The Municipal Art Society of New York

The Municipal Art Society of New York Shaping the future of New York since 1893. Learn more about our history: https://www.mas.org/about-us/history/

06/15/2026

Over the weekend, New Yorkers took to the city’s public realm to celebrate the New York Knicks first championship in half a century. These celebrations underscored the potential of our public realm as well as where our city needs to improve on delivering quality open spaces for all New Yorkers.

It’s long overdue that we reform our city’s onerous public space permitting processes so that we can more easily activate them. We also need to re-envision our streets for pedestrians and cleaner, greener, transit connectivity. And while doing so, we need to support the stewardship of and maintenance capacity for these spaces so we can use them for more celebrations to come.

Read our full Public Realm Action Plan and latest budget testimony on ensuring maintenance funding for our parks and public spaces, at the link in our bio.

06/11/2026

Last night’s Game 4 comeback showed New York that anything is possible. Can a revamped Penn Station do the same?

For decades, MAS has advocated for a world-class Penn Station—one that moves people efficiently, welcomes visitors with dignity, and strengthens the public realm around it. We support meaningful progress, but progress must be accompanied by transparency, accountability, and a clear plan for meeting the region’s long-term transportation needs.

This summer, New York has an opportunity to demonstrate what it does best: rise to meet a moment of global attention. Whether on the court, on the field, or through the transformation of our most important public infrastructure.

Let’s make sure our city gets this right, and LET’S GO KNICKS! 🧡💙

MAS is grateful for the life and contributions of our former director Margot Wellington—a New Yorker fiercely devoted to...
05/27/2026

MAS is grateful for the life and contributions of our former director Margot Wellington—a New Yorker fiercely devoted to the betterment of our city. It is our hope that we honor Margot’s legacy each day by carrying out the MAS initiatives that she so helped shape. Through Jane’s Walk and our tours program, we invite the public to engage with our city at street level. On the advocacy front, MAS encourages investment in our built environment and preservation and adaptive reuse over demolition. That way, New Yorkers can enjoy well-maintained public spaces and a future that pays homage to our rich history—not only to protect our city’s cultural heritage, but to ensure a more sustainable future for all of us. Read about Margot’s life and civic leadership, through the link in our bio.

05/05/2026

Missed Jane’s Walk NYC this weekend? Relive some of the highlights with our new communications manager Viv, who joined Lisa Burriss for Black Footprints: Lower Manhattan, 1600s–Today and Daniel Wortel-London for Brooklyn Bridge: Infrastructure as Icon! 👣🌉

Registration for Jane’s Walk NYC is now open to the public!We are thrilled to once again offer in-person, guided group w...
04/29/2026

Registration for Jane’s Walk NYC is now open to the public!

We are thrilled to once again offer in-person, guided group walks plus virtual and self-guided explorations. This year, we are proud to bring you over 250 walks across all five boroughs—a record number! We are so grateful for our talented & passionate walk leaders ❤️

The festival is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required for many walks. In-person guided walks will be capped at 30 attendees. Sign-up and secure your spot today!

🗓️ Explore the 2026 roster & sign-up for walks at the link in bio. Where will you walk this May?

We want to thank our 2026 sponsors:

Swig Equities
New York State Council on the Arts ()
New York City Tourism Foundation ()
BKSK Architects ()
Brown Harris Stevens ()

Photo Credit:

02/24/2026

Save the Date: Celebrating the City 🗽

Mark your calendar! On Tuesday, April 21 from 6:00-9:00 PM, MAS will present Celebrating the City at the Museum of the City of New York.

This signature event recognizes excellence across the municipal arts of architecture, landscape architecture, preservation, and public art. The ceremony will include the presentation of the 2026 Brendan Gill Prize and the 25th year of the MASterworks Design Awards. The awards after-party will officially kick off the 2026 Jane’s Walk NYC Festival.

Join us for this celebration of urban design across New York City and the people behind the projects whose vision shapes our city’s future. Ticket information will be announced soon.

🌆 Learn more about the event at the link in bio.

To discuss sponsorship opportunities for Celebrating the City, please contact Director of Development Sarah Celentano at [email protected].

Questions? Email us at [email protected].

01/01/2026

A New Year’s message from MAS President Keri Butler:

As we welcome the New Year, I want to thank you for your continued support of the Municipal Art Society.

Together, we have championed inclusive housing policies for an affordable New York City, preserved public art, partnered with community groups to protect our city’s cultural heritage, and fostered conversations about the future of our city’s architecture and public spaces.

As we welcome Zohran Mamdani as the new mayor of New York City today, we are excited by the potential this new chapter holds and look forward to working with him and his team.

With your ongoing involvement and support, we remain optimistic and inspired about what we can achieve together. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to support our work.

❤️ Make a contribution at the link in bio or at mas.org/support.

On behalf of the MAS Board of Directors and staff, I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Keri Butler
President
The Municipal Art Society of New York

12/29/2025

MAS president Keri Butler recently joined the FAQ NYC podcast to discuss “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces,” William H. “Holly” Whyte’s influential film that continues to shape how we think about the deep connection between urban design and public life. With hosts Amy Sohn and Harry Siegel, Keri explores why Whyte’s observations still matter today, and how MAS is continuing to work to achieve his vision of transformative, thoughtful design for New Yorkers.

🎧 Hear the full episode at the link in our bio!

Whyte was an MAS board member, and his film was produced by MAS in 1980. This year, MAS helped restore the film through a partnership with Project for Public Spaces and Anthology Film Archives. It will be screened at Anthology from January 2-8.

12/23/2025

The MAS Board of Directors and staff wish you a happy holiday season and a peaceful, inspiring New Year ✨

We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to an exciting year ahead. This year, thanks to you, we made significant strides in our mission for a more livable city through our advocacy, research, programming, and more.

In 2026, we look forward to continuing our work to preserve New York City’s historic fabric and create more resilient neighborhoods and working with mayor-elect Mamdani’s team on an ambitious agenda for a more livable city.

Thank you again for making our work possible! ❤️

12/11/2025

We’re on TV! If you were watching NY1 this morning, you might have seen MAS President Keri Butler and docent Wendy Felton talking to Roger Clark in Grand Central Terminal. Keri and Wendy shared MAS’s role in preserving Grand Central with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (an MAS board member) and revealed the stories behind some of the details of this civic gem. We’re offering a special holiday rate for our Grand Central Terminal tours through the month of December—sign up at the link in our bio and join us for an exploration of this iconic New York City landmark at $10 off!

Address

488 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
10022

Telephone

+12129353960

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