PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

September 24, 2008

www.gvshp.org

 

Read the Op-Ed by GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman in The Villager, Sept. 24, 2008: NYU 2031 Plan Could Mean Accelerated Expansion in Our Neighborhood.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm

PTOWN

The historic Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments, 133-139 MacDougal Street

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

June 20, 2008

www.gvshp.org

Last night Community Board #2 voted to approve NYU's plan for demolition of 133-139 MacDougal Street, the Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments; with this approval, it is expected that NYU will move ahead with its plan.  Several weeks ago, after an enormous public outcry led by GVSHP, NYU did agree to preserve the four walls and entry facade of the theater portion of the building, although NYU originally claimed there was nothing worth preserving about the theater.  But NYU has continued to refuse to preserve  the remainder of the building, which has been called "the cornerstone of bohemia," "the heart of cultural life of the Village," and "the center of much of the resurgence and renaissance associated with Greenwich Village"  by scholars and historians.  Because of the historic significance of the building, and because NYU pledged to community groups, the Community Board, and elected officials to "prioritize re-use before new development" as part of the "planning principles" it agreed to, GVSHP felt it was critical that NYU be called upon to re-use rather than demolish this building.  Many community groups, preservationists, theater advocates, historians and neighbors joined GVSHP in this call.
 
During last night's Community Board public hearing, speaker after speaker urged NYU's demolition plan NOT be approved and the ENTIRE building be preserved; only NYU and the Manhattan Borough President's Office spoke in favor of the current plan. At last month's Community Board #2 Institutions Committee public hearing on this issue, the majority of speakers strongly opposed the current NYU plan; at the hearing and press conference beforehand, opponents included Actor/NYU alumni John Leguizamo, playwrights Bill C. Davis and Richard Vetere, and Writer/Producer Tom Fontana.  Yvette Eastman, the widow of Max Eastman, one of the original Provincetown Players, also attended the public hearing to show support for preserving the entire building.
 

Ironically, the approval of NYU's plan to demolish most of the building came just after the New York State Historic Preservation Office, in response to a request from GVSHP, declared that the entire building qualified for the State and National Register of Historic Places due to its historic significance.  This finding was shared with the Community Board, along with other concerns that GVSHP had about the plan.  On a positive note, the State's determination means that NYU cannot use State or Federal money for their plan without going through a historic preservation review and approval process, which would allow GVSHP and the public further opportunity to affect the plan. 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm


PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

April 25, 2008

www.gvshp.org

Dear friend,
 
This week NYU unveiled the latest phase of their 'NYU 2031' Plan, which include plans to demolish the historic Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments at 133-139 MacDougal Street.  GVSHP was swift to call upon the university to drop this proposal; NYU's plans and GVSHP's responses were covered by AM NY, the Villager, Crains NY, City Realty, the NY Sun, Backstage, and the Backstage Blog.
 
Provincetown Playhouse:  The Provincetown Playhouse is one of the most important sites in the history of 20th century American theater -- a launching pad for works of Eugene O'Neill, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edward Albee, John Guare, Sam Shepherd, Charles Busch, and David Mamet, among others.  The apartments over the theater have housed many well-known artists over the years who wished to be near this center of cultural vitality.  When NYU bought the building and then renovated it, they touted the Playhouse's rich history and their honor in owning and re-opening it.   Additionally, NYU recently agreed to a set of "planning principles" with Borough President Stringer's NYU Community Task Force (of which GVSHP is a member) which says that university should "prioritize...re-use before redevelopment" in their planning.   The Provincetown Playhouse is a key historic site within the proposed South Village Historic District, which NYU promised to support; demolition of a historic lynchpin in the proposed district like the Playhouse will damage the chances of landmarking the entire area moving ahead.
 
GVSHP wrote NYU President John Sexton strongly urging the university to rethink this plan, and wrote to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission urging them to move ahead swiftly with the proposed designation of the South Village Historic District section containing the Provincetown Playhouse to save this historic building. 
 
