In years past, the soaring condos and office towers of the building boom have dominated this list. Most of those are done, finally done, or never will be done. We still find room for two, but the vast majority are civic buildings and public spaces, perhaps what New York needs now more than ever as the city continues to fill up with more New Yorkers. It has been a good year to find room to breath, to see, to walk, to live.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC