When we spoke to landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh in December 2009 about Brooklyn Bridge Park, just before the first phase of the project opened to the public, he spoke about what it means to design something that continues to live and grow, and how this particular site offered an opportunity… 
IMPROVING JAMAICA BAY PARKS
Mayor Bloomberg, along with representatives of the US Department of the Interior, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York City and State Departments of Environmental Conservation, this week announced a joint project to improve parkland and water quality in and around 10,000 acres of Jamaica Bay. By…
NEW YORK’S PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE
Omnibus fans rejoice: once again, Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times‘ new architecture critic, shows his passion for design in the public interest. His latest article profiles exemplary public architecture that, over the past few years, has transformed the landscapes of underserved areas of New York. Kimmelman applauds the recent effort…
SOUTH BRONX RISING
This week, The New York Times new architecture critic Michael Kimmelman took a walk with NYC’s planning commissioner Amanda Burden through the South Bronx. They discuss the area’s long journey after decades of disinvestment and neglect and cite the importance of Nos Quedamos and Yolanda Garcia’s vision…
TIMES SQUARE PLAZAS MADE PERMANENT
On Tuesday, September 27, Manhattan’s Community Board 5 met with Craig Dykers of Snøhetta to review their plans for the Times Square pedestrian plazas of the not-so-distant future. No more lawn chairs, no more paint as marker for where the car space ends. The plan calls for a leveling of the streets and curbs, to create a continuous pedestrian surface of dark concrete. Inlaid into the pavers will be steel rivets to reflect the bright lights of the big city. Benches and street furniture…
LES LOW LINE
The Lower East Side might be getting a new park. The proposed project, the Delancey Underground, would repurpose the the abandoned underground Williamsburg Bridge Railway Terminal in an effort to inject some green space into one of the least green neighborhoods in the city and to join the ranks of the High Line in reimagining disused infrastructure. The subterranean wonderland lit by…
TORRE VERRE
Torre Verre is back! When development firm Hines first revealed plans for a new Jean Nouvel sliver tower next to MoMA, the City Planning…
NYC SOLAR MAP
A new interactive map was launched by New York City Solar America City Partnership, led by Sustainable CUNY, to show the potential NYC has for solar panel placement. Showing both existing solar…
HIGHLINE PHASE TWO NOW OPEN
Section two of the Highline is open to the public after a surprise soft launch on June 7th, between 20th to 30th Street along 10th Ave. The latest phase has doubled the length of the park…
I feel compelled to respond to a recent article and photo essay (PDF) published by a group of communications scholars led by Keith Hampton. Hampton is best known for his doctoral research under Barry Wellman, in which he studied the impacts of broadband on a wired…
