Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Jane's Walk in Inwood Saturday morning May 7th

Tower of the Cloisters Museum, Ft. Tryon Park, viewed from Isham Park.
Please come walk & talk about Inwood on a Jane's Walk to be held on Saturday May 7th from 9:00 to 11:00am.  Over 200 Jane's Walks are to be held on the weekend of May 6-8, 2016 in NYC.  The Municipal Art Society is the city organizer for New York City's Jane's Walks, which are held annually in cities all over the world.  Below is the link to the Inwood walk on the MAS site:

http://janeswalk.org/united-states/new-york-city-ny/jane-jacobs-robert-moses-intersections-along-broadway-inwood/

Who was Jane Jacobs? MAS:
"She was an urban activist, thinker, and writer. Though she did not have formal training as an urban planner, her work was fueled by a deep love for cities and the people who live in them. Her approach to urban planning—based on observation and pedestrian experience rather than theoretical principles—was radical during an age when top-down planning was the status quo.
What is she famous for? Jane became the voice of the opposition to urban renewal and “slum clearance” planning practices that were popular in cities during the 1960s.
She organized a grassroots effort to thwart Robert Moses’s proposed “Lower Manhattan Expressway” project, which was set to destroy the historic fabric of SoHo and Greenwich Village.
In 1961, she published her most influential book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."

Who was Robert Moses?:
Robert Moses as remembered today needs no introduction (see comments above). However in 1936, the American Scenic & Historic Preservation Society gave Moses the prestigious Cornelius Armory Pugsley [gold] Medal for work he had accomplished on parkways and in parks up to that date. The Art Deco era improvement in Inwood begun under Moses that very year was completed by WPA workers, architects, landscape architects, and engineers who designed and constructed parkway and parkland features in relation to historic roads or pathways and the last remaining natural landscape of Manhattan Island. Many features of the 1930s improvement and many related surrounding Art Deco era residential and commercial buildings are still extant in Inwood.  

Who is the MAS? MAS:
"The MAS advocates for a more livable city. Through policy reports and public programs, we work to protect the best of New York’s existing landscape, from landmarks and historic districts to public open spaces. With visionary initiatives like the Alliance for a New Penn Station, MAS also helps shape thoughtful planning and design for New York’s future.  MAS became the New York City organizer for Jane’s Walk in 2011.  MAS is committed to highlighting the importance of Jane Jacob’s legacy year-round. Her legacy inspires our community-based planning work, such as our popular Livable Neighborhoods Program."

Please note: This Jane's Walk is initiated by members of Volunteers for Isham Park who will meet up with members of Transportation Alternatives. Co-sponsored by the Historic Districts Council who in 2011 selected Inwood as one of the HDC's first "Six to Celebrate" communities in NYC.

Who is Transportation Alternatives? TA:
https://www.transalt.org/getinvolved/fix-our-streets


To see all MAS organized Jane's Walks in NYC for 2016 go to:
http://janeswalk.org/united-states/new-york-city-ny/

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