Orientalism: The Roots of Modernism
The 19th century had a love affair with the Arabic Middle East. For some it was all about an exoticism which we today might think of as romantic, ornamental, even “superficial,” much like the craze for chinoiserie in the 1700s. But “Orientalism” in architecture, when processed by creative Western designers, also served as a root […]
Maintaining Momentum in New York’s Development Agenda
New York City’s economy is slowing and construction costs remain extraordinarily high, but the Bloomberg administration is still planning a number of ambitious development projects. Will New York be able to maintain its fast pace of residential and commercial development? How are neighborhoods responding to zoning changes? What are developers doing about increased costs, tightened […]
Filmmaker Talks: Isabella Rossellini
Successful model and actress Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Big Night, Fearless) wrote My Dad Is 100 Years Old and makes her directorial debut in the experimental Green Porno, a series of short films she also conceived, wrote, and appears in. She produced Green Porno in association with the Sundance Channel. Comical but insightful studies of […]
Alexander Hamilton and the National Triumph of New York City
New York City is the source for the quintessentially American traits of capitalism, ethnic tolerance, free speech, and reliance on lawyers and lawsuits. Yet the New York legacy generally goes unrecognized. How did New York come to have such a formative influence on the United States? And how did it manage to do so without […]
Designing New York’s Visual Identity
Pentagram has designed for the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music; created packaging for Saks Fifth Avenue and the sign on the new New York Times Building; and conceived of everything from museum exhibitions to the cornerstone of lower Manhattan’s Freedom Tower. Join Museum curator Donald Albrecht and […]
An Overview of Zoning, Past and Present
Why is zoning necessary? When did it begin? How do you unravel a zoning text? Doris Diether, a long time community activist and zoning expert, demystifies New York zoning in a lecture that considers New York City zoning, from pre-1916 to today. Ms. Diether covers different types of districts and what they permit, different types […]
With the city’s real estate booming as never before, the challenge of housing 21st-century New Yorkers is daunting. The city estimates that we will need 265,000 more housing units by 2030. Where will this new housing go, what will it look like, and who will be living there? Shampa Chanda, Assistant Commissioner for Planning for […]
Elliot Sander, CEO of the MTA, delivers the first State of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Address, in celebration of its 40th anniversary. He outlines the history of the MTA and 2008 service enhancements, then goes on to outline a 40-year vision for the future of the organization and of the region’s transportation network. To […]
When and how did New Yorkers come to regard tenants as having rights and landlords as having obligations? Where should the fine line be drawn between the free market and government oversight of rent issues? What is the future of housing in NYC? Panelists are Gale Brewer (NYC Councilmember, District 6), Elizabeth Blackmar (Columbia University), […]
The Suburban Option: Garden Apartments in 20th Century New York City
The garden apartment, so familiar and ubiquitous today (except in Manhattan!), was a new building type that transformed the urban landscape and the lifestyle of an emerging middle class. In the early 20th century a number of the city’s most influential activists and intellectuals lived in these complexes. Dr. Jeffrey Kroessler, Associate Professor, Lloyd Sealy […]
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