From its fifth-floor suite at 1133 Broadway, Susan Norget Film Promotion has had a hand in marketing and promoting some of the most notable and important films of our time. In fact, it’s safe to say that America’s familiarity with critically-acclaimed films like Blue Is the Warmest Color, American Honey, Searching for Sugarman, March of the Penguins, Melancholia and a host of others can be attributed—at least in part—to Susan Norget and her team.

Working mainly in the art house, foreign language, and documentary categories, Norget has promoted films for acclaimed documentary filmmakers such as Werner Herzog and Joshua Oppenheimer as well as known narrative writer/directors like Terrence Malick and Lars Von Trier, among many others. She has also seen films she promoted garner nearly two dozen Oscar nominations (winning four), six Golden Globe nominations (winning two), a dozen documentary Emmy nominations and awards, and dozens of film festival awards at Sundance and Cannes. One of her more recent projects, the Japanese film Shoplifters, won the prestigious Palme d’Or in Cannes and has been nominated this year for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Beginnings

Susan didn’t purposefully set out for a career in film promotion, but rather landed there naturally as a result of her strengths and interests.

“I studied film for many years,” she says, “but like a lot of people, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. I really love talking about film, I love watching films, I love international film. . . A four-year stint with the Toronto International Film Festival prepared me for my current career track.  I was often organizing screenings of the independent filmmakers work and trying to get the word out. And really what I do now isn’t so fundamentally different: it’s really about getting the word out.”

When she first founded Susan Norget Film Promotion as a boutique publicity and marketing agency, she primarily focused her interest on art house and foreign language films, and eventually documentary.

I think there was a period when documentaries were thought of, particularly by the broader public, as sort of “worthy,” like good medicine.  They were educational, but they were never thought about as entertainment, being moving, or an emotional experience.   A lot of Hollywood films seem cookie cutter, and “well, we’ve seen that story before,” I believe that documentary storytelling can really be some of the very best original storytelling.”

“Documentary has really hit a boom time mostly in the last 10 years,” Susan says. “I worked on a film called March of the Penguins many years ago, which was then a real anomaly in terms of big box office films because big box office and documentary didn’t go together. People like Michael Moore were able to kind of break through. Films came out that started opening people’s eyes a bit more, and in turn, because some of them were box office successes, it also made distributors more open. Some distributors that hadn’t even picked up a documentary film ten years ago suddenly realized there is an audience for them.”

Her Work Today

Nowadays, Susan’s firm handles promotion and publicity for a significant number of films each year, with a team ranging between two and four people, depending on the time of year and the work load.

Susan says. “I’m mostly doing the marketing side for filmmakers who don’t yet have distribution for their films. Once a film is picked up for distribution, then the distributing firm takes over the marketing of the film, whether it be posters, websites or the social media side of things. So, I often come in very early and work closely with filmmakers in terms of positioning the film: thinking about who the potential audience is, how best to get the message across, and what each individual film’s strengths and challenges are.  Then, I come up with great stills, posters, websites, broadcast clips, grassroots outreach and other fun marketing ideas—in a nutshell, I establish the profile of the film.”

Susan finds a special satisfaction in helping guide first-time filmmakers through the promotion process. “What’s incredibly gratifying is when you start with a film at its first film festival, whether it’s Sundance, or Cannes, or Toronto. Maybe it’s a first film or it’s just the first time a filmmaker has ever even been to a film festival, and you really feel like you’re helping guide the way. So much of what I’m doing is really familiarizing the filmmakers with the independent film landscape, what they should expect of a film festival, encouraging them to do certain things, to participate in certain things, preparing them for Q & A’s, and for interviews with the press. A lot of it is like coaching.”

Changes in the Industry

Like so many other industries, Susan says the digital age has had a profound effect on the modern film industry, particularly when it comes to streaming media services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

“I would say it’s more challenging than ever for foreign language films at the box office these days,” she says. “I’ve noticed certainly in the last five years that it’s been much tougher. The films that break $1 million, for instance, which is a magic number in the foreign language and international film market, are very rare. It used to happen more often. I think there are a number of reasons, but certainly the fact that we do have so many more choices now, and that people are choosing to see more films at home play into this. That’s something that can be a little frustrating.”

