We are celebrating 15 years — and counting — of stories that are deeply researched and deeply felt, that build a historical record of what the city has been.
Thank you to the 450 supporters, friends, and family who came out to celebrate the first five years of Urban Omnibus last Friday! We were delighted to see so many UO collaborators and friends, our generous sponsors, and members of the Architectural League’s board and staff (past and present), as well as a number of new faces thanks to the enthusiastic outreach efforts of our incredible benefit committee, co-chaired by Andy Bernheimer and Douglas Woodward. The party was held at the Gowanus Ballroom, an art space that occupies the workspace of Serett Metalworks in the Gowanus Industrial Arts Complex, demonstrating a kind of creative production we love to highlight on Urban Omnibus: what can result when manufacturing and visual art join forces. We were excited to work with a team from Nuit Blanche New York, who repurposed footage from a range of Urban Omnibus video productions to transform the interior walls of the building into windows on the city. And we were well sated with delicious Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, mini-pies from Pie Corps, beer from Finback Brewery, and wine from Bottlerocket.
But most of all, we were thrilled to celebrate with our readers, the most important constituency for this publication. Live events — where we invite you to explore the city, discuss pressing issues, or party with us — are an important and vital part of our mission: to define and enrich the culture of citymaking. As it starts to warm up outside, stay tuned for more events that encourage greater intimacy with the choices that structure why our urban, built environment is the way it is and more discussions about ways we can improve it.

UO collaborator Wes Rozen, Raye Rozen, Christina Fleuron, Camila Morales, and Ian Veidenheimer

Jeffrey Garibaldi, Lyndsey Tyler, Director of Integrated Marketing for ABC Stone, and Casey McGuire

UO collaborator Laura Forlano, Wiley Cole, Architectural League Executive Director Rosalie Genevro, and UO collaborator Rachel Barnard

Erik Verboon, Alan Tansey, UO collaborator Michael Chen, Elena Hasbun, and Braden Caldwell.

UO collaborators Dylan House (left), Hillary Angelo (second from right), Tamara Greenfield (right), and friend

Urban Omnibus Editor Cassim Shepard (left) and Architectural League Digital Editorial Director Varick Shute (right) give remarks.

Chris Mottalini, Nepal Asatthawasi (second from left), Winthrop Hoyt, Marcie Muscat, and UO collaborator Lindsay Haddix

UO collaborator Caitlin Blanchfield, Marcelo Lopez Dinardi, and Tyrene Calvesbert

Varick Shute, the League’s digital editorial director, and UO collaborator Stanley Greenberg

Nuit Blanche New York Executive Director Ethan Vogt, League Project Manager Daniel Rojo, and Virginia Laird

Marc Norman, UO Collaborator Christine Gaspar, and friend

UO collaborator Jeff Maki (second from left) and friends

Susan Lowance of Kohn Pedersen Fox (center) and friends

UO collaborator Christopher Payne (right) and friends

Andrew Hollweck of the New York Building Congress and friend

UO collaborator Juliette Spertus, Darby Jack, and UO Editor Cassim Shepard

UO collaborator Ari Paul and Annie Lok

UO collaborator Samir Shah and friend

The team from Lally Acoustical Consulting, responsible for the evening’s killer soundsystem
All photos by David Lang.
The views expressed here are those of the authors only and do not reflect the position of The Architectural League of New York.