The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York was founded as a charitable organization in 1785 to provide cultural, educational, and social services to families of skilled craftsmen.
The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen
Honors Four Outstanding Industry Leaders with its Craftsmanship Award
On Tuesday, November 10, The General Society proudly honored four building and construction industry leaders with its Craftsmanship Award. The 2009 recipients of the award, which is presented to individuals in the building and construction industry who demonstrate leadership in their respective fields and promote exceptional professional standards, were Irwin Cantor, P.E. Structural Consultant; Gerard F.X. (Guy) Geier II, FAIA, FIIDA, LEED; Paul O’Brien, Managing Director, Building Contractors Association and Daniel Rose, Chairman, Rose Associates, Inc. It was a wonderful evening in celebration of these four industry leaders each of whom have had long careers involving a broad range of professional, civic and non-profit activities.
The Craftsmanship Awards ceremony benefits the Mechanics’ Institute and allows The General Society to continue its 189-year old mission providing tuition-free evening instruction in trades-related education for the building and construction industry and its workers.
The General Society thanks all of its supporters and friends who make this mission possible.
This year's generous contributors can be viewed here.
Mark Your Calendars!
The Fall Lecture Series, Labor, Landmarks, & Literature starts on September 15th. This is our seventh series of the popular Tuesday evening lectures, held in our magnificent Library. Labor, Landmarks, & Literature continues a tradition of public lectures that started at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen (GSMT) in 1837.
The Labor series highlights New York as the birthplace of the American industrial experience, and demonstrates how mid-twentieth-century technology reshaped work with case studies of the two days that labor historically advanced to celebrate itself – Labor Day and May Day – both of which had long traditions in the city.
The Landmarks series will look at the hidden treasures of New York City are various landmarked structures in all five boroughs that started as privately-owned facilities but were later acquired by the city because of their architectural and historic significance. As part of a dynamic public/private partnership, the city works with the nonprofit organization running the facility to restore and preserve the historic structure, while at the same time creates public institutions that provide cultural and educational programming of relevance today. Join us in learning about the benefits and the challenges that arise when the city and the private sector work together to preserve the city’s cultural patrimony.
The Literature series will explore the roles that comics and graphic novels have played in New York’s literary, art, and political worlds. The series will focus on the ways comics’ creators used New York City as a setting, an inspiration, and even a character in their works, and how the medium of comics has evolved since its birth in the early 20th century.
The New York Center for Independent Publishing presents:
Comics History/New York History
Join us at our historic building at 20 West 44th Street as we explore the city through comics. Visit our website at www.nycip.org for more information!
New York Comics as New York History Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 pm
Comics historian Kent Worcester will explore the connection between the city’s familiar streetscapes and the development of the comic book from the 1930s and 1940s to the post 9/11 era - looking at the ways comics history has mirrored the ups and downs of the quintessential American metropolis.
Political Cartooning in New York City Tuesday, November 3rd, 6:30 pm
Boss Tweed may have been the most powerful man in the City, but he was still tormented by Thomas Nast’s biting cartoons. Decades later, Jules Feiffer took on Presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton in the pages of the Village Voice. Parsons faculty member Bill Kartalopoulos will lead a panel exploring the historical interaction between political cartoons, New York City, and the public.
New York, the Super-City Tuesday, March 9th, 6:30 pm
New York served as the model for Gotham City, inspired Will Eisner as he created the noirish adventures of The Spirit, and became a recurring character during the 1960s resurgence of Marvel in comics such as Spider-Man and Iron Man. ForeWord Magazine contributing editor Peter Gutiérrez will moderate a talk on the relationship between superheroes and their favorite hometown... and on how comics culture has promoted potent and memorable images of New York to readers worldwide.
“Carousel” in New York Tuesday, April 20th, 6:30 pm
The series closes with a multimedia presentation hosted by R. Sikoryak, Parsons faculty member and author of Masterpiece Comics. This event will feature slide shows and performances from some of the top comics artists working in -- and drawing inspiration from -- the city.
Admission is $15, $10 for Members, and $5 for students.
Out of work or looking to upgrade your skills in our tuition free school designed to support the trades and allied professions? Apply to our respected school and spend a couple of evenings a week improving your life for virtually no cost, just the obligation to learn! Please complete and return these forms as soon as you can to: Applications Office, General Society, 20 West 44th Street, New York City, New York, 10036.
America's Membership Libraries Details The General Society Library
The General Society Library is cited in a new book from Oak Knoll, America's Membership Libraries, a collection of sixteen essays, edited by Richard Wendorf. The book represents the first attempt to provide, through individual histories of the largest surviving membership libraries, a composite portrait of this important movement in American library history. The General Society Library is detailed in an essay by Dr. Janet Wells Greene, Ph.D. and is accompanied by historic photographs. The book is available from the library’s circulating collection.
Search the web with GoodSearch.com and each time you do a search, GoodSearch will donate a penny to The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York!
Fall Semester at the Mechanics’ Institute
Mechanics’ Institute, the oldest privately-endowed tuition-free technical school in NYC is currently accepting applicants for its fall semester. Our programs provide state-of-the-art technical skills to all facets of the building and construction industry, from plumbing to project management. All courses are open to men and women who are currently working in the construction field or allied trades.
Program offerings for this fall include Electrical Technology Plumbing Design, and HVAC Systems. Professional programs include Construction Documents & Design, Historic Preservation, Facilities Management, and Construction Project Management.
All training is open to men and women currently working in these areas of the architecture or building construction fields and is designed to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of methodologies utilized in the construction field.
Registration is ongoing, but we can only accept a maximum of thirty (30) students per class, so register early to avoid being wait-listed.
Call 212-840-7648 today for information regarding the start of our spring semester. Fall semester classes began on Monday, September 14th.
The New York Center for Independent Publishing presents:
The Next Chapter In Publishing: A Conference On New Technologies February 2010
This excited new conference will explore the changing technologies of the publishing industry. From handwritten parchments to Gutenberg’s press, publishing has always used innovations in technology to communicate with the masses. At a time when the publishing landscape changes every day, independent publishers must stay at the forefront of new technologies to remain vital.
Register Before September 2nd and receive a 20% discount. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this thrilling event.
With new resources and challenges for writers, readers, editors, agents, publishers, and distributors, The Next Chapter In Publishing will be an intensive one-day event, focusing on the issues facing independent publishers and writers in the new age of media and the world of publishing.
Topics include:
Blogging as a career choice
Online social networking as a promotional tool
E-Readers as publishing devices
New software applications
Copyright challenges in an age of free information
And more…
With speakers -
Jeff Rivera of GumboWriters and GalleyCat
Ron Hogan of GalleyCat and Beatrice.com
Chris Kenneally from Copyright Clearance Center
Mark Coker of Smashwords
NetGalley LLC
Thomson-Shore and much more…
Don’t miss the chance to be part of this thrilling event, with opportunities to promote your company throughout the conference. Exhibit, sponsor, advertise - put your company in the forefront and the focus of targeted industry professionals and qualified customers.
For further information or registration contact 212-840-2046 or contact@nycip.org.