Susan also sees the rise of social media as a mixed bag when it comes to how films are discovered, reviewed and curated today.

“On one hand, I do love the sort of democratization of it,” she says. “So many people have blogs and Twitter accounts, and they just want to express themselves.  I love the fact that there’s just so much more dialogue online about film. It changes my approach to marketing because of social media and the idea of influencers. Setting up a social media campaign and working with various digital assets that you premiere at different times—whether it’s a little clip or it’s a trailer—are very important because so many people are on their devices just scrolling around film and entertainment sites.

“At the same time, film criticism as a viable profession is a real question mark these days in terms of a profession in which people can support themselves . . . where there once was a staff of three film writers, now there is maybe only one. This is true for websites, magazines, and papers. It’s obviously even more challenging for print media. They’re downsizing, and with many more films being released,—both in theaters and through streaming—these people are overwhelmed.   Also, there’s much more pressure by the publishers or the “money people” in terms of page views.  You know, you’re more likely to get a click if it’s a film that’s starring somebody big, or has a trendy topic.  I feel economics is playing a larger role— and one outside my control to a large extent.

“That has changed my work in that I know they can only review so many films a week; so the foreign language films or those real special documentaries aren’t being reviewed to the same extent they once were. There’s less room for critical discovery, and, as a filmgoer, that makes me a bit sad. I appreciate the greater diversity of choices, in terms of how you see films, but as someone who deals with the media on a regular basis, it’s that much harder. I love a challenge, but sometimes you feel you’re working hard for diminishing press coverage.”

However, not all the news is bad from Susan’s perspective. “I think it’s wonderful that through digital platforms more people than ever have access to a lot of specialty films,” she says. “So, whether you’re living in Salt Lake City or Cleveland, or somewhere in Alaska, now you can see these films. New Yorkers are spoiled. We can go to the Film Forum, Metrograph, or New York Film Festival—there are so many different film festivals in NYC. However, in the past, if you were living in a smaller city or in an area that didn’t have an ‘art house’ cinema, you were able to see only mainstream films. The fact that many more people can see these films on digital platforms is a wonderful thing.”

What’s Next

Susan has some diverse projects on the horizon.  She is about to do an Icelandic comedy in early March.  A week after that, she is working on an Iranian film by one of the great international filmmakers, Jafar Panahi.  She says, “It’s a really broad cross-section of films that represent foreign language, what you’d call sort of Auteur Cinema, as well as a lot of really great documentaries. One documentary that’s going to be world premiered at Sundance and is coming out at the end of March in theaters is a documentary about Steve Bannon, which we hope people will be talking about.”

“I take on these films because I love them. But it is also incredibly gratifying to know that you first worked with this filmmaker for the world premiere of the film at one of the many festivals, and then a year later, it’s nominated for an Oscar. Whoa! And, you know, there have been a number of awards, a number of film festivals and a theatrical release, and so on in between, and great reviews, standing ovations, and so on.  There’s something about being part of that journey that’s incredibly rewarding, and that has happened with any number of films that I’ve been connected to.

Speaking of New York…

In moving from Canada, why did Susan wind up in New York to establish her film promotion firm, as opposed to Los Angeles? For Susan, it has as much to do with the New York vibe as the types of films she gravitates toward.

“It just happened to be a great place for my profession,’ she says. “It also just makes sense for so many reasons, not just because I love the city, but because of the distributors and filmmakers who are based in New York. While there’s certainly an independent community and independent distributors in L.A., there’s much more of an independent film industry here. It also makes much more sense as a sort of through-way for international film and filmmakers, whether it’s just about the distributors or the film festivals that are based here.”

