Everything around us on a daily basis, the architecture of the buildings, the sidewalks, the bike lanes; everything comes together in a perfect harmony in the city, may change. With an new mayor coming in January 1st of this year, with them coming in will bring some big changes. The article that I read (can be seen here) says that extending PlaNYC, a plan to help the city, made by current Mayor Bloomberg, is a no brainer for the new mayor. Examples of some of the things seen in the plan are: “extending the bike lanes, bike shares, the plaza program, rapid-bus service, the High Line and the No. 7 subway;”. Which all try to push the city in the direction of a greener system, to lessen our pollution and environmental impact, which I personally think is awesome. The bike lanes are highly important in the city, NYC was named one of the best biking cities in America recently.
But what does this have to do with the arts you ask? Well the mayor has the ability to choose if architecture and future thinking is the most important thing or if present problems are more vital. The architecture of the city is rivaled by few and is my personal biggest appeal to the city. If they could potentially add to the Manhattan skyline in classy and well done ways I would be ecstatic. When I walk around the city at night I look around at the buildings and become overcome with a sense of awe. The enormous size and sleekness of the buildings are something I could look at for hours.
Theres not denying the fact that New York City is a unique city. It is faster paced, pushes the boundaries of architecture, arts, and culture; NYC is in my opinion the best city in the world. It houses millions of individual artists, free thinkers, and in general creative people. With so many creative people being so close in proximity the natural result is a renaissance like culture where it is constantly pushing the boundaries of art and questioning society.
The new mayor “could coordinate parks, schools, transportation, landmarks, buildings and small-business development” all of which could beautify the city and make it a more pleasant place to live. I believe that the city should be clean with a large amount of parks and open areas, to help encourage creativity. The environment of the city determines who wants to live here and the better the environment for creative people will attract more arts and help develop further the culture of this diverse and exciting city.
The way this article talk about the massive potential the mayor has to change this city for the better has me extremely optimistic. I think that with the right leadership the best city in the world could become a little cleaner, more efficient and a better place to house creation.
My question to anyone who is reading this, what do you think the mayor should do/could do to help make NYC a better place for the Arts? What would you like to see be done?
This idea is certainly very captivating, and debatable. What will the new mayor do with his many powers? I like how you mention adding to the skyline because that sounds like a cool idea, and can add a lot to our city’s artistry. You also mention the bike lines which are truly crucial to the city, especially recently as bike programs are expanding. I think they should also concentrate a bit more on law enforcement for if one watches this video about cars in the bike lane, it is clear that there is much more that needs to be done in this city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ
If laws are better enforced, like keeping cars out of the bike lane then, I believe, that in turn will lead to less chaos in our city, and thus a better environment for a prospering, creative arts community.
I liked that fact that you thought outside the box and went with an article that encompassed politics as well as the future of this great city we live in (which you referred to as the greatest and I’d certainly like to think so at least) I think there should be more done to regulate the street performers in the subway and other uncommon areas. They shouldn’t be looked down upon, but encouraged. I’ve seen this happening in the Times Square station a lot recently where there would be set performances people stop to watch. There are a multitude of other issues for our next mayor to take care of, but he shouldn’t neglect the arts. That much I agree with.
I believe, like you, that the city is beautiful and has potential to become even better. The architecture of the city is unique and no other city rivals it. If the new mayor continues Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, I do not see any reason for the city to not become better than what it already is. In an article in the Real Estate Weekly, Konrad Putzier writes about how New York’s skyline might become more like Hong Kong’s in the future. Putzier says how the increase in high-rise buildings is from Asian influence. Maybe New York will become as vibrant as the booming cities in Asia too.
http://www.rew-online.com/2013/10/10/little-bit-of-asia-creeping-onto-the-new-york-skyline/
New York City is a global icon for its diversity and magnificence. There is no stopping its continued influence, especially in the arts. PlaNYC certainly sounds great and I agree that it would be better if the city were more sanitary and had more open areas. Of course, it is going to be difficult, but I would gladly wait many years if it means a public transit system that is brighter and cleaner and parks with beautiful trees dotted all over the city.
I once wrote a comment related to improving western cities and modeling them after eastern cities, such as Hong Kong and Tokyo. The higher the buildings, the more space we can open up to nature and maintaining ecosystems. I think PlaNYC sounds like an awesome idea and is actually followed through with.
Of course, I also think there could be some improvements done to the transportation systems. Last week, I posted about remodeling Penn Station and how that could revitalize the area around MSG. That should obviously be a priority for the new mayor.
