http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4448 NYU and its surrounding neighbors have had a history of real-estate squabbles, and since announcing its plans to expand by about 6 million square feet, the university has been trying to involve the community to ease tensions. By hosting open houses where university officials share details about their plans with the community, NYU is trying to maintain some transparency in their planning. Head of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Andrew Berman, applauds NYU’s efforts but warns that they cannot just view the village as “the place for them to expand” without creating tension. 2008-07-13 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4366 New York University (NYU) received support for its plan to demolish buildings near the Provincetown Playhouse on MacDougal Street when Community Board 2 voted in favor of the plan. The Board’s vote, 37-1, followed the university’s decision to revise its original plan to destroy the famous Provincetown Playhouse. While NYU applauded the vote, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, criticized the decision. According to Berman, the vote reflects “too much eagerness to accommodate NYU.” 2008-06-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4164 NYU’s plans to demolish the building that houses the Historic Provincetown Playhouse is meeting resistance from some community members who feel that it is a vital part of the neighborhood’s history. Although the proposals are still preliminary, NYU will replace the current building with one that will be used by the law school. The building will include a new theater that NYU and the architect for the project says is closer to how the theater looked before it was renovated in the 1940s. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) said the building lacked the necessary “historical and architectural integrity required for individual New York City landmark designation.”As per its January agreement with local community groups and elected officials, NYU stresses that it will remain in dialogue with its neighbors as it moves forward with these plans. Borough President Scott Stringer and the local Community Board are reserving judgment on the plans until they have more information. 2008-04-30 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4136 NYU is proposing to tear down 133-139 MacDougal Street in order to construct a new five-story building to be used by the law school and to house a new theatre. The site currently has four, four-story row buildings and the historic Provincetown Playhouse, where the plays of Eugene O’Neill were first produced. The buildings have been owned by NYU since 1984. Many community members oppose the project because the theatre “invokes some history” even though it does not have landmark status. NYU’s plans will be shown to Community Board 2 on May 28. 2008-04-23 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4147 New York University unveiled in greater detail proposals for its planned 25-year expansion to the community. Some of the proposals include adding a “new arrangement of interlocking glass structures” on the site currently occupied by the Coles Sports Center and an academic tower. Construction of the tower could be complicated as the proposed site is under consideration for landmarked status. University officials also said that “little progress has been made” on plans to expand outside the Washington Square area. 2008-04-23 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#4041 The Met Foodmarket on 2nd Avenue, located on the ground floor of an NYU-owned building, might not have its lease renewed. At a recent meeting to discuss the schools plans for 2031, residents voiced their concern that the Met might be closed down. Negotiations have been underway for the lease between the owners and NYU, and the owners say that NYU has tried to substantially increase the rent. 2008-04-02 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3928 While the NYU-Brooklyn Polytechnic merger has received largely uncontroversial support from the NYU side, some Polytech alumni are a bit more skeptical. The Polytech Board approved the merger, despite criticisms from alumni that the deal was a “giveaway” and that it lacked any financial commitments from NYU. The Board and many Polytech faculty support the deal because they say it provides financial security for the school, which has had its share of struggles with fundraising. 2008-03-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3925 Residents reacted strongly to a March 13 presentation of NYU’s potential future development plans in the Washington Square Park area. Their concerns centered on the possible need for tenant relocation as a result of construction and redevelopment of the superblocks to the south of Washington Square Park. 2008-03-19 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3920 NYU is among the bidders for a city block owned by CUNY in Kips Bay. The property, which could go for as much as $250 million, currently includes three dormitories and research and community health facilities. The 4.2-acre site, bounded by 25th and 26th Streets and 1st Avenue and the FDR highway, is close to NYU’s dental school and Medical Center, and although NYU has not released details on its plans for the site, the university did indicate that some of its health programs could benefit from the location. The request for proposals on the site has been extended from March 7 to May 22. The winning bidder will be required to include space for the Julia Richmond Education Complex, which is being displaced by a new tower Hunter is building on the Upper East Side. 2008-03-18 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3923 Pending approval from the state, Polytechnic University will merge with NYU after Poly’s Board of Trustees approved the deal. The merge will likely increase tuition at Polytechnic but students will be able to take classes at NYU and will graduate with degrees from NYU, currently a more prestigious University. Some trustees of the predominantly engineering school oppose the merge plans because they do not see the merits in giving up the school’s independence. NYU had its own engineering program until 1973 and the merger could be violating an agreement it has with the state not to have an engineering program. 2008-03-15 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3848 NYU Officials announced that they would be raising tuition and cutting millions of dollars from the administrative budget in order to fund the university’s future expansion plans. NYU Executive Vice President Michael Alfano said that the administrative budget cuts would most likely not come from lay-offs but from a hiring and retraining freeze. Tuition, which has been rising by about 5% each year for the past five years, will almost certainly be increased again this year. 2008-02-28 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3809 The Villager Editorial Board is supportive of the recent steps that New York University (NYU) has taken to keep the Village community informed about their long-term strategic plan for expansion and growth. The Editorial Board is supportive of the work of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s NYU Task Force that worked to create a set of guiding principles that would be friendly to the community and also credits University President John Sexton for creating an open dialogue with the community. The Villager believes that NYU can still do more, including committing to capping its growth around Washington Square Park, which is the campus core, and focusing its expansion in other areas of expansion in New York City. 2008-02-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3761 NYU has purchased a 21-story building in Gramercy Park, at the corner of 23rd St. and 3rd Ave., which will house 900 undergraduate residents. This purchase reflects some of the goals of NYU 2031, a 25-year expansion plan, including the plan to expand beyond Washington Square Park “core.” The Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation praised the University for following its planning principles in making this purchase. 2008-02-11 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3757 NYU unveiled potential expansion plans to the community that primarily focus on utilizing the superblocks located south of Washington Square Park that possess a great deal of development rights. These blocks were initially carved out by Robert Moses for urban renewal and NYU is considering tearing down the current buildings and constructing new ones or developing the land surrounding the current buildings. Another possibility being considered is tearing down the Coles Gym Facility on Mercer Street. At this point, NYU is just listing possible locations for expansions. Nothing has been finalized yet. 2008-02-06 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=61#3758 There is speculation that New York University (NYU) is in the process of finalizing a deal that would make the new building on the corner of 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue the newest NYU dormitory. The space in that building would make up for bed space lost in dorms in the Financial District, which NYU was leasing. Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation applauded this decision by NYU saying that the Gramercy neighborhood was more suited for a larger building than the Village. NYU prefers to own building it uses for dorms in order to build equity. 2008-02-06 00:00:00