'NYU 2031' Long-Range Plans:  The latest stage of NYU's long-term planning process showed greater transparency and engagement with the public than in the past, but also showed some very disconcerting concepts.  NYU continues to project adding as much as 3.6 million square feet of new space in and around its 'campus core' over the next 23 years.  Analysis by GVSHP of NYU's growth (which was distributed to attendees at Wednesday's NYU Open House) shows that 3.6 million sq. ft. is the equivalent of all new NYU buildings built in the area over the last 42 years, or the equivalent of 20 more of their highly controversial new 26-story dorms on East 12th Street.  This shows that NYU's projected growth in our neighborhoods in their 2031 plan is actually considerably accelerated over their past growth, which belies the impression the university has given. 
 
The 2031 plans also showed that NYU is no longer considering Long Island City as potential location for satellite or remote facilities, and that the university has narrowed such options to Governor's Island, the East Side Medical Corridor, and Downtown Brooklyn -- a development we find very disappointing.  At the same time, NYU is contemplating large-scale developments in and around their 'campus core,' in spite of commitments to "prioritize identifying opportunities to decentralize facilities" as part of the planning principles.  GVSHP continues to push hard to get NYU to look for satellite locations if they need to grow, and to remain within their existing footprint and envelope in the Village.
 
HOW TO HELP:
 
Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
    
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm
 

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

April 17, 2008

www.gvshp.org

On Wednesday the 23rd from 5 to 7 pm NYU will be holding an 'Open House' to display the final recommendations of their architects and consultants for options for the University's growth and development over the next 25 years.  It is CRITICAL that you  join GVSHP in attending this event to find out more about what NYU is planning, to provide NYU with feedback about their plans, and to ensure there is a strong turnout so that the university, government officials, and the press know how many people are concerned about NYU's expansion plans in our neighborhood.

Background:  NYU has agreed to a set of "Planning Principles" with various elected officials, Community Boards, and community groups (such as GVSHP) to guide and limit their future growth in our neighborhood, and has begun a more transparent process for planning for their future.  However, GVSHP is already very concerned about the direction NYU has been moving in and whether they are in fact honoring their commitments.  Among the most important principles NYU agreed to are: prioritizing finding locations outside our neighborhood to accommodate future growth; attempting to re-use buildings rather than undertake new development; and sustaining local retail.  And yet NYU is already limiting the locations outside our neighborhood they are considering for future growth, while they are rapidly moving ahead with plans for massive new development in our neighborhood, demolishing historic buildings, and displacing neighborhood retail.  Additionally, while NYU has claimed that they expect their growth over the next 25 years in our neighborhood to be much more modest than in recent years, analysis by GVSHP shows that NYU's projected growth in our neighborhood over the next 25 years is equal to all of the new buildings they have added over the last 40 years COMBINED, or the equivalent of twenty more of the new 26-story dorms they have just built on East 12th Street. 

HOW TO HELP:

Come to the 'NYU 2031' Open House next Wednesday the 23rd from 5 to 7 pm to Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East, and join GVSHP in letting NYU know that they MUST abide by the 'planning principles' they have agreed to, and they must limit their new development in our neighborhood, seek alternate locations, and preserve historic buildings and local retail.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 8, 2008

www.gvshp.org

Good news about NYU -- rather than siting another mega-dorm around their central campus, the university will be purchasing a new, not-yet occupied building on the corner of 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue to house approximately 900 students from leased spaces in the Financial District which NYU is losing.  Seeking locations for new facilities outside of NYU's saturated campus core and the surrounding neighborhood is consistent with the "planning principles" NYU recently agreed to with GVSHP and other members of a task force established by Borough President Stringer (see http://gvshp.org/documents/NYUPlanningPrinciples.pdf). 
 
In 2006, when NYU's leases began to run out on their Financial District dorms, they replaced 700 of those beds with the East 12th Street mega-dorm, which GVSHP staunchly opposed (see http://gvshp.org/NYUdorm.htm#7Aug06).  Aware that NYU still had 900 more beds to replace, GVSHP made clear that a similar move in our already over-saturated neighborhood would face stiff opposition, and urged NYU to consider other options.  We are therefore very glad that NYU has chosen this approach, which is consistent with the Planning Principle's requirement that NYU "identify opportunities to decentralize facilities" and "cultivate locations outside [the Village campus core and surrounding neighborhoods]," as well as GVSHP's call for the university not to expand beyond its existing footprint and envelope within our neighborhood.
 