I like this article because I can say that I am affected by what the mayor decides to do because I live here which is awesome! I agree that the city is special and it can only get better. I love that the mayor wants to build another subway and wants to make the city greener. The bike lanes are a great idea obviously to encourage biking and promote safety. I think PlaNYC is a very good idea and one that is long overdue to freshen up NYC. If it is so beautiful the way it is, it can only get better if it is cleaner and greener. I think Bloomberg should also include some kind of plan to help the homeless because there are just so many homeless people and it is really sad. However, I am excited for the mayor’s plans and cannot wait to see what is in store for the city.
Like most of us, I’m also grateful that I have the opportunity of living in New York City. Not only do I get to attend college here, but I also went to LaGuardia Performing Arts High School on the upper west side the last four years, so I feel like I know all parts of the city like the back of my hand. I watched the Citi bikes appear around New York and I watched parks spring up around the Lincoln Center area over the last four years. And just recently I noticed the small park on 66th and Broadway, right where the green market is, has been closed off with a sign that reads “Park is being relocated.” I remember thinking to myself, only in New York City would you see a park being “moved” to another location. But I do think the city is an ongoing environmental project that needs to be taken on with care and love for the big apple, no matter who is in that mayoral seat come January 1. This article is closely connected to something I read called “Restoring Brooklyn’s Pastoral Heart”, found here http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/arts/design/lakeside-a-skating-complex-in-prospect-park.html?ref=design&_r=0. The article describes an ice skating rink in Prospect Park that is undergoing a renovation project to improve the facilities. The project is called Lakeside and is described as “one of the parting gifts of the Bloomberg era to the city”.
There is definitely nothing like New York City. We have the privilege to attend college in one of the greatest cities in the world – not many people can say that. Like you, I’m excited to see the progress of PlaNYC. What I’m particularly interested the most in is the impact on the environment. As a student that’s taken AP Environmental Science, I’ve come to learn the importance of what’s going on in the world today and how crucial it is to improve our current environment. I like this article on Mayor Bloomberg’s website showing the progress of PlaNYC. I’m eager to see what de Blasio or Lhota will do with PlaNYC; I guess time will tell!
http://www.mikebloomberg.com/index.cfm?objectid=1F891822-C29C-7CA2-F203194FB8D18EBF
A lot of people hate on Mayor Bloomberg because of the notorious soda ban, but he really has been doing cool things for the city, especially as far as going green. One of my favorite projects under his administration is Million Trees NYC. There have been many tree plantings in the parks of all five boroughs, with the goal of one million total. More than 20,000 trees have already been planted so far. Bloomberg clearly takes the environment as a major concern, and I think that’s great. Another successful project has been Citi Bikes, and yet another has been, as you mentioned, Highline Park (which is really beautiful, I’m there all the time). What I love about these projects is that they intertwine nature into the city. Just because this is an urban area doesn’t mean we can’t be environmentally friendly. We are not exempt from doing our part for the well-being of the world around us.
PlaNYC is taking a huge step further towards a greener and better New York. Based on the success of Bloomberg’s similar initiatives so far, I’m excited to see how this one takes. It will be especially interesting to see how these types of things will continue under the hands of a new mayor. Hopefully they will adhere to the bipartisan goal of making New York City a better place.
I m right behind you Ken and I do wish to see the architecture of New York expand and become more greener while still having that artistic edge. What I find most beautiful about green technology is how clean it makes everything else looks, and I think if we incorporate that into the city we wouldnt just be making a cleaner city, but also one that looks clean. Everything about New York starts with the buildings because it is just one of those shots that are always shown in almost every New York movie. I think the new mayor would be capable of doing this and creating a better place because building a whole style of architecture can crate thousands of jobs which is vital in our scandalous economy. Personally my favorite piece of architecture is the Apple store on 5th ave because it is so simple and basic, but It looks so beautiful and Im pretty sure it’s environmentally friendly because it is just glass. If more architecture followed Apple’s example in that it created the most space with the best and least material, than we can make a revolutionary change in how cities should be built for the future.
http://architizer.com/blog/top-10-best-new-architecture-in-nyc/
I think the mayor should be more open to allowing artists to publicly display there at, such as the man known as Banksy who is famously known for creating street art throughout NYC. In this article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/24/us/new-york-banksy-art/
the mayor is suggesting that Banksy is vandalizing NYC streets and may as well be committing crimes. It’s people like him that add to the uniqueness of NYC and allow creativity to flow in numerous, different ways. Just like how you said in your blog, the mayor has great potential to change NYC and make it a better, more welcoming place for the arts. Whether it’s through architecture or graffiti, NYC has a variety of opportunities to become an artsy city. Museums and parks alone are not enough to draw people into the art world; it’s what ordinary, every day people do to express their creative side that make this city a more wonderful atmosphere.