The New York Coalition of Black Architects
The New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2007
For additional information - contact:
Robyn M. Fleming, NYCOBA-NOMA, A.I.A.
President, NYCOBA-NOMA
nycobapresident@nycoba.org
In February 2007 a major announcement was made in several media outlets that a majority firm was selected to be the architects for the Museum for African Art, slated to be constructed on "museum mile" at the gateway to Harlem on 5th Avenue. Scheduled to work as the associate architects on the project is another majority firm located in NYC. The project will also include the development of 116 units of affordable housing to be constructed on top of the museum.
This project representing African culture and located at an intersection that encompasses communities from the Diaspora including African-Americans, Africans and Latinos, did not deem it important to engage architects and designers of color in its planning nor implementation phases. As such, as part of our Public Policy and Advocacy initiative, NYCOBA-NOMA is initiating our first campaign to raise public awareness of our organization, our mission and our objectives utilizing the African Arts Museum as a point of reference.
This campaign will be a three-pronged approach consisting of a letter writing campaign, a press conference and a "white paper" editorial that will voice the concerns of our community relative to the entire selection process when designing memorials to our culture, the dearth of opportunities available to architects of color, and an analysis of how the odds are stacked in favor of preventing us from building sustainable practices.
The letter writing campaign itself will consist of three letters to be drafted from the organization and addressed to the following:
Addressing the fact that architects of color were not considered as possible consultants on the project.
Addressing the fact that significant public resources have been allocated to this $80 million project, including $12 million from the city, discounted land from the EDC, a loan from the Community Preservation Corporation and $1,000,000 pledged from the City Council, yet there was no public RFP or bid process for architectural consultants - which we believe is violation of the law that mandates contracts valued above a certain dollar amount be publicly and competitively bid.
Challenging the media to address the fact that journalists did not feel compelled to ask the questions that should have been asked when announcing the commission, such as where is the representation from the community that museum intends to reflect.
To dispel any confusion about the intent of this campaign, it is not to disparage the reputation or qualifications of the majority firms that have been selected for the project, nor to be emphatic about promoting the misguided notion that only firms from specific ethnic backgrounds should be considered for cultural institutions that represent their own communities. But rather to, again, raise public awareness of the multitude of talented and competent firms of color that exist throughout the NYC metropolitan area and across the country that should be afforded the opportunity to represent their capabilities, not only for cultural institutions but major public and private projects as well.
NYCOBA-NOMA is requesting the attendance of interested individuals who are desirous of offering their intellectual capital in the development of this campaign to a plenary session to be held on Thursday, May 3, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the offices of Rafael Vinoly, 50 Van Dam Street, New York, New York. Light refreshments to be served. |
