Coverage of Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York, the exhibit, public programs and walking tours

Panel Discussion: Is New York Losing Its Soul?

AM New York, Has NY Lost Its Soul?, Friday, October 5
Explosively-monikered columnist Justin Rocket Silverman wonders aloud whether a city with more than 120 Chase bank branches, 2 Olive Gardens and 8 TGI Fridays is the same place that inspired Herman Melville and Billie Holiday, and notes that the MAS exhibit and accompanying programs examine the current issues of gentrification, chain stores, and an influx of people who move to the city without a sense of its history.

AM New York, One-time haven for arts, deviants is no more, Friday, October 5
Mr. Silverman quotes Is New York Losing Its Soul? panelist Tama Janowitz extensively to suggest that while program panelists generally bemoaned the dearth of artists in the city, there is hope because life here is cyclical.

In the same issue, AMNY also have a slideshow and poll asking Has NY Lost Its Soul?

Architectural Record, National Chains Rattle Jane Jacobs’ Ghost in NYC, Thursday, October 4
Alec Appelbaum reviews "Is New York Losing Its Soul?" favorably and quotes Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York project manager Tim Mennel.

The New York Times, Panel Discussion: Has New York Lost Its Soul?, Thursday, October 4
Sewell Chan (moderator of upcoming event New Media, New Politics) gives a blow-by-blow account of the program.

AtlanticYardsReport, Is New York losing its soul? Sort of, panelists say, Thursday, October 4
Norman Oder reviews the event and concludes that public interest and discussion are only the beginning of the issue that will inevitably require governmental and legislative solutions.

Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, Is New York Losing Its Soul?, Thursday, October 4
Reviews the program saying that, slightly unfairly (in our opinion), the audience was entirely geriatric, but reflects sadly that these concerned people are the last line of defence against the wrecking balls of developers and the ravages of gentrification.

Papressblog, NYC Losing It's Soul? Where Have We Heard That Before?Thursday, September 20
Papressblog foreshadows the opening of Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York and the accompanying publication Block by Block.

Streetsblog, Sustainable Pratt, and NYMetroParents note the opening of Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York exhibition, the accompanying book Block by Block and the eight walking tours and seven panel discussions which supplement the exhibit.

Atlantic Yards Report, Coming: the Jane Jacobs exhibit and discussions, Friday, September 7, 2007

Right in Bay Ridge, Jane Jacobs and the Ballet of Bay Ridge’s Sidewalks, Friday, August 24, 2007

Coverage of Issues Related to Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York

AtlanticYardsReport, We are all Jacobsian now--but what about process?, Wednesday, September 26
Norman Oder reviews Monday night's Jane Jacobs award ceremony and dinner at the Morgan Library, and analyses the lack of a transparent public process governing the Atlantic Yards plan with a quote from Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York the exhibit, "She [Jacobs] was consistently more concerned that all New Yorkers have a say — that they be vigilant and engaged citizens, demanding that their voices be heard and that their insights be considered..."

New York Times, Jane Jacobs, Foe of Plans and Friend of City Life, Tuesday, September 25
Reviewing the new exhibit Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York, the Times calls it "a valuable exhibition... grounded not in theory, but in experience" and an excellent display of Jacobs's most important ideas.

The Daily Gotham, Jane Jacobs & The Future Of New York At The Municipal Art Society, Tuesday, September 25
Describing the new MAS exhibit Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York as a "heroic effort to bring Jacobs and her work back to life", The Daily Gotham also makes an unflattering comparison between George Bush's co-opting of Rev. Martin Luther King and NYC Planning Chair Amanda Burden's frequent invocation of the spirit and principles of Jane Jacobs.

CityLimits, Now It's Jacobs' Turn: A Look at Her Legacy, Monday, September 24
Roberta Brandes Gratz, friend and collegue to Jane Jacobs, and panelist at the upcoming Can One Woman (Still) Make A Difference? program, reviews Jacobs's impact on the city and thinking about cities in general, saying "She [Jacobs] is as relevant as ever."

New York Magazine, See Jane Be Co-opted, from the October 1 issue
Describes how Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York attempts to rectify the popular misunderstandings of Jacobs's work and message.

Manhattan Users Guide, The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, Monday, September 24
Sixty acres of Lower Manhattan fell to the wrecking ball in the late 1960s as wrecking crews prepared the site for the World trade Center, much of which was recorded by photographer Danny Lyon in his book The Destruction of Lower Manhattan. (Lyon's photographs also appear in Block by Block) Manhattan Users Guide reflects on his documentation of the loss of New York's history in the context of Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York and asks the question, if, in experiencing the current wave of development, the city loses even more of its historical character, is it becoming more or less like other cities?
Related Event: Is New York Losing Its Soul?

