President’s Letter: March 2026
I recently had several encouraging meetings with leaders in City Hall, where I shared MAS’s ideas for integrating good design and affordability goals to create a more livable city. I look forward to working with the Mamdani Administration to advance design-forward approaches that center equity and quality of life. This kind of engagement that brings MAS’s expertise directly into policymaking discussions, amplifies the impact of our programs and ensures that they lead to real solutions for improving New York City.
There’s another type of engagement that shapes MAS’s legacy—convening our network for ideas and knowledge sharing. If you spend enough time with long-term MAS friends, you’ll hear about the Urban Center—the lively hub and home of MAS from 1980-2014 within the Villard Houses in Midtown, where urbanists and civic organizations gathered to exchange ideas, attend discussions and exhibitions, and build advocacy campaigns. That legacy of collaboration and energy is the foundation of our organization.
Today, MAS has a new home at 111 Broadway, and this space is already becoming its own convening hub. Framed by the Greenacre Reference Library, our space hosts policy breakfasts, public-space workshops, and other events that bring people together to think and act on the future of the city.
A few weeks ago, MAS brought together partners from our Enduring Culture Initiative, Livable Neighborhoods Program, and Alliance for Public Space Leadership for a workshop on public-space permitting. Participants learned the brass tacks of how to activate the public realm and gained direct access to City agency staff who manage the permitting processes. It may surprise some of you that, amidst the technical aspects of the topic, we also had some fun! (A short history of the Urban Center and a recap of this recent workshop can be found in this month’s Word on the Street newsletter.)
Through continued collaboration with partners and City leadership, MAS is building the next center for urbanist activity — a shared space and program incubator where advocates, designers, researchers, and civic leaders can convene and collaborate to advance design excellence and equitable outcomes for housing and the public realm.
Join us. Become a member and learn more about our plans for a living hub for learning and advocacy. Together we can cultivate that spirit of collective energy for the city we love.
Rethinking New York City’s Arterial Roadways.
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Protecting New York’s 80-acre network of public plazas and arcades