Next, we stopped by to peer into Shigeru Ban’s “Shutter Houses” – a 9-unit condominium building adjacent to the AIC building, which is famed for its dynamic mobile façade featuring a perforated metal shutter system that lets residence open and close their spaces according to their fancy. The eleven-storey block contains eight duplexes with balconies looking out onto the street. The individual perforated motorized shutters slip down over each balcony to shield the facades of the double-height apartments behind them allowing the building to have a kind of a removable skin. Its mobile façade of 2 storey shutters give it a different look and feel at different times of the day as these shutters are operated by the owners of the duplexes who have the privilege of living there. Peering into the building and watching the glow from an aquarium in one apartment, and a couple eating their dinner in another, we noticed the other shutters in the building were down, suggesting that the residents of the other apartments were out. Hence, it was interesting to note that the shutters create a façade that creates a trace of the patterns of inhabitation which the building is subject to at different times of the day.

Finally, we walked over to the High Line, watching it come to life as New Yorker’s filed in after work on a balmy summer evening to kick off their weekends. With views of the Hudson to the West, and the city to the East, the High Line is celebrated for the fact that it reclaimed and restored a section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad called the West Side Line into a linear park. As we traversed this aerial greenway, walking towards Gansevoort street, we stopped to take in the startlingly unexpected vistas that the High Line provides of the city – allowing it to be perceived at a mid-level height. The project’s planters, inspired by the wild grasses that used to grow on the disused tracks, were in full bloom, rustling softly in the breeze, interspersed with remnants of rail tracks – calling to mind the area’s former program. In fact, it’s interesting that all over the Village, Chelsea and the Meatpacking districts, one can find sites that deliberately hint at programs that used to exist on these sites before these areas were repurposed. For instance, some of the luxury boutiques that we spotted in Chelsea featured clothes hanging on hooks which were reminiscent of the hooks that were used when meat was hung from the meatpacking stores in this district. The High Line of course, with its constant referencing of rail tracks, continues this tradition of referencing the history and the context of the neighborhood it is situated in.

Back on the High Line, as we arrived at the steps close to 14th street, we listened in as a group of New Yorker’s held a community gathering and as we moved on, we found ourselves staring at the façade of the Standard Hotel, peering in voyeuristically to see evidence of the exhibitionism that the building and its guests have become infamous for! As we reached the end of the tracks, we thanked Bob Balder, the Executive Director, of our program for an incredible semester, and for taking the time to show us around this incredible city – our only regret being that we didn’t get to spend more time here!

February 7^th

Farver’s class: We meet Jackie Battenfield, author of “The Artist’s Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love.” Every person who wants to make a career through art should read this book. Really. Go buy it. Right now. It’s a perfect book to reference for any questions you may have, especially if you are young and just beginning your career. We engaged in a long conversation with Jackie and since our class consists of only four people she was able to hear more about what type of artists we are and what are individual goals are, thus offering personalized advice. It was probably the most eye-opening conversation in terms of what I have to do to make in the art world in or an art field.

Benson’s class: We meet at Paula Cooper Gallery where there are two exhibitions going on: Meg Webster and Julian Lethbridge. Webster’s “Sand Bed” is attention-grabbing and memorable and I can still smell the oil paints coming off the Lethbridge’s canvases of choreographed brushstrokes. Amazingly, we are invited to go to the second floor of the gallery, and get to meet Paula Cooper herself in her office, filled with rarely seen artwork. The perks of having a small class! Then we check out the Sascha Braunig show at Foxy Productions.

February 14^th

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Farver’s class: We stay in the classroom and Farver takes us through the projects she worked on when she was a curator at MIT’s art museum. It’s great to hear about the public art projects Farver has completed- she is a brilliant curator and I’m honored to have her as a mentor and teacher.

Benson’s class: After a quick lunch we head off to Queens to meet Shaun Leonardo, Director of Public Programs and Community Relations at the Socrates Sculpture Park. He gives us a personal tour of the park which is dedicated to provide space for large-scale sculpture and also has a beautiful view of Manhattan across the water. Then we run to the PS1 MoMA where we see the current exhibitions such as “Confettisystem: 100 Arrangements” and “New Pictures of Common Objects.” Then we get to meet Christopher Lew, Assistant Curator, and have a conversation about the “New Pictures” show that he curated.