Why set up shop in NoMad—and specifically, why the St. James Building? “I have a lot of clients and friends who work in the neighborhood,” Susan says. “I live in the West Village, so it’s nice that I can often walk to and from work. NoMad has a nice hustle-bustle too and great restaurants nearby. It’s also a nice midpoint between my home in the West Village and a lot of the places I need to go for work, such as the Film Society of Lincoln Center or MoMA, for meetings . . . it’s really well situated.

“As far as the building goes, I looked at a number of other places, but I liked the “vibe” as it were. I liked the fact that it was an older building that had character. The other thing I like about the building, and the neighborhood too, is that it is very ‘New York-y.’ I like the fact that it’s a nice mishmash of people from all different industries, and especially creatives.”

Susan Norget Film Promotion
1133 Broadway, Suite 536
New York, NY 10010
(212) 431-0090

www.norget.com

What do Ashton Kutcher, Michael Bloomberg, Maria Bartiromo, Phyllis Diller, Elliot Spitzer, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin have in common?  They’re among the many cultural, business and political heavyweights whose portraits have been captured by virtuosic New York photographer David Lubarsky.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, David has seen and done it all— from portraits of the rich and famous to corporate and architectural photography.  His photographs have appeared in such exalted publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Money, Forbes, Business Week, and Barron’s, among others.  Today, operating from his studio and office at Suite 1404, 1133 Broadway, David is always in high demand.  He says, “Most of my work today is for law and financial services firms. “Executive and environmental portraits, corporate lifestyle images for websites, annual reports, brochures and corporate collateral materials.”

Among the clients for whom David has worked are: Cravath Swaine & Moore, Sidley Austin, Jones Day, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Skadden Arps, Mercedes-Benz, Edelman Worldwide, NYU Langone Medical Center, Museum of Modern Art and New Museum of Contemporary Art.  These represent a small fraction of an enormous list that attest to the quality of his work.

How does a seasoned pro like David flourish in the highly competitive photography field when anyone with an iPhone can claim to be a photographer?  The answer: thorough preparation, persistence at getting every detail right, innovation and, perhaps most importantly, connecting with people.

Persistence and Innovation

Every photographic situation involves a challenge and some may seem insurmountable–but not for David.  The reason is simple: he will not settle for second best no matter what it takes – leaning out over the edge of a building, jerry-rigging equipment, moving furniture or studying light patterns before the shot.  His goal is never to just get a shot taken, it is to make each exposure noteworthy and finished to the highest professional standards.

Recently, David has completed several photoshoots for Kew Management, including photos for the company’s website. Richard Falk from Kew who worked with David on these assignments noted, “I have worked with renowned photographers for more than 40 years, and David is the most detailed-oriented photographer I have worked with, and the one with the keenest sense of composition and insight.  He’s easy to work with, because he is committed and resourceful.”

Making a Personal Connection

David has a winning personality that puts people at their ease, but with years of experience he also has many ways of making the tensest sitter loosen up.

When David was preparing to photograph former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine for a magazine cover, he had allotted 30 minutes for the shoot.  The governor (and former senator) not only arrived late but said gruffly that he’d only sit for five minutes. While powdering Corzine’s face, David said he admired legislation to repeal the death penalty that Corzine had sponsored.  The governor immediately changed his tune.  “You know about that?” Corzine asked, surprised. “Take as much time as you need!”

Similarly, when David was preparing to shoot a portrait of Robert Klein for A&E Network, the iconic comedian was not entirely enthusiastic. But David knew Klein had grown up in the same Bronx neighborhood as his parents and told the celebrity he had even been to the David Marcus Theater on Jerome Avenue, where Klein spent countless hours as a kid.  “He was surprised and thrilled I knew about the old neighborhood theater, and his tone completely changed,” David recalls.  “Klein then said, ‘I’m yours!’  The shoot went very well.”

The key is to “do your homework,” David says. “Take the time to find out what makes your subject tick–connect with people as people.”  The results are clear in David’s portraits.  Subjects look their best: relaxed & engaged.

His Drive has Led to Success in Photography and Life

David’s success is no chance occurrence.  His indomitable spirit has resulted in great work for his clients and success for himself.

