While the Canada geese may be putting airplanes in danger, our tall buildings are putting migrating birds in harms way! According to the New York City Audubon, each year an estimated 90,000 birds are killed in the city when they collide with buildings and glass during migration to and from their breeding grounds. NYC Audubon director Glenn Philips told the Daily News, "Millions of birds pass through New York City on their way to their wintering grounds. They fly primarily at night over the city, and they get confused by the lights." The organization notes on their website that "since the program’s inception in 1997, over 4,000 dead and injured birds have been collected and documented in our database." more ›

Yesterday we posted a top 10 list of NYC's ugliest buildings according to the AIA Guide to New York City. However, these are not the opinions of AIANY, they are only the opinions of the guide's authors. AIANY Communications Director Emily Nemens must be getting death threats from Renzo Piano, because we've gotten several panicked messages today regarding this clarification. She explains: "[We] are proud of our history with this book (the first edition was published by the chapter in 1967), but it is an independent publication now, which we are happy to help publicize because of its attention to design quality." more ›

That Antony Gormley public art installation, that will most definitely up the 911 call count, is now being installed on rooftops around the city. All in all 31 statues of bodies will be placed on top of buildings near Madison Square Park, including the Flatiron and the Empire State Building. There will also be a few placed on the ground, but the ones that look like jumpers have authorities a little concerned. more ›

Some city landlords have begun prohibiting tenants from smoking inside their apartments, because of the dangers of second-hand smoke. A study recently found that secondhand smoke causes at least 35,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers nationwide each year—and New Yorkers are even more at risk because their dense urban environment. As one tobacco expert put it: "Smoke doesn’t know to stop at a doorway. It fills the full capacity of every indoor location in which the cigarette is smoked." So at least one major real estate company is now stepping in to stop the smoke before it starts. more ›

Travel + Leisure takes a look at the World's Ugliest Buildings, and somehow no New York structures made the list. Not even the Verizon Building. Though the New York magazine architecture critic may have an explanation; he tells them: “The ugliest buildings are the anonymous ones. Even if an experimental, high-profile building doesn’t quite deliver, at least the architect is trying something. A boring building is a warehouse in the middle of New Jersey.” more ›

Over the weekend, NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff took the opportunity offer his list of buildings for demolition:

Even the most majestic cities are pockmarked with horrors. There are countless dreadful buildings in New York; only a few (thankfully) have a traumatic effect on the city. So I propose we knock down the structures that not only fail to bring us joy, but actually bring us down. more ›

The Department of Buildings has allowed architects and engineers to "self-certify" their plans and alterations, to help with getting the tens of thousands of buildings pending permits fast-tracked. But after recent outcry, the DOB has re-reviewed many plans, finding over 80% are "plagued with zoning violations." more ›

A memo from FDNY Operations Chief Patrick McNally is instructing firefighters to conduct inspections of buildings under construction or demolition on two different timetables, depending on their height. City rules have long mandated that all buildings going up or coming down had to be inspected by the fire department every 15 days. McNally's memo now instructs firefighters to inspect buildings over 75 feet tall every 15 days, and below 75 feet tall every 30 days. more ›