The Municipal Art Society of New York

On Tuesday evening, MAS hosted the?2024 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Celebration,?honoring visionary leaders?Sandra Bloodworth,?Yoko Ono, and?Patti Smith?for their extraordinary contributions to New York City’s cultural and civic landscape. Ronay Menschel introduced Sandra Bloodworth, whose legacy includes three decades at the helm of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Arts & Design program, transforming New York’s transit system into a canvas for celebrated public art. ? Alexandra Munroe, accepted the award on behalf of Yoko Ono, acknowledging Ono’s impact as an artist, musician, and activist, including her iconic Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park. ? Michael Stipe?presented the award to Patti Smith, whose contributions to New York’s punk scene, environmental advocacy, and cultural landscape continue to inspire. The evening concluded with Smith performing her original, unreleased song “She Walked Home,” written in 1994 as a tribute to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Thank you to everyone who joined us at this unforgettable evening of tribute and performances. Find more photos from the celebration here: https://lnkd.in/efAAG3ta

New York City's urban arterials—wide roads carrying heavy traffic—divide neighborhoods and contribute to unsafe, inefficient, and unhealthy environments. Despite some improvements, many major roadways still prioritize cars over people, with over 60% of traffic fatalities occurring along these corridors. On?Friday, December 6?at the?AIA New York | Center for Architecture, we will explore how to rethink these vast, publicly owned spaces for climate action, public health, and community cohesion. Inspired by MAS’s?Greener Corridors for a More Resilient City?and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation Urban Design student projects, this event will explore a vision for a more dynamic, sustainable, and community-focused urban corridors. Learn more about the event and RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/eG5ctNBp #newyorkcity #cityplanning #urbandesign #nyc #masnyc #climateaction

On?Wednesday, December 4 from 6-8 PM, join us for another installment of the Municipal Art Society + Housing Works author series. James T. and Karla L. Murray husband-and-wife architectural and interior photographers and videographers, will discuss their new book,?"Great Bars of New York City: 30 of Manhattan’s Favorite Storied Drinking Establishments," with Ali Gitlow, Senior Commissioning Editor at Prestel Publishing. Great Bars of New York City?is a rich collection of photographs and stories illustrating 30 diverse, lively, and legendary bars across the five boroughs. Next week,?James and Karla will chat about how the book came to be, plus discuss their career as photographers and videographers documenting New York City businesses and culture. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the authors! Light refreshments and snacks will be available for purchase.?Doors at 6 PM. Event at 6:15 PM. Email [email protected] with any questions. RSVP for free here: https://lnkd.in/eXUgq-Xu #photography #newbooks #photobook #nyc #readmore #nycbusiness #booktalk #newyorkcity

The Municipal Art Society?commends?the City Council?and the Mayor’s Office?for finding the common ground necessary to approve City of Yes for Housing Opportunity at the Land Use Committee.?The agreement to make a?$5 billion commitment to invest in affordable housing and infrastructure?is critical to ensure New York will be building sustainable neighborhoods. With the possibility of generating as many as 80,000 additional homes, this is a landmark step towards a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to addressing New York City's critical housing shortage. ? While we disagree with the Council's decision to remove parking mandates citywide, MAS is happy that the core vision of creating more diverse, accessible housing and focusing on transit-oriented development across the city's neighborhoods remains intact.??The next step is a City Council vote expected in early December.?We hope this will prove to be a beginning of generating housing in every neighborhood in New York City in an incremental, contextual manner.?? ? #cityplanning #nyc #cityofyes #policy #newyorkcity

On Thursday, November 16, we gathered with Livable Neighborhood Program participants at Interference Archive for our second #EnduringCulture Happy Hour, which featured local Ecuadorian food from Chuzo Culture, Brooklyn-brewed Talea beer, wine from Good Wine, and a conversation with volunteers of the archive. The archivists walked our guests through the group’s expansive collection ranging from buttons to books, all of which catalog global social movements and New York City-specific collective actions, including documents related to the Gowanus rezoning. They discussed the joys and challenges of preserving cultural heritage at such a specific and local level and the value of actively participating in current political movements citywide.? ? The Enduring Culture Happy Hour series aims to bring together communities across the city to discuss how cultural preservation manifests in varied ways throughout their neighborhoods, including highlighting the unique layers of history that result in neighborhood character. Stay tuned for more happy hours, to be announced!? ? Learn more about Enduring Culture: https://lnkd.in/eqw6WywU Learn more about Interference Archive: interferencearchive.org #archives #newyorkcity #cityhistory #nychistory #archival #culture