For more information, see below.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

January 31, 2008

www.gvshp.org

As you may have heard, two very important developments regarding NYU and the future of our neighborhoods took place yesterday:
1) For the first time, NYU agreed to a a set of "planning principles" to guide the university's future development.  The principles were negotiated by a task force led by Borough President Stringer which includes GVSHP, other community groups, elected officials, and community boards.  The principles include the University prioritizing identifying locations OUTSIDE of our neighborhoods for possible future growth (see gvshp.org/documents/NYUPlanningPrinciples.pdf).  This is a significant change in NYU's practices GVSHP has long called for (see http://gvshp.org/NYUexpansion.htm#2Feb06)
2) NYU's public 'Open House' presented a variety of possibilities the university is contemplating for its future growth (see www.nyu.edu/nyu.plans.2031/pdf/OpenHousePresentation.jan30.pdf)
Both events were covered extensively in the press, including in:
GVSHP worked very hard to ensure that the planning principles emphasized the need for the university to look outside the neighborhood as much as possible when contemplating additional growth.  We hope and expect that these principles will be a roadmap to further more specific and concrete agreements, and we intend to hold NYU to the letter and the spirit of this document.
 
However, clearly much work still needs to be done.  NYU's plans still project the university adding 3 million or more square feet to our neighborhood over the next 25 years -- the equivalent of seventeen or more of their new 26-story mega-dorms on East 12th Street -- an amount we find completely unacceptable.  Additionally, the University's plans reflect a great deal of thinking around the possibility of new developments in our neighborhood -- especially in and around the Washington Square Village and Silver Towers superblocks -- while plans for finding development sites outside our neighborhood remain vague and preliminary.  GVSHP has long taken the position that NYU should remain within their existing footprint and envelope in our neighborhood -- rather than continuing to expand -- and that their first priority must be to find alternative sites for any new growth.  While the university has taken some small concrete steps in the right direction -- such as agreeing to site a new graduate dorm in Downtown Brooklyn -- we are very concerned that the University does not appear to be moving as quickly or as resolutely on alternative locations for other new development as they are for local ones.  Many members of the public who attended yesterday's Open House expressed similar reservations about the university moving ahead with ANY new development plans in our neighborhood until or unless they exhaust their options for satellite locations.
 
You can express your concerns directly to the university by going to their feedback page at http://www.nyu.edu/nyu.plans.2031/comments/.

GVSHP will continue to work hard through the Borough President's NYU Task Force and through our own efforts to prevent inappropriate development by the University in our neighborhood.  We believe the planning principles agreed to by NYU give us increased leverage in this regard, providing a means to either steer the university away from such development, or to publicly call them on their failure to maintain written agreements they have made with GVSHP, elected officials, and a broad range of community groups.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

January 25, 2008

www.gvshp.org

NYU will be holding another Open House regarding its 25-year campus plan on Wednesday, January 30th from 4-7 pm at Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East (see www.gvshp.org/documents/NYUOpenHouse1-30-08.pdf).  The event will provide information about the University's development plans as well as an opportunity for the public to provide feedback.  We strongly urge you to attend -- to find out more, and to let the University know that their #1 priority MUST be to cap new development in our neighborhood and to seek alternative locations for its continued growth.
 
GVSHP is a member of the Borough President's Community Task Force on NYU Development, which has been helping to move the University towards agreements on appropriate approaches to, and limits on, development in our neighborhood.  However, the University continues to assert that it must add an additional six million square feet of space over the next 25 years, and that half that amount must be in our neighborhood -- the equivalent of seventeen more of NYU's recently-built 26-story mega-dorms on East 12th Street.  It is therefore CRITICAL that we continue to push for further limits on NYU's planned growth in our neighborhood.
 