AM New York, Neighbors line up against East River complex, Friday, September 21
Neighbors rally together against plans for 5 million square feet of new development on the East Midtown waterfront after developer announces plans at community board meeting last night.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Is Jane Jacobs Passé?, Thursday, September 20
In the context of modern-day New York City, how much of Jane Jacobs's writings can still be applied? Should they be applied instinctively, selectively, or not at all?
Related Event: Can One Woman (Still) Make a Difference? Jane Jacobs and New York

New York Sun, The Triumph of Jane Jacobs, Thursday, September 20
MAS tour leader Francis Morrone on Jane Jacobs's enduring appeal, and why "she alone of American public intellectuals of the last half century has managed to captivate a broad swath of the American public."

Time Out New York, Top 10 ’hoods, Thursday, September 20
Using Jacobsonian principles to observe the city (short blocks, diversity in building age, type and usage, density, etc.), Time Out New York asks whether Manhattan, where Duane Reeds and Chase Banks proliferate, has lost its soul.
Related Event: Is New York Losing Its Soul?

New York Post, Columbia's Astroturf: Faking Grassroots Support for Expansion Plan, Wednesday, September 19
The Post suggests that many of supporters of Columbia University's Manhattanville expansion present at last month's public meeting at Community Board 9 were paid to show up.
Related event: When the Big Get Bigger: New York's Universities and Their Neighborhoods.

New York Observer, Census Shows Middle Class in Flight From New York, Tuesday, September 18
Analysing the Census Bureau numbers that prompted Errol Louis to write his article about the middle-class flight from the city last Sunday.

New York Observer, What Would Jane Jacobs Think?, Tuesday, September 18
Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York co-curator Chris Klemek and JJFNY panel discussion panelist Robert Brandes Gratz wonder what Jane Jacobs would think of Greenwich Village -- her old neighborhood -- now it has become "Oversuccessful".

New York Times, In East Harlem, Another Vestige of the Old Days Bids Farewell, Tuesday, September 18
Once characterized by family-owned businesses, demographic changes in East Harlem have led to the demise of one of the neighborhood's last Italian bakeries.

New York Sun, Linking a City Housing Authority's Money Woes and a Jacobs Complaint, Monday, September 17
Descrying the sterility and lack of street-life and commerce of the city's public housing projects, Jane Jacobs advocated for the inclusion of small businesses that provide for community needs. Much of New York City public housing still lacks many basic services like grocery stores, banks, and dry-cleaners. This article suggests that one way of solving this problem -- reconnecting projects to the surrounding city, and the alleviating the New York City Housing Authority's financial issues would be to lease ground-floor units in housing projects to small businesses.

New York Times, High Rents Chase Another Bookstore, This One From a Chain, Monday, September 17
New Yorkers have been lamenting the loss of independent bookstores for years, as traditional favorites go to the wall across Manhattan because of their inability to pay rising rents. Now, perhaps ironically, even chain bookstores are feeling the heat. The Barnes & Noble on Astor Place is closing because its sales are failing to justify its $1.15 million annual rent and the site will become a gym. All of which raises two questions: firstly, are some chain stores better than others?; and secondly, what is the future for business in the city when rents are too high even for chainstores?
Related event: Is New York Losing Its Soul?

The Daily News, Call an ambulance - our middle class is bleeding, Sunday, September 16
Errol Louis, who will be a panelist at The Oversuccessful City: part 2, suggests that one of the central aspects of the next mayoral race should and, will, be the exodus of the middle-classes from New York City as they get priced out, saying that, "The specter of our town as a hollowed-out city - one with an insulated super-wealthy overclass and a stranded, isolated underclass - should scare the hell out of anybody concerned about the future of New York."

Daily News, NYU wants elderly tenants out of Greenwich Village flats, Friday, September 14
In order to make room for its expansion plans, NYU served eviction notices on residents of its building at 135 MacDougal St. in June.
Related event: When the Big Get Bigger: New York's Universities and Their Neighbors

The Daily News, Wealthy are Drowning in New Bank Branches, says Study, Monday, September 10, 2007

The New York Times, Has the Bank-Branch Frenzy Peaked?, Monday, September 10, 2007

Atlantic Yards Report, In Seattle, Neighbor Power; in New York, too much neighbor rancor, Wednesday, September 5, 2007

MAS Press Releases on Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York

Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York Exhibit Explores Principles and Legacy of Neighborhood Activist (pdf), September 2007

Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York Features Exhibit, Panel Discussions and Community Interaction (pdf), Friday, September 7, 2007

Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York Panel Discussions Explore Direction of New York City Development, State of Civic Activism (pdf), September 2007