Elizabeth Goldstein, President of MAS, Announces Retirement

Goldstein has led MAS since 2017

Elizabeth Goldstein, the President of The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), announced today her intention to retire from the position that she has held since 2017. Goldstein will continue working with MAS through the beginning of 2025 to assist with the search for a new President and to ensure a smooth transition.

“Elizabeth has been an incredibly effective and insightful leader for the Municipal Art Society during a pivotal period in the city’s history. Coming out of the pandemic, Elizabeth has helped the city reimagine its public spaces to focus on the needs of city residents and protect the cultural assets of our neighborhoods,” said Jill Lerner and Richard Olcott, co-Chairs of the Municipal Art Society’s Board of Directors. “We are thankful for Elizabeth’s leadership over the past eight years and will miss her intelligence, compassion, and wisdom at the top of an organization that we and Elizabeth love dearly.”

“It has been my great pleasure to work at the Municipal Art Society and to help lift up the voices of New Yorkers to protect and preserve our city’s history, culture, and unique sense of place. I am so thankful for the support of our partners throughout New York City, my many MAS colleagues, and board members who helped make sure that everyone has a seat at the table when critical decisions about the future of our city are being made. Together, we made advances in advocating for public space, seeking more visionary approaches to major infrastructure projects such as the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and Penn Station and ensuring that our public institutions are responsive to community needs through better policy and planning,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the Municipal Art Society of New York.

During her eight years as President, Goldstein has led a transformation of MAS as a leading voice in the debates that define New York City. Under her leadership, MAS launched the citywide Fight for Light campaign which advocates for stronger protections for the natural resources that are essential to an equitable city and the health and happiness of city dwellers. The campaign scored a major victory in 2023 with the appointment of New York City’s first public realm officer.

During Goldstein’s tenure, MAS grew Jane’s Walk NYC into the largest local edition of the annual global Jane’s Walk festival. She reinvigorated the Menapace Fellowship for Urban Land Use Law and brought legal tools back into the array of advocacy options at MAS’s disposal. She put MAS back at the center of debates over critical infrastructure projects like Penn Station and redesigning the BQE. In 2023, she launched the Enduring Culture Initiative which is expanding the conversation around both tangible and intangible aspects of our city’s culture — documenting history, elevating neighborhood voices, and creating new policies and programs to recognize and protect valuable community institutions.

The Board of the Municipal Art Society has appointed Keri Butler as Interim President to manage the organization until the appointment of a new President. Co-Chairs Lerner and Olcott made the appointment saying that “the organization will be in strong hands with Ms. Butler, who joined MAS in 2022 as the Vice President for Planning and Policy.”

ABOUT MAS

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) lifts up the voices of the people in the debates that shape New York’s built environment and leads the way toward a more livable city from sidewalk to skyline.

MAS envisions a future in which all New Yorkers share in the richness of city life–where growth is balanced, character endures, and a resilient future is secured. Over more than 130 years of history, our advocacy efforts have led to the creation of the New York City Planning Commission, Public Design Commission, Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Tribute in Light; the preservation of Grand Central Terminal, the lights of Times Square, and the Garment District; the conservation of more than 50 works of public art; and the founding of such civic organizations as the Public Art Fund, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, P.S. 1, the Historic Districts Council, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, and the Waterfront Alliance.