February 21^st

Farver’s class: Sung Hwan Kim comes into the class to talk to us about his life and give us advice about how to get where you want to be as an artist. He takes us through the abundant amount of experiences he has had and focuses on how it is important to do many things that interest you. You can do it all, if you want.

Benson’s class: We get to personally visit Robert Melee’s studio, who takes us through his past artwork and gives us a preview of artwork that hasn’t been exhibited yet. Melee has prominent overarching themes in his artwork and it was nice speaking to such a consistent artist who knows exactly what his aesthetic is and continues to expand on it.

February 28^th

Farver’s class: A busy day! We meet at Apexart and get a personal tour and mission statement from one of the directors. Then we head to Art in General, where we meet Anne Barlow who takes us through the space and answers our questions about alternative spaces, discussing the differences between these type of spaces and galleries, and the pros that come along with an alternative space. Next we go to The Drawing Center and meet Brett Littman who graciously invites us into his office and speaks about the past and current conditions of The Drawing Center and where he hopes to see it go into the future. Littman also speaks to us about his personal career and how he got to this position, and talks about his side writing jobs that he picks up for different art publications.

Benson’s class: The busy day continues! We head to Brooklyn to check out three different artist studios. Each artist talks about past work and work that they are currently making. First up is Ellen Harvey, then Blane de St. Croix, followed by Diana Shpungin.

March 7^th

Today Jane and Jane combine forces and take us to three different art fairs. We start our day at the Armory Show. Next, we head to the Independent Art Fair. Lastly, we go to the Volta. We are overwhelmed with art…art, art and more art! But it is the best experience because we are all able to discuss what we see and get an overall feel for contemporary art from around the world and of all different calibers. By the end of the day, we are worn out! But I am happy because we each picked up our own Andy Warhol Brillo Boxes from the Armory Show- large pieces of cardboard we trucked along with us the entire day!

March 14^th

The classes combine forces once again. First we all head to the Guggenheim, and although it’s closed on a Thursday we are lucky enough to get to meet Christina Yang, Director of Education & Public Programs. Christina talks to us a little bit about what she does here at the Guggenheim and her personal career history. Then she takes us to see the current shows being exhibited.

Later that afternoon we head back to AAP NYC and meet with Mari Spirito, Founding Director of Protocinema and past Director of 303 Gallery in Chelsea. Mari is a wonderful, energetic person to talk to about her involvement in the Istanbul art world and her non-profit experiment with Protocinema where she makes exhibitions in New York and Istanbul.

March 21^st

SPRING BREAK: I head to Miami to get some warmth and some much needed rest!

March 28^th

Farver’s Class: We meet with art critic Eleanor Heartney who talks to us about topics that she usually focuses on with her writing such as religion, feminist art and contemporary art in general. It’s helpful to speak to Eleanor because we usually have to write exhibition reviews as our homework assignments. We are required to visit the show, and then write a piece on it. And how common is it to meet someone whose work we have researched and read and then question her about it? Pretty amazing.

Benson’s Class: We use class time to volunteer for the Guggenheim’s performance piece “Sanbaso, Divine Dance,” by artist Hiroschi Sugimoto and actor Mansai Nomura.

I’ll stop here because that’s quite a lot to take in! I hope I got to give you just a small glimpse at our life here in AAP NYC and I’ll keep you updated!

-Sam

Here is a photo from the Armory Show with our Brillo Boxes:

I guess the reason that I find myself mentioning this memory is because it was something I was reminded of when we woke up to the sad news of Prof. Kevin Pratt’s passing away on the night of Tuesday, February 19th. Kevin (or KP, as he was fondly referred to by his peers) was the first face that greeted the M.Arch I Class of 2014 on our first day of school – at our very first class in Balch Hall. Later that week, he took us on an extensive tour of the plantations nearby, walking at a furious pace that few of us could keep up with – all the while giving us an exhaustive and amusing lecture about the historical evolution of the ecological and geological systems around us. We didn’t know it at the time, but that tour was to become his most enduring memory for many of us. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sustainable design projects and lively and engaging mannerisms that enlivened his Environmental Systems Class throughout the term. Those of us who had attended his class couldn’t help but feel saddened by the thought that the person who kicked off our Cornell experience, wouldn’t be able to see us through to the end of it.

