de Blasio honors projects at 32nd Annual Awards for Excellence in Design

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Design Commission president Signe Nielsen unveiled public works projects across the five boroughs honored at the 32nd Annual Awards for Excellence in Design. Each year, the city's Design Commission selects projects that improve and uplift their communities with exceptional design. de Blasio recognized each of the honorees at an awards ceremony at BRIC House, in the downtown's emerging Cultural District. This year's honorees span neighborhoods across all five boroughs, including a new Little League grandstand on Staten Island, the reconstruction of a children's playground in Sunset Park, a 17-foot diameter Peace Clock near the United Nations, a redesigned environmental center at Alley Pond Park, a new entrance and educational facility at the Botanical Garden in the Bronx, and Cornell Tech's first academic building at its new Roosevelt Island campus. "Whether it's a world-class monument or a new vital fixture of a neighborhood, we want design that inspires New Yorkers and gives us all pride in our city. We're fortunate to have the legacy of so many incredible public works from generations past - these 10 projects represent the best of what we are doing today to break new ground," said de Blasio. "For more than 30 years, the commission has recognized leadership in design in the public realm. This year's winning projects represent exemplary additions to the cityscape and epitomize the best of what talented artists and designers can do in collaboration with the public sector," said Nielsen. Established in 1898 as the Art commission, New York City's design review agency was renamed in 2008 to better reflect its mission. The Design Commission reviews permanent works of art, architecture, and landscape architecture proposed on or over city-owned property. The Commission comprises 11 members and includes an architect, landscape architect, painter, and sculptor, as well as representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library. The Commission holds monthly public hearings in its offices on the third floor of City Hall, where it has resided since 1914. The winning projects are: Conference House Park Pavilion Hylan Boulevard at the Arthur Kill, Staten Island A project of the Department of Parks & Recreation Sage and Coombe Architects; MKW & Associates New York Botanical Garden's East Gate Entrance, Edible Academy, and Family Garden 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx A project of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Department of Parks & Recreation, and the New York Botanical Garden Cooper, Robertson & Partners; Towers Golde Landscape Architects; Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects; Edward Stanley Engineers Cornell Tech's First Academic Building Roosevelt Island A project of the Economic Development Corporation and Cornell Tech Morphosis Architects; James Corner Field Operations Four Directions From Hunters Point Hunters Point Community Library, Center Boulevard between 47th Road and 48th Avenue, Queens A project of the Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art Program, the Department of Design and Construction, Queens Library, and Queens West Development Corporation Julianne Swartz Sunset Park Playground Reconstruction Sixth Avenue at 44th Street, Brooklyn A project of the Department of Parks & Recreation Department of Parks & Recreation In-House Design Peace Clock Trygve Lie Plaza, First Avenue between East 41st Street and East 42nd Street, Manhattan A project of the Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art Program, the Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York Lina Viste Grønli Alley Pond Environmental Center 228-08 Northern Boulevard, Queens A project of the Department of Parks & Recreation and Alley Pond Environmental Center Leroy Street Studio; Dlandstudio Architecture + Landscape Architecture Joseph A. Verdino Jr. Grandstand South Shore Little League Fields, 245 Bedell Avenue, Staten Island A project of the Department of Design and Construction, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and South Shore Little League Gray Organschi Architecture SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR COMPLETED PROJECTS LeFrak Center at Lakeside 171 East Drive, Prospect Park, Brooklyn A project of the Department of Parks & Recreation and the Prospect Park Alliance Tod Williams; Billie Tsien Architects; Prospect Park Alliance In-House Design Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park Roosevelt Island A project of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Four Freedoms Park Conservancy Louis I. Kahn