement, were announced today as two of the 40 finalists of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2012 Partners in Preservation Initiative in New York City.  Partners in Preservation is a community-based program providing preservation grants for local historic places. Continue Reading>>

More than 2,500 New Yorkers (and visitors!) took to the streets last weekend for Jane’s Walk NYC. Coordinated by MAS, working with over two dozen partner organizations, Jane’s Walk NYC is a weekend of free, hosted walks, and bike rides in all five boroughs led by local residents, urban enthusiasts and those who care deeply about their neighborhoods and city. See photos.

Started in Toronto in 2007, Jane’s Walk is an international program created to commemorate the life and legacy of beloved urbanist Jane Jacobs.  This year it grew to include 600 walks in 85 cities and 19 countries! Continue Reading>>

MAS, artist Mary Miss and her organization City as Living Laboratory (CaLL) will be hosting a Jane’s Walk down the ENTIRE length of Broadway, from 240 Street to Bowling Green, on Sunday, May 6th.

The walk will start uptown at 8AM and end at the lower tip of Manhattan around 8PM. We hope you’ll join us for the half-marathon walk—or even just a portion of it Continue Reading>>

MAS and over 50 representatives of the preservation community turned out in force Wednesday morning to oppose the City Council committees’ proposed problematic changes to the Landmarks Law.

The multitude of the 11 proposed bills deal with issues of transparency, timelines for processing requests and the creation of a mandatory survey department Continue Reading>>

MAS President Vin Cipolla will moderate a panel at Megaprojects, a one-day international conference organized by The Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University (CURE) on May 11. The conference will convene leading developers, architects, engineers and urban planners to explore megaprojects, while addressing the issues faced and the lessons learned in developing and operating megaprojects in New York as well as in London. Continue Reading>>

One of the best ways to learn which energy-saving investments will help make your building more efficient is with an energy audit. As we mentioned in our last demonstration project update, we initiated three audits at the Settlement. Our Con Ed audit focused on lighting, NYSERDA’s offered general recommendations on lighting, boilers and information on NYS incentive programs and competitive energy markets (ESCOs) and lastly, an auditor with expertise in historic community facilities gave us an in-depth audit including the pros and cons of implementing certain upgrades.  All the audits offered estimated “paybacks” –how long it will take for the investment to pay for itself in saved energy costs—a helpful metric to anyone interested in long and short term costs and benefits.  Continue Reading>>

More than 300 arts community members, planners, policymakers and funders packed the auditorium at the National Museum of the American Indian Tuesday evening to listen to an expert panel discuss creative placemaking and new impact measures focusing on vibrancy being developed (Watch the video here). The Arts Forum, Measuring Vibrancy: The Impacts of Arts and Culture Investments in Placemaking,was co-hosted by ArtPlace, a national consortium of funders Continue Reading>>

MAS, along with over 200 individuals and organizations, testified at Wednesday’s City Planning Commission hearing regarding NYU’s application to expand in Greenwich Village. MAS spoke out against the proposal, recognizing the Manhattan Borough President for his success in negotiating changes to the plan, but continuing to argue that the project needs to benefit NYU, the neighborhood and the city as a whole. Continue Reading>>

Hundreds of civic minded and philanthropic New Yorkers gathered last night as MAS presented the 2012 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to Joan Ganz Cooney and Peter G. Peterson. Held at The New York Public Library, the event honored the couple for the role they have played in making New York a global capital of finance and education, as well as their many contributions to our city’s cultural life. Continue Reading>>

Last Thursday night, Tom Galante, Linda Johnson and Tony Marx, the Directors of the three New York City library systems, engaged in a lively discussion convened by MAS and moderated by New York Times reporter Sam Roberts at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (Watch the video here). This evening followed on the heels of an initial discussion that took place last October at the MAS Summit for New York City, where the Directors discussed the common challenges and opportunities public libraries are addressing Continue Reading>>

It’s your last chance to buy advance early rate $50 tickets for the second annual Urbanist hosted MAS After Dark party, this Thursday, April 19 at the New York Public Library—tickets will be $75 at the door. Featuring special guest DJs Timo & Alan of Timo Weiland, a SPiN New York hosted table tennis tournament, appearances by Project Runway designers, a silent auction and open bar, this hot ticket event is nearly sold out. Continue Reading>>

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Adopt-A-Monument program, created by MAS in 1987 to rescue public statuary at risk of deterioration. Our two “Adopt” programs (the second being Adopt-A-Mural) have raised nearly $3.5 million to conserve and maintain 51 works of public art from the turn of the 20th century to the present in all five boroughs.  All monuments conserved under this program are available for public viewing. Continue Reading>>

On May 12, 2012, MAS will host the 6th annual MAS Livable Neighborhoods Training. Since its inception, Livable Neighborhoods has trained over 700 community board members, community planners and neighborhood activists on how to advocate and affect change in their community. To register for Livable Neighborhoods, click here.

We asked Noelle Marcus, a Livable Neighborhoods Training participant in the spring of 2011, about her experience with Livable Neighborhoods, and how the training has helped her get involved in her neighborhood. Continue Reading>>