See the front page article on this topic in today's AM New York at www.amny.com/news/local/am-collegetown0125,0,6122493.story. 
 
For more information, see below.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

October 12, 2007

www.gvshp.org

NYU OPEN HOUSE ON LONG-RANGE PLANS: 10/17, 4-7 pm

NYU will be holding another Open House on Wednesday, October 17th, from 4-7 pm, to present to the public their ongoing planning for the next 25 years (see www.nyu.edu/about/open.house/openhouse10172007.html).  The Open House will take place at Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East (Waverly/Washington Place).  While NYU has given indications over the last several months that they are working seriously to look for alternate locations outside of our neighborhoods for future expansions (see below), the University nevertheless projects a need for an additional 6 million square feet of space over the next 25 years, and NYU President Sexton has said that he believes about half of that must go in our neighborhoods.  Three million square feet is the equivalent of seventeen of their new 26-story mega-dorms on East 12th Street (www.gvshp.org/NYUdorm.htm). That is why GVSHP continues to push NYU to remain within its existing footprint and envelope within our neighborhoods, and seek locations outside our neighborhood if future expansions are needed (see www.thevillager.com/villager_221/talkingpoint.html). 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

October 4, 2007

www.gvshp.org

Please see the NY Sun story on newly released plans by the City to work with NYU and other universities to address their growing space needs by helping them to locate new farther afield satellite campuses (see http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=63918&v=3234051911).  The city's Economic Development Corporation is in charge of this initiative, and they are targeting sites like Governor's Island, Downtown Brooklyn, and Long Island City. 

In our 2002 report to city officials titled "After the Kimmel Center," GVSHP called for changes in city policy and university planning in light of the debacle of the new Kimmel Center. GVSHP recommended that "the City ...assist institutions in finding locations to begin secondary campuses...as part of the City’s economic development infrastructure, through the Economic Development Corporation" (see www.gvshp.org/AfterKimmelCenter.pdf item 2 "Comprehensive Master Planning from Institutions," recommendation 2).  When GVSHP began its community-wide push  to get NYU and the City to pursue satellite campuses for the university almost two years ago, we specifically called upon the City to look at developing areas such as Governor's Island, Downtown Brooklyn, and Long Island City  (see http://www.nysun.com/article/29515, http://www.gvshp.org/documents/NYUAuxCampuses.pdf#page=7, and below).  GVSHP and other representatives of the coalition calling for the secondary campus plan also met in 2006 with several top city officials to promote the idea. 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

August 27, 2007

www.gvshp.org

END-of-SUMMER PROGRESS REPORT ON:
NYU Development and Satellite Campuses

GVSHP has led a coalition of community groups which have long called for NYU to work with the City to find locations for satellite campuses for the university, in order to prevent continuing overdevelopment of our neighborhoods (see www.gvshp.org/documents/NYUAuxCampuses.pdf and www.nysun.com/article/29515).  Earlier this year, Borough President Stringer began convening an NYU Community Task Force on Development Issues, and NYU finally began its long-promised "Strategic Planning" process, to examine and discuss with the community its long-term growth needs.  As a member of the task force, GVSHP has made pushing NYU to find satellite locations a top priority.  This became especially critical when NYU recently announced they will need six million additional square feet of space over the next 25 years, and will grow by 5,500 students -- the equivalent of thirty-four of their new 26-story East 12th Street mega-dorms (www.gvshp.org/documents/NYUDormImages.pdf, www.gvshp.org/NYUdorm.htm) , and five times the entire student population of Cooper Union (see www.thevillager.com/villager_221/talkingpoint.html).

