June 18, 2018 Mr. Fred Bland Interim Chair Landmarks Preservation Commission Mr. Bland: The City Club of New York is pleased to support the application of the Frick Collection before the Landmarks Preservation Commission. We find the proposed design for expansion and new construction to be… Read more »
Members' Voices
These are the ideas, opinions, and/or proposals written by City Club members. We encourage open, thoughtful and respectful dialogue on this page. Let us know your thoughts on a particular subject.
Regional Rail Trunk Line Follow-up
In the interest of understanding how to better prioritize major public infrastructure and how to pay for it the City Club’s Urban Design Committee’s Infrastructure Working Group has organized a panel to discuss the Regional Rail Trunk Line. It chose the trunk line because additional rail capacity under the Hudson… Read more »
Losing Its Way
The Historic Preservation Committee of The City Club of New York perceives that the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s will to discharge its duties to designate and protect landmarks and historic districts has been declining. So writes Jeffrey Kroessler, the Committee’s Chair. On March 27, the Commission held a hearing, with overflow… Read more »
CityLand: Designation Should Not Mean Demolition
There’s a new post at CityLand regarding the AT&T Building at 550 Madison Avenue and how, to the dismay of the architectural and preservation communities, the Commission has declined to include the lobby in the Landmarks Preservation designation. Here’s a clip: The Commission has offered its reasons for rejecting… Read more »
In addition to transit–storm resiliency
In addition to transit, the other, huge issue, is storm resiliency. Here are a few clips on the efforts. Ideas have been developed, and work is being done. The major impediment? Money https://archpaper.com/2016/12/big-u-lower-manhattan-coastal-resiliency/ https://www.arcadis.com/en/united-states/news/latest-news/press-releases/2017/9/arcadis-to-lead-design-to-strengthen-manhattan-s-coastline/ https://www.amny.com/news/sandy-anniversary-nyc-1.14607163
Paying for transit
The governor is getting behind tax increment financing for transit. Note today’s article, an important reference article for our February 8 infrastructure meeting.
Presentation to the Urban Design Committee
George Janes met with the City Club Urban Design Committee this morning to discuss the reasons for the proliferation of super tall buildings and what might help to control them. Slides of his presentation are attached (6.9 MB pdf), and we welcome further comments.
SUBWAY EXPANSION—ARE NEW YORK’S COSTS EXCESSIVE?
My City Club colleague John West distributed this, December 14, New York Times article on Friday. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/nyregion/mta-funding-real-estate-value-capture.html It argues that the city’s construction of new mass transit lines, with public funds or debt, is a subsidy to property owners, who should instead be contributing. For the first time,… Read more »
The Comptroller Audits NYC’s POPS
CityLand has published an article on the recent follow-up audit of POPS by Scott Stringer’s office. Read it here… It seems that the Department of Buildings remains reluctant to inspect POPS and enforce compliance. Any suggestions as to how best to use the Comptroller’s audits to recover and improve… Read more »
News on the Elimination of the Arcade at Fulton Street
The Architect’s Newspaper has continued its excellent coverage of the public realm along Water Street in Lower Manhattan and the application to City Planning to eliminate the arcade at the Fulton Street end of 200 Water Street (formerly 127 John Street). https://archpaper.com/2017/10/200-water-street-public-space-rockrose/ John: Thank you… Read more »