NEW YORK—“I apologize greatly for this incredible inconvenience,” said Community Board 2 Chair Brad Hoylman. “We completely underestimated the crowd tonight.”
Hoylman spoke to attendees at the Center for Architecture present for the New York University (NYU) expansion proposal in Greenwich Village.
While about 100 people listened inside, at least another hundred people waited outside. They made themselves known by pounding on the building’s glass facade.
The presentation was interrupted by community members insisting for a meeting relocation. Someone asked, “Why won’t you let these people in? This is supposed to be a public meeting.” Multiple requests for a meeting relocation followed by bursts of clapping forced Hoylman, to approve the relocation.
“I propose we move to a larger venue,” announced Hoylman.
Twenty minutes later, the presentation continued at Our Lady of Pompei Church approximately four blocks away.
On the walk over, Edy Selman, village resident and activist against the NYU expansion, said that underestimating the turn out didn’t make sense based on the nearly 500 people estimated by the event organizer who squeezed into the Center for Architecture on Jan. 4 for a public meeting about the expansion.
Hoylman said at the new location, “This is a testament to your community activism. We'll make sure we plan appropriately [in the future]—the Javits Center,” he joked.