Our efforts may be bearing fruit.  NYU recently announced that they are acquiring a site in downtown Brooklyn for a new graduate student dorm, and the university has now clearly stated that they are working with the City to look for satellite campus and other locations outside of our neighborhoods to site future facilities.  Of course we still have a long way to go, and NYU is still indicating they believe they will need to grow substantially within our neighborhoods even if they do establish satellite locations.  However, this is an important step in the right direction, and we have every intention of ensuring that NYU follows through on its commitments, and of pushing them to go further (GVSHP is still calling for NYU to remain within its existing footprint and envelope within our neighborhood).  For more information on NYU's "Strategic Plan" and their efforts to locate satellite campuses, see www.nyu.edu/about/open.house/pdf/OpenHousePresentation.pdf.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

July 30, 2007

www.gvshp.org

An op-ed was published in the Villager newspaper by GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman regarding NYU's 25-year strategic plan, and the need for the university to find locations outside of the Village/NoHo/East Village if they are to continue to expand.  GVSHP and a coalition of community groups, community boards, and elected officials have called upon NYU to seek opportunities to establish satellite campuses outside of the neighborhood to absorb its future growth (See Below), and now through Borough President Stringer's NYU Community Task Force GVSHP is continuing to call for satellite campuses and alternative locations to be the highest priority in NYU's 25-year plan.  The need is made all the more urgent by NYU's own figures estimating the university will need to grow by 6 million square feet and 5,500 students over the next 25 years – the equivalent of thirty four of their new 26-story mega-dorms on East 12th Street, and five times the entire student population of Cooper Union.  See www.thevillager.com/villager_221/talkingpoint.html.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

June 25, 2007

www.gvshp.org

  NYU to hold "STRATEGIC PLAN OPEN HOUSE" this THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 3-8 pm University calls it "an opportunity to get information and give input" on their 25-year plan

GVSHP encourages public to attend to find out more, ask questions, and raise concerns

NYU "STRATEGIC PLAN OPEN HOUSE":  This Thursday, June 28, from 3 to 8 pm, NYU will be holding a "Strategic Plan Open House" at Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East.   NYU's announcement refers to it as "Planning for the next 25 years...be part of NYU's strategic planning initiative to address the University's academic needs and physical development over the next few decades.  Come and meet the team who will be working on the plan.  Let them hear your thoughts about the neighborhood in which you live, work, and go to school and how NYU can have a positive impact upon its future."  

NYU has begun discussions about its strategic plans with the NYU Community Task Force established by Scott Stringer, which includes GVSHP, many other community groups, and elected officials; those same plans were recently also shared with the Villager, which both reported and editorialized upon them.  NYU beginning this strategic planning process is a step in the right direction, though they still have a very long way to go.  The recent announcements that the University is acquiring graduate student housing outside of Manhattan for the first time ever is encouraging; however, the University has also made known that they plan to locate an additional 600-900 beds for undergraduates somewhere in the Village (roughly the same number they are now building in their 26-story mega-dorm on East 12th Street, but in addition to those beds), and several other large-scale developments are underway or in the planning stages in the Village.   

Additionally, in a best-case scenario, the university anticipates its academic and residential space will grow by 40% over the next 25 years, adding an additional 6 million square feet of space beyond the 14.5 million square feet they already have.  However, because NYU currently has medical facilities in East Midtown and other facilities elsewhere, not all of this growth will necessarily be in the Village, but this is an enormous amount of new space.  Plus, NYU's estimates are based upon the assumption of a vastly increased percentage of students who will spend a semester or more abroad; GVSHP has questioned what if such plans don't work out those students do not go abroad.  

For these reasons, GVSHP continues to press NYU to find locations for satelite campuses outside of the Village to absorb this future growth, WHICH IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN ENSURE THAT NYU WILL NOT CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND TAKE OVER MORE AND MORE OF THE VILLAGE.  We are also urging that the university stay within their current envelope and footprint within the Village.   

There are other serious questions to which we continue to seek answers from the University:

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

March 21 , 2006

www.gvshp.org

SUPPORT CONTINUES to BUILD for PLAN for NYU to LOCATE SATELLITE CAMPUS OUTSIDE of the VILLAGE/EAST VILLAGE/NOHO

Support for NYU Plan Grows:  Community support for the plan by GVSHP and several other neighborhood organizations to get NYU to locate a secondary campus outside of the Village, East Village, and Noho continues to grow.  Recently, the Greenwich Village Block Associations strongly endorsed the proposal.  At the same time, GVSHP has learned that NYU has been negotiating to buy and develop the site at the northeast corner of 10th Street and 3rd Avenue (the former Bendiner and Schlesinger site), though no deal has yet been reached.  GVSHP has strongly urged NYU to end negotiations for that site, particularly as its current secret efforts to acquire and develop this site would seem to belie the university's promise to engage in a public discussion about its long-term planning and development goals.  

