Community Board 9 should be proud. Its 197-a plan for West Harlem is having an impact – though unfortunately for board members, it’s on a different neighborhood.
Last week, New York University and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer announced that they’ve agreed to a set of principles guiding the university’s future development. NYU doesn’t have a great track record in involving the community in its expansion, but between the current 2031 Initiative and this agreement, it’s clear that the university is trying to clean up its act (or at least its image) as it goes into another major phase of development.
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It’s in a taxi, it’s on the streets, it’s in your neighborhood, but how does urban design impact your life? Meet some of the players who shape the city—and your experiences—during this lively conversation exploring the intersection of design, innovation, sustainability, and accessibility in New York’s public realm. Deborah Marton, Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space, will lead a discussion with panelists Andrew Salkin, First Deputy Commissioner, NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission; Davin Stowell, CEO and founder of Smart Design; Susan Chin, FAIA, Assistant Commissioner, Capital Projects, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs; Mary Ceruti, Executive Director, Long Island City Sculpture Center; and Ryan Russo, Director of the Bike and Pedestrian Planning Unit of NYC Department of Transportation. Co-sponsored by the Design Trust for Public Space.
The event will be held at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Av. (bet. 103rd & 104th Sts.), Manhattan.
The cost is $9; $5 for seniors, students and members of the museum; you can order tickets online.
Call 212.534.1672, ext. 3395 for more information.
The Goethe-Institut New York will hold a free lecture on sustainable design, “exploring the cutting-edge developments in the field and their impact on contemporary life as well as implications for the future.” Click here for more information.
The event is free, and will be held at 1014 Fifth Av. (bet. 82nd & 83rd Sts.), Manhattan.
Manhattanville Community Center, located at 530 West 133rd Street
Families United for Racial and Economic Equality will hold an open house at 81 Willoughby Street #701 in Downtown Brooklyn (between Lawrence and Bridge Streets). RSVP via email or call (718) 852-2960 x308.
Our Lady of Pompeii Church, Father Demo Hall
25 Carmine Street
Free, reservations required
rsvp@gvshp.org or 212-475-9585 ext. 35
The development of the West Village Houses has typified many of the diverse challenges facing preservationists in an ever-expanding city like New York. Warren Shaw, Asst. Corporation Counsel in the Real Estate Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department will examine the creation of the West Village Houses as an outgrowth of the epochal battle between Robert Moses (the Urban Renewal Czar) and Jane Jacobs (the champion of traditional urbanism). Now a partially privatized co-op, the West Village Houses is an exceptional symbol of a community both shaped and challenged by evolving attitudes toward city planning, conservation, and Urban Renewal.
This program is sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and co-sponsored by the Neighborhood Preservation Center.
With speaker Elyssa Rothe of South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. – Solar One, 2420 FDR Drive, Service Road East (on the East River)
Alliance of Resident Theaters, Great Room, 138 S. Oxford Street between Atlantic Avenue and Hanson Place