So in order to pay tribute to his life and his enduring passion for environmentally friendly design, we decided to make a commemorative trip to a site that he was genuinely fond of mentioning quite frequently in his lectures: we visited the steps in front of the Low Library at Columbia University. KP must have spent some time sitting on the great expanse of those steps (while he was at Columbia) because he thought they performed remarkably well as a thermal mass: storing heat during the day and re-radiating it later in the evening. He believed that this thermal property gives the steps a kind of magnetic appeal for hordes of Columbia students who continue to sit on them in order to soak up their warmth. On that Wednesday, we sat on them to honor Kevin’s memory and in doing so, we were able to make ourselves feel ever so slightly better considering the heaviness that had settled on us with the news of his passing.

Many of us had visited Columbia previously, but before we were to leave its strikingly manicured quads that day, with the aid of AAP NYC’s Executive Director Robert Balder we discovered more than a handful of things about Morningside Heights that we had been completely in the dark about before. For instance, we had never realized that the reason this area always seems windier and colder than some other parts of Manhattan is because of its topographic isolation: it is situated on an elevated plateau that rises above the Harlem lowlands. There was once an insane asylum situated right in the middle of the plateau, which had the adverse effect of lowering land values in the area and deterring real estate investment for much of the nineteenth century. I also learned that before the neighborhood settled on its official name, it was alternatingly dubbed Bloomingdale Heights, Riverside Heights, Columbia Heights and University Heights etc. As we left “New York’s Acropolis” to return to studio, it was not without a sense of wanting to come back to the neighborhood to explore its many remarkable buildings in more detail at some point soon.

Glenn Ligon: Neon

Luhring Augustine

October 26, 2012- January 19, 2013

(http://www.luhringaugustine.com/exhibitions/glenn-ligon-neon/)

In this exhibition, Glenn Ligon explores neon lights and text. He finds inspiration from Gertrude Stein’s novel Three Lives, past neon sculptures of Bruce Nauman and current general Americanisms. Historically relevant text that he uses such as “I sell the shadow to sustain the substance,” is specifically evocative in this current day and age. Ligon also addresses politics in America through pieces such as “America” and “Nov. 6, 2012.

Doug Aitken: 100 Years

303 Gallery

February 1, 2013- March 23, 2013

(http://www.303gallery.com/)

Doug Aitken has created a gallery site-specific installation for his latest show. This site-specificity requires interior destruction of the gallery walls and floor in order for his art to have a home. The first thing that catches the eye is a humongous crater in the center of the gallery space. The crater is filled with water and functions as a basin for his “sonic fountain,” where water drops abstractly from the ceiling and produces an eerie dripping sound that sounds like the interior of a cave. Adjacent to the crater is a circular hole in the wall that centers the word sunset made out of weighty rock that appears to be volcanic. Another piece displays the word “ART” in an open tank, where it appears to function as a chocolate fountain. An orange-brown milky substance consistently melts down the letters into the tank also filled with rocks. Bold letters that spell out “MORE” hang on a wall, appearing to be made out of glass that has also been demolished, or shattered. The destruction of letters produces a beautiful piece that reflects light in geometric gradients.

Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors

Luhring Augustine

February 1, 2013- March 16, 2013

(http://www.luhringaugustine.com/exhibitions/ragnar-kjartansson_1/)

Ragnar Kjartansson’s nine-screen video installation, titled The Visitors, exists dually as a hauntingly beautiful performance art piece and an emotional portrait of the “art” that occurs through music production. The video installation takes place in a large, darkened space of the Luhring Augustine Gallery, a theater-like room that allows for drama and intimacy with the piece. Each of the nine screens displays a single musician in a different room of the long-standing elegant mansion known as Rokeby Farm, located on the Hudson River in Upstate New York. Although fragmented by screens, the musicians play the same song, either contributing their voice or instrument to produce a beautiful adjoined melody. Stand in the middle of the room to hear all the parts merge into one sound, or concentrate on one screen to hear the parts produced by a single musician above the others.

Sascha Braunig: Wrister, Blister, Plaster

Foxy Productions

January 12, 2013- February 9, 2013

(http://www.foxyproduction.com/exhibitions/251)

Sascha Braunig’s paintings represent a strange, yet successful, mixture of portraiture, surrealism, abstraction and optical art. Braunig paints busts of ambiguous human figures that are transformed in different ways. The figures, masked by patterns and luminescent colors, merge into analogous backgrounds. Braunig shows sophisticated handling of space and color. She blurs the boundary between the figural foreground and the background, thus creating both 3D sculpture-like figures and intriguing spatial optical illusions.