On Monday, City Council passed Intro 663 -2024, a legislation empowering DOT to update their rules for the design, size, and placement of newsracks across the city in the hopes of streamlining the stuff on our streets. ? MAS has long advocated for addressing this clutter and back in 2008, made a parody video OUTRAGE! Nasty Newsracks. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ePNg223p ? Racks & Ruins I think that I shall never see A corner that is clutter-free, Especially now that newspaper boxes Proliferate on all our blockses…

Join us on?Wednesday, December 11 from 9-10:30 AM?for an in-depth discussion on?Local Law 97, New York City’s landmark building emissions law, at our next?Closer LOOK?panel. Hear from leaders in climate law, decarbonization, and sustainable development as they explore the challenges and opportunities of this groundbreaking legislation. Passed in 2019,?Local Law 97,?is one of the nation’s most ambitious laws standardizing building-based carbon emissions reductions. It requires most buildings over 25,000 square feet to comply with energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits starting in 2024, with stricter standards to be imposed by 2030. While the success of LL97 is pivotal to New York City achieving its goal of zero emissions from buildings by 2050, many questions remain about how the law is applied, what property owners need to do to comply, the penalties for non-compliance, and ultimately what needs to happen for the city to meet its climate change goals. The law has already faced legislative and legal challenges and push back from property owners. Our panelists include?Carlos Cereza Davila?(Head of Sustainability, KPF),?Jonathan Flaherty?(Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainability and Building Technologies, Tishman Speyer), and?Amy Turner?(Director of Cities Climate Law Initiative, Sabin Center, Columbia Law School). American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification maintenance credits will be available for this event. Breakfast will be provided for all attendees. Learn more about the event: https://lnkd.in/e6J57_cT #cityplanning #paneldiscussion #nyc #cityplanninglaw #law #newyorkcity #climatechange

We had such a wonderful time celebrating our 2024?MASterworks Awards?honorees earlier this month?at our annual ceremony!?It was so inspiring to be surrounded by the incredibly innovative designers, architects, and creatives who are shaping New York City's landscape. This year, it was a special treat to gather at one of our honored buildings,?Hudson River Park Trust's Pier 57, to celebrate, mingle, and enjoy delicious food from?Market 57.?We encourage folks to visit the Pier, along with this year's other?honored projects. See photos from the ceremony: https://lnkd.in/eiAQQvVf #cities #urbandesign #architecture #hudsonriver #citylife #newyorkcity #nycdesign

Greener Corridors?continues with “An Inventory of Efforts to Improve NYC's Largest?Streets,”?the?fourth article in?the?initiative’s exploration of?the?challenges and opportunities to improve?the?city’s major thoroughfares. The?article surveys?the?planning and policy landscape in New York City, painting a picture of how far?the?city has come in transforming its largest roadways, where it has stalled, and how much remains to be done.?The?article highlights?the?need for coordinated policies for vegetation, biodiversity, low emissions circulation, and sustainable development practices, but also a significant scaling up of innovative local efforts. ? Read?An Inventory of Efforts to Improve NYC's Largest?Streets here: https://lnkd.in/emvEsmN6 #newyorkcity #policy #dataanalytics #cityplanning #nyc #data #planning #cities

? Honoring Yoko Ono ?? ? Artist, musician, and activist Yoko Ono’s (@yokoono) legacy continues to inspire generations worldwide. From her groundbreaking art performances in the 1960s to her iconic Strawberry Fields in Central Park, Yoko has made an indelible mark on New York City’s cultural landscape.? ? Last week on November 12, we were thrilled to honor Yoko at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Celebration. Her contributions to art, music, and activism have forever changed the way we see the world. ???? #jkomedal #nycarts #nycartists #nyc #newyorkers #newyorkcity #nycevents #yokoono #womeninart #femalevoices #avantgarde?