In the late 1970s, before he had even finished his fine arts degree in photography from the School of Visual Arts, he was taking on freelance assignments photographing works of art for museums and galleries. “As a new freelancer, I could apply my technical and aesthetic skills and still making a living, with the hope that some gallery owner would notice my work.”

Then he received a challenge that would have defeated others. “Within six weeks of opening my first studio, I had a brain hemorrhage.  It’s called an AVM, an arteriovenous malformation.” David was one of the first AVM patients to receive microsurgery, and one of the few who actually survived without any lingering problems. But the health crisis forced him out of work for several months. “Fortunately, my clients stayed with me. I still had work when I came back.”

Finding New Business Models to Succeed

More determined than ever, he spent the next two years building up three new portfolios of work: An editorial/portrait/portfolio, an architectural interior/exterior portfolio and a public relations portfolio.

David recognized that by shooting editorial, the photographer owns the copyright for the one-time use in a magazine.  Additionally, the subject of a portrait, or their company, often wants to purchase the rights to use the photo elsewhere, which provides an additional source of income for that image.

That’s what happened when David photographed Robert Rubin, then the chairman of Citicorp, for a magazine cover. A year after the shoot, Rubin’s staff wanted to use the image again for the cover of his upcoming book on his earlier time as treasury secretary in the Clinton Administration. By owning the copyright to the image, David could charge a licensing fee for each use.  “Controlling the image’s use is a key factor in generating additional exposure & income,” he says.  “Artists should never give away their copyrighted work.”

Meanwhile, many of the companies observed how David worked with the executives during the editorial shoots, so he started picking up assignments from them directly. “It was a great business model, and soon enough I had a collection of clients in the law and financial world.

Continuing to Meet Challenges

What bigger challenge has there been to the entire creative world than the digital revolution?  It affected all art expression, but perhaps, none more so than photography.  On one hand, there was so much new to learn, from the enhanced results produced from digital cameras to the innumerable details of how to size images, store them, send them to clients in online galleries, and alter them post-production.  David, with his enthusiasm, sense of wonder and computer savvy, made all of these transitions easily.  But the change also had an impact on his bottom line . . . at least temporarily.

David recalls, “When affordable digital cameras hit the market, some of my clients said, ‘Well, you know, we don’t really need your services anymore. We’re just going to hand the point-and-shoot digital camera to our IT guy to get the shots.’”  “I said, ‘Please keep in mind that it’s not the camera that makes a good photograph, it’s the creative eye behind the camera.’ Within six months, those same firms came back, saying, ‘You know, you’re right, it’s not the camera.’”

Inspired by NoMad

In 2014, after 31 years at his 20th Street studio, David was forced to move when the building was sold and his rent quadrupled. That led him to the NoMad neighborhood, a move which he says has been both convenient and inspiring.

Madison Square Park has been the Mecca of modern photography. “Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen made those iconic pictures of the Flatiron building at the turn of the 20^th Century;  Steiglitz also founded the famous 291 Gallery and The Photo-Secession movement, which met in the neighborhood. For me, it’s a meaningful connection and an inspiring place.”

Beyond his commercial photography, David has always pursued his own fine art work.

Among his favorite subjects is his interest in “transit”-themed images.  Some of the images from this study are in the permanent collections of the Museum of the City of New York and the New York City Transit Authority.  You may have even seen them in subway ads.  David’s transit photos also garnered him a one-man show.  Awarded by MTA Arts for Transit (now called MTA Arts & Design) the show was entitled “InTransit” @ Grand Central Terminal’s 42nd Street East Passage, July 1992.

Soon after settling into his studio space in 1133, David found a new personal fine-arts project to pursue.  “I had this beautiful view of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral from my fifth floor office, so I started shooting images every day–from various angles at different times and seasons, capturing the changes in lighting and weather,” he says.  Then, in May 2015, the church was destroyed by fire which David continued to photograph the aftermath.  “About a year and a half ago, I moved from the fifth floor to the 14th, on the same side of the building, so now I’m looking down at the church and photographing its reconstruction, a progression I hope to present in a book or show.”