El Anatsui: Pot Wisdom

Jack Shainman Gallery

December 14, 2012- January 19, 2013

(http://www.jackshainman.com/exhibition137.html)

El Anatsui’s massive textile pieces, or “sheets” abstractly hang on the walls or the floors of the gallery. Made of bottle caps his pieces are interesting in its wholeness and its details. The metallic-like effect of the combined and woven bottle caps are quite stunning and its difficult not to spend time mesmerized by the beauty in the movement of the “fabric.”

Dieter Roth

Hauser & Wirth New York

January 23, 2013- April 13, 2013

(http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/1649/dieter-roth-bjorn-roth/view/)

The first thing noticed when walking into the exhibition is a pungent sugary smell. Next thing noticed is the mini chocolate and candy factory sitting in the center of the gallery, where two workers or performers produce chocolate sculptural busts through the pouring and heating of chocolate molds. The chocolate busts are then added to a structure towering to the gallery ceilings holding hundreds of these identical busts. Another structure holds these same busts yet made with multicolored sugar, sustaining itself with only these sculptures and sheets of glass in between each row. A larger and messier structure sits on the opposite end of the gallery, a whimsical busy lived-in workspace that encourages the viewer to move about the space and try to imagine the how one worked in this space. Roth’s paintings and framed sculpture-painting pieces also cover the surrounding walls, making for an intricate and captivating exhibition.

Daniel Buren

Bortolami Gallery

(http://www.bortolamigallery.com/artists/daniel-buren/)

Petzel Gallery

(http://www.petzel.com/exhibitions/2013-01-10_daniel-buren/)

January 10, 2013- February 16, 2013

Throughout his 50-year-long career, Buren is known best for his use of stripes, often transforming an environment for which it is site-specific. Bortolami Gallery exhibits his fabric works while Petzel Gallery displays his works with paper and transforming an architectural space. He stays within a specific color field with his “awning” type contrasting stripes, thus expressing the importance between the slight differences of his work and the importance of their relationship with the space.

Last Wednesday, for instance, he organized one of his popular walking tours of the city – this time taking us through the Union Square, Gramercy, and historic Flatiron districts. As usual, we found onlookers casually sloping into our midst to enjoy the pleasure of a free guided tour of the city by an informed New Yorker. As we paused outside the elaborately ornamented entrance to the home of former New York City Mayor James Harper (1844-1845), a woman walked over to our huddle to ask Bob if he was giving a tour of Gramercy. Bob, who by this time was rushing to get us back to studio, courteously declined, telling her that the tour was over. She looked bemused and suggested that we should take a peek inside the building because it is a rare treat, before walking off. Skeptical as we might have been of being allowed to enter the building, we nevertheless attempted, unsuccessfully, to go inside. A few moments later, the same woman rushed back over to let us into the mayor’s home – which it turned out, she now occupies. The historic home is replete with its grandiose triumvirate of linearly interconnected parlors looking out onto the famous “Mayor’s lamps” and the private park beyond, which was also frequented by Bob Dylan. Incidentally, Dylan had his picture taken on the front stoop of the mayor’s home, and that picture was featured on the cover of his highly acclaimed album, Highway 61 Revisited.

Unexpected and serendipitous as this whole episode had been, I think the biggest curve ball that was thrown at us was the discovery that the gracious woman, who had let us into her fabulous home, had chanced upon this apartment not through some high-end realtor, but rather, she found it through Craigslist. Something to chew on, I thought, as I made my way home; looking forward to the prospect of what other surprises might lie in store for us as we work our way through the city – and, incidentally, Craigslist – over the next few months…

A quick subway ride uptown brings us to Chelsea, where the AAP building is located. Since there are only four art students in NYC for this semester, we each get sizable individual desk spaces and we share a “wet-room” for all the messy projects we may take on. There are a lot of perks that comes with being one of only four art students, and a large amount of workspace is one of them. Another perk is individualized attention from professors in each of four classes. This semester we are taking Perspectives on Metro Studies with Masha Panteleyeva, Studio with John Jurayj, Professional Practice with Jane Farver, and New York City Seminar with Jane Benson. In addition to these classes, each of us has an individual internship that we go to on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

