NEW YORK—New York University’s proposal to develop two superblocks they own in Greenwich Village began the formal review process with certification on Jan. 3, but not everyone is pleased.
NYU says “a major feature” in its plan has been five years of public input, though at a public meeting of nearly 500 people at the Center for Architecture on Wednesday, many disagreed.
“NYU is … asking for long-term neighborhood zoning protections to be lifted, for open space preservation requirements to be gutted, for public land to be given away, [and] for urban renewal deed restrictions to be taken off the books,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, an event organizer.
“That can only happen if our city officials vote to give that to them, and we’re here tonight to say we’re not going to let you do that.”
A packet of action plans and nine pre-typed letters to elected officials who will have a say in the matter were handed out.
Multiple requests by the university invoked the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, including amending the zoning map, obtaining a special permit for large-scale development (approx. 2.5 million square feet), and mapping actions, such as having the city sell land to them.
Councilwoman Margaret Chin attended the meeting—the plans fall inside her district. She pledged her support to residents, yet dodged multiple questions asking whether she definitively supported the community members against the expansion.
“Every step of the way you have to be there, and I will be there for you,” she said. “We need to work together on this, and it starts with the first community board meeting.”
Two NYU students discussed the proposed expansion with The Epoch Times.
“I feel like students are helpless in this situation; it’s all within the bureaucracy of the school,” said Sophmore Soleil Garneau. “We’re part of the problem by going to school here, but I’m also not going to go protest and leave school.”
Garneau was not sure if the university has expanded too much so far, but “the plans are definitely going overboard.”
Sophmore Alex Degeer was against actions by the university during previous expansion, such as demolishing St. Anne’s church to make way for a new dormitory.
A NYU spokesperson pointed out that NYU’s overall expansion plan targets three sites for half of its proposed development - three million square feet - in downtown Brooklyn, on Governor’s Island, and in Midtown Manhattan between Park Ave and 1st Ave, and between 23 Street and 42 St.
NYU has recently leased a building in downtown Brooklyn, along with its applied science campus proposal, and is building a new facility in Midtown Manhattan.
The Seven-Month Process
The Department of City Planning certification begins a seven-month process, with five Community Board 2 (CB 2) meetings over the next two weeks that scrutinize various aspects of the plan, including the impact on mass transit, pedestrians, and local environmental conditions.
After the meetings and a CB 2 written recommendation issued within 60 days, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will review the proposal and issue a review within 30 days.
These are advisory votes and have no concrete impact on the plan, though they will likely influence the next two reviews from the City Planning Commission and the City Council. A majority City Council vote approves the proposal.
This vote is final unless the mayor vetoes the decision within five days of the vote.
The City Council would still have the final say. A two-thirds vote overrides a mayor’s veto within 10 days.
The first community board meeting is on Jan 9. at 6 p.m. at 536 LaGuardia Place.