As Always, Looking Forward

I’m incredibly fortunate to have an amazing partner, my wife Sarah, and I have two grown daughters who are gems, both married to artists, too.  I continue to be excited by the challenge of my assignments and the thrill of so many new technological advances.  It’s been a rewarding career, which I hope to enjoy for a long time to come.

David Lubarsky Photography LLC
1133 Broadway, Studio #1404
New York, NY 10010
Studio – (212) 505-1720
Mobile – (917) 754-1670
david@davidlubarsky.com
www.davidlubarsky.com

Independent ad agency Terri & Sandy was founded in 2010 with one goal in mind: To provide a more personable take on the big-agency world. Stepping away from over 20 years of Madison Avenue experience, founders Terri Meyer and Sandy Greenberg have created a company dedicated to hard work and strong client relationships. Their years in the industry have prepped them with big agency rigor, but their approach to clients and staff offers a personal touch. The magenta walls and open floor plan of their NoMad office provide the perfect backdrop to positive company culture and teamwork.

“Clients say that when they walk in, they just think it feels really good in here,” says agency co-founder Terri Meyer. “People really like coming to work.”

Accomplished Past

The welcoming nature of the company’s image does not distract from their ability to deliver results. Recipient of Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year Award in 2017, Terri & Sandy went from $8 million to $13.6 million in revenue between 2015 and 2016, and about $19 million by the end of 2017. Their clients include names like Gerber, Disney, Peeps, Avon, and People, and their work has been featured on CNN, Conan, The View, Today, Fox News, Access Hollywood, and TBS Funniest Commercials. It is clear that while this woman-owned company keeps a staff of just under 50 employees, the scope of their accomplishments is anything but small. 

Founding

Having teamed up early in their careers, Meyer and Greenberg had already experienced great success together before opening their own firm.  The pair worked at different times with industry giants such as Mars, Kraft, Campbell’s, Nestlé, Oreo and Time, Inc., among others. But gradually they began to feel a lack of compatibility within the walls of the large company where they worked.

“Clients had been telling us for a long time that we should go off on our own,” Meyer says. “We sort of had an agency within an agency.  We had our group, we had our businesses, and we had our clients.”

The final push to start their own company came during the recession, when Meyer and Goldberg felt they could no longer do right by their clients in their current situation. “There were so many politics in the big agency world,” says Meyer. “Some creative directors would just kill stuff because they could, not because there was a reason to.”

The result: Terri & Sandy was formed in 2010 on Terri’s living room couch. Since those early beginnings, the company staff has grown by nearly 500%, and eight years later, five of the original seven employees are still with the agency.

“Everybody takes pride in their piece of what they do,” Meyer says. “Cultures are created from the top, and I would have to say we don’t have any politics, which is a miracle.”

The Work

The key to Terri & Sandy’s success, Meyer believes, is in the relationships the agency has with clients. “Every client here today, with the exception of one,” she says, “came from a prior relationship. When you have mutual success with people, they know that they will have it again.”

This special relationship differs from big agencies, because Meyer and Greenberg are the final decision makers behind every advertisement the company creates. “One of our promises is when you buy Terri & Sandy, you get Terri & Sandy,” Meyer said. “We laugh because the president of a big agency may come by once a year to grab a ham sandwich at a meeting.”

However, don’t be deceived by the company’s small size; for being a relatively small fish in a huge ad-agency pond, this agency definitely knows how to make waves. Terri & Sandy’s creative teams are behind some of the most heartwarming and effective campaigns on television, radio, social media and print—from putting FreshPet on the map to revitalizing the iconic Gerber baby brand for the Millennial generation. When People magazine — struggling to reconnect with readers in a day of instant online communication — approached them, the team launched a social media campaign that exceeded every benchmark and turned the magazine’s sales around. And last June, when Terri & Sandy were tasked with shaking up Avon’s image, their hugely successful “Boss Life” campaign breathed new life into the brand with its message of women empowerment through entrepreneurship.

