TOPIC
New City Critics
A Living Painting
Large-scale public sculptures by Scott Burton have traveled from a corporate lobby to a Queens art center, but they are still in search of a forever home. Can their meanings endure in a new frame?
A Year in Property
An artist chronicles her daily life through the lens of property. From homes to household goods, are we condemned to be defined by what we own?
Feral Monument
Beloved for their innocence and feared as vectors of disease, pigeons are a divisive and constant presence in New York City. A monumental statue atop the High Line urges us to consider how our feral friends (or foes) are in fact just like us.
Main Character Energy
Since the 1970s, citrus-hued seats in L-shaped arrangements have offered commuters a warm embrace. Where will subway riders find romance when the Tang-toned seats go?
The Real Counterfeit
A 15-story stack of Louis Vuitton branded suitcases claiming to be scaffolding landed on Fifth Avenue in November. But reading the structure through the lens of the building code raises questions about our grasp on reality and the rule of law.
Who Plans?
Over more than two decades, Hester Street expanded means and methods by which New Yorkers might shape their city. What does the nonprofit's demise mean for the practices of community planning and engagement in the future?
Criticism as an Act of Love
Hyperlocal settings frame larger phenomena including stormwater management, the politics of place names, ersatz infrastructure, the tyranny of private property, and other signs of the never-ending change that characterizes the city.
Meet the 2024-2025 New City Critics Fellows
New City Critics fellows — architects, journalists, artists, a city planner and a rapper among them — will be training a critical gaze on New York City over the next nine months.
Long Island is Bugging Me
A disquisition into the urban/suburban and human/insect divides, and how people might come together when their surroundings are planned to keep them apart.