GVSHP and allied neighborhood groups have been meeting with elected officials and city officials to discuss the satellite campus plan and garner their support.  Borough President Scott Stringer and City Councilmember Rosie Mendez have already announced their support for pursuing such a plan.   Today the New York Sun published an Op-Ed arguing for NYU and the City to support the community proposal for NYU to locate a second campus outside of the Village so that our neighborhoods do not have absorb all of their future growth (CLICK HERE and HERE).   

 

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

March 3 , 2006

www.gvshp.org

*NYU SECOND CAMPUS PROPOSAL CONTINUES TO GAIN SUPPORT

NYU OVERDEVELOPMENT:  The call by GVSHP and a coalition of seven other Village, Noho, and East Village community groups for the City and NYU to work together to site one or more secondary campuses for NYU OUTSIDE of our neighborhoods continues to gain support (for more information on the proposal, CLICK HERE and HERE). 

GVSHP is leading this campaign because under current conditions our neighborhoods have to absorb nearly all of the ongoing growth by the country's largest private university, and we run the risk of losing the diversity and special character of the Village, Noho, and East Village as NYU expands.   This week Community Board #3 (East Village, Lower East Side) joined Community Board #2 (Greenwich Village, Soho) in unanimously endorsing the proposal, and the Greenwich Village Block Associations joined the growing list of community organizations which have also endorsed the proposal.   

At last night's Noho/Soho/Lower East Side Community Forum, both Borough President Scott Stringer and representatives of City Councilmember Rosie Mendez -- who have been vocal supporters of this proposal -- spoke out strongly to a packed house of City officials and neighborhood residents in favor of the City and NYU working together to explore this possibility, and both offered assistance to help make this happen.

HOW TO HELP:

 

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 17, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*COMMUNITY BOARDS, THE VILLAGER, BORO PRES. STRINGER and COUNCILMEMBER MENDEZ LEND SUPPORT to PLAN for LIMITING NYU GROWTH DOWNTOWN

PLAN FOR ADDRESSING NYU EXPANSION GAINS KEY SUPPORT: In an unexpected turnaround, last night Community Board #2 voted unanimously to approve a resolution strongly endorsing the proposal by GVSHP and seven other community groups urging NYU and the City work together to find locations for one or more secondary campuses for NYU outside of the Village, Noho, and the East Village, so that these neighborhoods need not absorb all of the University's future growth.  Board Chair Maria Derr had originally insisted that no resolution on the matter would go to the full Board, in spite of strong support at the recent CB 2 Zoning Committee hearing on the issue, but reversed herself at last night's full board meeting and joined the rest of the Board (minus three abstentions) in supporting the resolution put forth by the Zoning Committee. 

This puts Community Board #2 squarely on record in support of this proposal.   This followed a week in which the proposal gained considerable momentum.  City Councilmember Rosie Mendez joined Borough President Scott Stringer in supporting the proposal, and both urged Board 2 to do the same.  The Villager newspaper issued an editorial strongly endorsing the proposal as well as providing extensively front-page coverage of the effort to seek support for the plan.  And Community Board #3's Housing and Zoning Committee voted unanimously to support the proposal, which will come before their full Board on February 28th.   

GVSHP believes that such a plan would be beneficial to our neighborhoods, to the City as a whole, and even to NYU, and that it is our only hope for preventing our neighborhoods from becoming a de-facto extension of the NYU campus in the coming years.  Now the hard work of convincing the City and NYU to pursue this plan begins! CLICK HERE and HERE for more information on the proposal.