With its current clientele, Terri & Sandy chooses to focus only on projects that align with the firm’s collective mission and values. “Clearly everyone wants to make money,” Meyer says, “but it is not the bottom line. We say ‘no’ to things if we do not feel like they are right for us.”

Social Consciousness

While Terri & Sandy is incredibly busy meeting the needs of high paying clients, it is perhaps most proud of the social work it’s done such as that for “Strands for Trans,” a nonprofit initiative working to provide transgender people with a safe salon to get haircuts. “We met all of these trans people, and their stories were similar,” says Meyer. “There was no safe place to go. They never felt comfortable having anyone touch their hair.”

The agency partnered with JP Gomez of the famous men’s salon Barba to start the nationwide initiative. The campaign began with a video advertisement.   “We did a video that was barber shop poles,” Meyer explained, “and it has a track going over it with all of these news stories about how trans people don’t feel comfortable.  At the end, we change the colors of the barber shop pole to pink, blue and white – the colors of the trans flag.”

For Pride Week, Terri & Sandy came up with the idea to dye hair with the colors of the trans flag. “We did a video of all the people with their hair dyed to show support,” Meyer said.  “Marc Jacobs, the fashion designer, got involved.  He came in to get his hair colored, and he did a video. We got so much press.”

Since the campaign, over 150 salons across the nation have signed on to Strands for Trans and  have placed a sticker in their window, letting transgender clients know they have found a safe place.  “We have five more states to go, and we will have the whole country,” Meyer said.  “So many people donated their time, which is the most meaningful thing.”

The Future of Independent Agencies

While Terri & Sandy may be working with a smaller staff than the big firms on Madison Avenue, its successful track record and returning clientele demonstrate that the future of advertising may very well lie within independent agencies.

“I think people are getting sick of being in the big agency world,” Meyer said.  “Employees are not treated well, and clients are sick of not getting personal attention. We have pitched against the best agencies in the world and won — sometimes twice.”

Founded in 2003, Open House New York (OHNY) is a nonprofit civic organization dedicated to connecting the public with New York City’s rich architectural heritage through a variety of events and programs. The organization’s biggest annual event, Open House New York Weekend, opens the door for architecture enthusiasts around the world to explore buildings usually closed off to the public. Originally inspired by the very first Open House organization in London, organization founder Scott Lauer began OHNY when he realized how easily Open House Weekend could be replicated in New York. Since then, Open House organizations have spread rapidly through metropolitan cities across the globe. Besides Open House Weekend, OHNY puts on additional programs throughout the year, including educational sessions on urban systems and a city-wide scavenger hunt. The overarching goal of these programs is to educate the public about the importance role architecture and design play in the shaping of a city, and particularly how our relationship to these elements have helped shape NYC into a vibrant place to live, work and learn.

We sat down to talk with Gregory Wessner, the Executive Director of OHNY, about his organization’s programming, the importance of understanding the built city and the future of architecture in NYC.

***** 

What did the early days of this organization look like?

I wasn’t here at that time, so I’m speaking second-hand, but the planning for the first Open House Weekend, which was inspired by an event that happens every year in London, took place the summer before 9/11.  I think a key point about the development of Open House New York was that the planning really happened in the months and years after September 11^th. The first weekend event was in 2003. New York at that time was a city of security and lockdown and very closed off.  Open House weekend was a reminder of the value of openness and access and giving the public and New Yorkers access to the city.  It was an important event specifically to New York at that time—different than London, which was just celebrating architecture and buildings.  For New York, it was a real reminder about the deeper meaning of being in a city.

Was New York picked to be the second city?