After only living here for a month, I’ve already fallen in love with the city.  I have learned so much and even feel like I’ve grown up more. To try to accurately describe my first month at AAP, I’ll highlight the things that my life seems to revolve around:

1. Subway Rides

The subway system is probably the most important thing one needs to learn about when moving to the city. Without the subway system, it would be nearly impossible to get to the places that you need to go to in a short amount of time. And there are many places you will have to go to. Learning the subway system came the hard way, unfortunately. I didn’t get on a subway until the third day living in the city. (I admit I was avoiding it.) One of my roommates Olivia and I planned to go uptown to shop and go out to lunch. We purchased our monthly unlimited Metro Cards and hopped on what we thought was the correct train. I guess we weren’t paying attention to the stops because before we knew it, we weren’t in Manhattan any more. Once we stepped out of the subway station and didn’t see any skyscrapers around, we knew we had made a huge mistake. We had taken the train in the opposite direction to which we wanted, and we found ourselves in Long Island City. At least we think we ended up in Long Island City, to this day we aren’t even sure. Thankfully we were able to seek advice from friendly strangers who pointed us onto the correct subway train and we returned to Manhattan. I guess it was good to get the big subway mistake out of our way quickly, because now I’m extra aware about whether I’m taking the Uptown or Downtown train. Just today I made a trip to Brooklyn that required three different train transfers. No mistakes made. It may seem like the most complicated system ever when you are entirely new to this type of transportation system, but after a week or so, the system becomes your best friend. (Any transportation system that avoids taxi fare is a friend of yours.)

2. Food

While the food in New York City is absolutely delicious and you can find any type of cuisine you desire, it is much more expensive than what you’ll probably be used to. Hmmm, would I rather buy that new Marc Jacobs purse or feed myself for a week? Just kidding, it’s not that expensive, but it does burn a hole in your wallet especially if you eat out for every meal. It’s important to cook for yourself whenever you have the time because often times you’re going to have to eat out or grab food because you are too busy or tired to actually make it. Eat out, wisely. Grocery stores are still expensive, but not as bad as restaurants, fast food and take out. I’ve even heard that some people attempt to avoid New York prices so much that they take weekly train trips out to New Jersey and lug there bags of cheaper items back into Manhattan. In a busy schedule that seems very unrealistic. As long as you keep an eye on what you spend and practice restraint, you’ll be fine. The best thing about New York food is its accessibility. There are two delis and a convenience store surrounding my apartment building, not to mention a string of tavern restaurants about five minutes away. Have I mentioned delivery yet? It’s the absolute best. Remember that blizzard we had last week where we got a foot of snow? My roommates and I got delivery from the diner down the street at one o’clock in the morning. It’s amazing, it really is.

3. Looking at Art

Part of being an Art major in New York City is taking advantage of what the city has to offer. Every single class this semester has taken us to at least one gallery or museum exhibition during class time. Often, for classes like Professional Practice and New York City Seminar we will be roaming around galleries and museums in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan for the entire class period. All over the city! (See the importance of subways, here) Part of our homework for these classes is to visit galleries recommended by teachers on our own time as well.

4. Talking about Art

First comes looking at art, next comes talking about art. Discourse is an extremely important procedure to fully interpret and understand art. Each time we visit a gallery or exhibition we have an in-depth conversation about it. Writing about art is another important ability. Most classes ask that we write our own review of a show after we have seen it in order to become familiar with art terms and ideas as well as fluent in the language used to talk about art. Constantly articulating your opinions and ideas about art that you have seen ultimately helps you to express your concept in your own art.

5. Making Art

Lastly, once you have looked at art and discussed art, you can make your art.  (You can do it in any order, but I believe this order is most effective in my artistic process). Creativity comes to the surface a lot faster when you are constantly being exposed to the creativity of others. This city is endlessly inspiring.

Well, this is just an overall gist of the amazing month I’ve had so far.  I’ll get into detail about specific experiences in blog posts to come. Thanks for reading!

-SAM

Gallery Hopping in Chelsea

Hurricane Sandy has come in and disrupted our daily life – closing down our studio and offices, and making it impossible to go anywhere below 30th street.  Luckily I live on the upper east side in Cornell’s Weill Medical Dorms and have been safe, dry, and with power, albeit a little bored – make that a lot bored.

