Mayor Bloomberg chose the members of a new commission that will study and revise the city charter [PDF]—the document that outlines how New York City government works. According to the Times, the 15-member panel of "longtime loyalists, educators, political operatives and community leaders" will study the document and suggest changes, which could include reinstating two-term limits on city politicians, encouraging nonpartisan elections, and abolishing the city's public advocate and borough presidents. more ›

The DOT has brought some newly commissioned artwork to the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, unveiled earlier this week and up for 11 months. 1010Wins notes that it features "barrels as seats with birdhouses above"—which sounds like a pretty risky design for the humans! However, the DOT sent us these photos and it doesn't really look like the old wine barrels are made for lounging about. If you wanna give it a shot, however, you can find the Atom Cianfarani installation at Columbia and Halleck streets. We're sure the squirrels and pigeons will are having a field day over there. The NY Post has a photo of another DOT piece that was unveiled in the Bronx, "an abstract sculpture made of plywood and resembling a stack of children's building blocks and star-shaped toys," and they note that three more sculptures will go up this year (on the UWS, Queens Plaza and Lefferts Gardens). more ›

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Earlier today the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to welcome five more structures into the elite family of New York City landmarks. According to City Room, the newly protected locations are:
• The Tompkinsville pool in Staten Island (above left) and its modern L-shaped recreation center, one of five WPA-era pools opened in the summer of 1936. (The most famous of the bunch being McCarren Pool.)
• The Betsy Head Pool and Recreation Center, located within a 10.5-acre park in Brownsville, Brooklyn, which also opened in '36. The commission's statement maintains that "the recreation center is noteworthy for the extensive use of recessed glass-block walls and a rooftop observation gallery with parabolic arches that support a cantilevered canopy on the roof."
• Fire Engine Company No. 53 (above right) at 175 East 104th Street in East Harlem, which was finished in 1884 and now houses the Manhattan Community Access Corporation, a local cable television station. The four-story brick building is comprised of a cast-iron base with a wide entrance, with decorative motifs such as torches, terra cotta sunflowers and sunbursts.
• The Public National Bank of New York building (1923) at Avenue C and Seventh Street, which the commission digs for its "Viennese-inspired, terra cotta wreath of fruit which originally held a clock, an eagle and decorative urns."
• The former Wheatsworth Bakery, a seven-story brick factory located at 444 East 10th Street. Finished in 1928, the bakery was designed in the Art Deco and Viennese Secessionist styles by Williamsburg architect J. Edwin Hopkins for the cracker manufacturer that invented the Milk-Bone dog biscuit. It's now a storage warehouse. A landmarked storage warehouse.

The Sun has it that their new pitch would still demolish the O’Toole building, but the new hospital would be 9% shorter than previous plans, rising to less than 300 feet. Rudin Management Co., which would buy eight buildings from the hospital to finance the project, would also build a somewhat smaller luxury condominium once they tear down the buildings – it would drop to 233 feet from 265 feet and be 60 feet less wide. Rudin would also spare four of the purchased buildings. more ›

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Between 2008 and the end of 2010, six New York City bridges will turn 100 years old, and the newly formed New York City Bridge Centennial Commission will be making sure they're adequately feted. The six centennial spans are the Madison Avenue, Manhattan, Borden Avenue, Pelham Bay, University Heights and Queensboro bridges. more ›

Earlier this week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously agreed to allow the main branch of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street to inscribe the name of a prominent donor, financier Stephen A. Schwarzman, multiple times on the library facade. The fabulously wealthy son of a grocer and co-founder of the Blackstone Group will have his name inscribed five times on the library’s façade as a shout-out for his $100 million unconditional gift to the NYPL. more ›

Well, candy is in the mouth of the beholder, but here are the actual renderings. As noted yesterday, the proposals for the new residential and retail complex at the Domino Refinery will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission at a public hearing today at 2pm at the Municipal Building (1 Centre Street), 9th Floor North. Brownstoner posted snapshots of the renderings taken last week at a community board meeting, as well as floor plans for the modified refinery, which would feature five floors of residential units on the roof. more ›