It wasn’t picked. In every city that has happened since, it is initiated from within the city.  London started the initiative, and there was no intention of it ever going anywhere but London.  There was a woman in London that had the idea and started the event, but there was a guy named Scott Lauer who is an American living and working in London that volunteered for Open House London.  He moved back to New York in the summer of 2001.  He went to a bunch of organizations and said, “There is this great event that happens every year in London, and we should do something like that in New York.”  All of those organizations said, “Yes, this is a great event, you should do it.” And so, he started the planning, and that is how it happened. I think once people around the world saw that the idea could happen somewhere else and that the model of a one-weekend-a-year event could be exported, New York became an example of “Oh, we could do that too.”

How does OHNY work with other branches around the world?

Every city is completely independent.  There is a shared set of values and we occasionally communicate and trade horror stories and support for one another, but there is no formal relationship.

What does the OHNY staff and board look like today?

Everyone associated with Open House loves New York. There is a real passion for the city.  A lot of the people have a background in either architecture or urban studies or some kind of related field.  Our staff is small; we are only four people, but we have a board of 22 people. It is a mix of architects and developers and other cultural figures. The board’s role is to provide guidance and long term vision as well as general fundraising and oversight.

Why does OHNY believe it is important for someone not involved with architecture as a career to know about architecture in New York? 

We don’t have a choice—we exist in a built city.  We live in homes, we go to work in offices or in factories or in schools. Every aspect of our daily life is shaped by the built environment. It is something that none of us can escape. We all share it together. Whether the city functions well or poorly, it’s really the responsibility of all of us to pay attention and advocate for better design and better facilities. The more each of us know about how a city is made, the better off we all are.

Tell us about your recent Urban Systems series of events. How do these help your mission?

I think when people talk about architecture, they think of grand and beautiful buildings. What we are really interested in is looking at architecture in its broadest sense, which is the constructed city. A lot of construction comes from places that support our lives day-to-day, like manufacturing facilities that create jobs or provide products that we use, or our food system.  We have to feed 8.5 million, as [well as] millions of people that are visiting on a daily basis. All of that food has to be managed and produced and consumed and distributed. That requires space. The urban systems series is really looking at aspects of the city that may escape our attention because they aren’t the beautiful buildings we think of when we think about Capital A architecture. They are, in many ways, more important. They provide jobs and provide sustenance.

Would you walk us through what we would experience at an OHNY weekend?

Everyone has a different approach to our weekends.  Depending on your interests, there really is something for everybody. It really depends on what your individual interests are, and how much stamina you have. You can spend two full days going around all five boroughs and seeing as much as you can handle.  Generally, I think what is really wonderful about it is that it gets people out to see parts of the city that they have never seen before.

How do you solicit support?

Like all non-profits, every year is a scrambling to put together our funding from lots of different sources. We have a pretty diverse funding stream that includes public support from the federal, state, and city governments. If you put those three together, that would be our single largest supporter. We do special events and fundraising benefits for which hundreds of New Yorkers buy tickets. This represents another major portion of our funds. There are individuals who love New York and believe in our mission who will support us with private donations.

Is there a favorite part of New York for you?

I don’t know that there is a favorite part. I love those moments of going someplace new and thinking “I can’t believe I am still in New York City”.  We did a tour of Dead Horse Bay, which is part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is a former landfill that is sort of failing. The garbage is spilling out. If you did not pay attention to the garbage that was all over the beach, you might have thought you were on Long Island Sound or in the Hamptons. If you turned around, you saw the skyline in the distance. I love those moments when one can see the contrast between Midtown Manhattan and somewhere else. More conventionally, I love all of New York’s parks: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Hudson River Park, Central Park, and Madison Square Park. Having places where you can get a break from street life is really wonderful.

Do you have a favorite building?

I am a huge fan of contemporary architecture. I love all of the new buildings that have been going up. It gives the city energy, and it defines this moment in time so that, 100 years from now, future New Yorkers will look back and remember what we left for them.

What advice would you give to someone interested in architecture?

Come to Open House New York. If you have an interest in architecture, urban planning, urban design, or New York, one of the most important things is getting the experience of architecture. A lot of people will read books and magazines and go to lectures, but architecture is a 3-dimensional art form, and one really needs to experience it.