As a way to counteract that boredom my roommate Ashley and I moved even farther uptown to our friend Andrea’s house for a few days.  We figured that if we couldn’t do any work, we might as well enjoy ourselves and do every Halloween tradition we could think of.

Haunted Ginger Bread House!

This included carving pumpkins, making roasted pumpkin seeds, watching Hocus Pocus (yes we actually did), making a haunted ginger bread house, and drinking pumpkin beer while watching Sweeney Todd.  If you can’t leave the house, at least you can make your house festive!

Pumpkin Carving with a hidden surprise

New York Theme Song

53rd & 3rd by The Ramones 

Favorite place to ponder in the city

Red Hook Waterfront

Best kept secret in NYC

Atrium of Ford Foundation Bldg., 42nd St.

Best New & Historic Architecture in the city

Best ‘Historic’ Building: Cass Gilbert, Broadway Chambers Building 

Best New Architecture: Raimund Abraham, Austrian Cultural Forum.

This Saturday Andrea, Ashley and I traveled all the way across town to the New York City Wine and Food Festival’s Grand Tasting at Hudson River Park’s Pier 57.  This event was sponsored by KitchenAid and ShopRite with 100% of the net-proceeds benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and the Share Our Strength nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in the United States.

Ashley and me watching Paula Deen!

Pier 57 was filled to the max.  There were hundreds of food and drink stalls lining the edges and center of the building, with two main stages right when you walked in. Famous chefs, winemakers, and celebrity foodies presented continuously throughout the day, allowing us all to take a break from gorging ourselves at the food tables. Depending on the chef they would either be showing us a new recipe, telling us their favorite party food secrets, or just enjoying talking to such a large crowd of food loving New Yorkers.

Kathy Griffin dropping in as a surprise during Rachael Ray’s presentation!

My favorite moment in the day was watching Paula Deen present.  She didn’t actually cook anything until the last five minutes, but hearing her talk about food and her life now was hysterical.  She brought her tiny dog and spent a good five minutes trying to get him to roll over for a piece of turkey. He was not having it. She finally gave up and proceeded to show us how to make some truly lethal looking fried dumplings, all while making fun of her husband who was there with her. She was a lot of fun to watch and has a great personality for keeping a crowd entertained.

Paula Deen on the wrong side of the stove!

All in all I highly recommend this event to students coming to NYC next fall.  It will be in early October! If you like eating and drinking delicious food, wine and liquors (not to mention celebrity sightings!) than this event is for you.  The most delicious things of the day were a slow cooked pot roast, the beet and Gorgonzola ravioli, the amazing array of cheeses and olive oils, and a mixed drink I had with apple cider and Bulldog gin.  And those were just a few of the hundreds of booths!

I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it.

-Lauren

This photo is  from “one of my tours at Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan with the summer students (M. Arch IIs).  This shot is from the little known, ‘Irish Hunger Memorial.’”

New York Theme Song:

“As a Yankee fan, it would have to be Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York.”

Favorite place to ponder in the city:

“This is a new favorite choice for pondering the city, it’s call the “WNYC Transmitter Park”   and it’s located along the Greenpoint Waterfront in North Brooklyn.  It’s name is derived from the old radio transmitter that broadcast the sign for NYC’s most important radio station – WNYC (the broadcast studios where in the upper floors of the NYC Municipal Building (designed by McKim, Mead & White) in Lower Manhattan on Centre Street. My former pondering location was in the middle of New York Harbor riding in the bow of the Staten Island Ferry  as she makes her way to Whitehall Ferry in Lower Manhattan.  The view to the Manhattan skyline is stunning at sunset and is especially profound as you past the Statue of Liberty (on your Port or left side).  “

Best kept secret in NYC:

“That Robert Moses is actually alive and well in NYC.  He’s been last spotted working in the “bullpen” with Mayor Mike Bloomberg in City Hall.”

Best New & Historic Architecture in the city:

“The best new architecture in NYC is actually a three way tie between these unique districts in Manhattan:

i) Bond Street between the Bowery and Broadway;

ii) Canal Street District of Tribeca, especially north and south of the West Canal Street corridor from Hudson Street to West Street (be sure to walk around the block as new projects are underway); and

iii) High Line from West 30th Street to the Gansevoort Meat Market (be sure to begin your exploration at 9th Avenue and don’t stop until you get to the Hudson River Park at West Street). “