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 10, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*SUPPORT BUILDS for PLAN to LIMIT NYU GROWTH DOWNTOWN; COMMUNITY BOARD PUBLIC HEARINGS CONTINUE on FEBRUARY 14th

PLAN FOR ADDRESSING NYU EXPANSION ADVANCES:  The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and a coalition of neighborhood groups are urging NYU and the City to work together to try to find locations outside of the Village, East Village, and Noho for a satellite campus for NYU, so our neighborhoods do not have to absorb all of the university's future growth (CLICK HERE and HERE).  This plan received a strong show of public support last night at the Zoning Committee of Community Board #2 (Greenwich Village, Soho, Noho).  The standing-room only crowd expressed overwhelming support for the proposal, which was also supported by Borough President Scott Stringer, and the Soho Alliance joined on as an endorser of the plan.   

GVSHP presented the Community Board with data and evidence culled from NYU sources showing how significantly the university has expanded in the neighborhood in recent years, even when their student population has not grown, and substantiating that current signs indicate continuing future expansion (CLICK HERE).  Even NYU, in public statements just prior to the hearing, admitted that such a proposal must be taken seriously and agreed to consider it (CLICK HERE).  

However, at the insistence of Community Board #2 Chair Maria Derr, the Zoning Committee did not issue a resolution in support of the proposal, instead insisting upon a second, joint hearing on the topic by the Zoning Committee and the Institutions Committee of CB 2  in March(date and location TBA).  However, Chair Derr and the Committee --which expressed strong support for the proposal -- agreed to draft a resolution in support of the proposal to go to the joint hearing next month to serve as the basis of the discussion.  

GVSHP will notify you as soon as the joint hearing in March has been scheduled, and ask you to attend to express support.  Since a resolution has not yet been sent to the full Board for a vote, WE ARE NO LONGER ASKING PEOPLE TO ATTEND THE FULL COMMUNITY BOARD #2 MEETING ON FEB. 16th TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THIS PLAN, though we do ask that you write to the Board and Committee chairs urging support for the proposal (see below).  However, the Zoning Committee of Community Board #3 (East Village, Lower East Side) will meet this Tuesday, Feb. 14 to discuss this issue, and it's full Board will meet on Feb. 28th, and we will be urging them to vote to support this proposal.

HOW TO HELP:

 

 
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 2, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*GVSHP and NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION PROPOSES PLAN to LIMIT NYU GROWTH in the VILLAGE, NOHO, and EAST VILLAGE;  COMMUNITY BOARD PUBLIC HEARINGS on PROPOSAL BEGIN FEBRUARY 9th

ADDRESSING NYU EXPANSION:  The ongoing expansion in the Village, Noho, and East Village of New York University -- the largest private university in the United States -- remains a huge concern to GVSHP, and to many of our neighbors.  NYU, which currently occupies about 100 buildings between 2nd and 6th Avenues in the Village, has built a dozen new high-rises in the area since the early 1980's, and has built or occupied all or part of more than 25 buildings during that time.  Recently, NYU announced plans to build a 26-story dormitory on East 12th Street just off 4th Avenue, which would be the tallest building in the East Village (CLICK HERE for more information).   

GVSHP believes that under current conditions, NYU will only continue to expand, and gradually take over more and more of these neighborhoods.  And while we see our institutions of higher learning as an important element in the character of our neighborhoods, we do not believe that NYU should become their overwhelming or defining trait, as current conditions allow.   

 

That is why GVSHP, joined by a coalition of Village, Noho, and East Village groups, are asking the City to work with NYU to find locations for one or more secondary campuses for the university outside of the Village, so that their future growth need not be limited to our neighborhoods (CLICK HERE for letter to City officials).  We believe that such a plan would not only benefit our neighborhoods immensely, but would benefit the City as a whole, and even NYU.  We also believe that such a plan may be our only hope for preventing the increasing consumption of our neighborhood by NYU.  

Community Boards 2 (Greenwich Village and Noho) and 3 (East Village and Lower East Side) have scheduled hearings on this proposal, and we hope they will vote to support it.   

A STRONG SHOWING AT THESE HEARINGS WILL SEND THE MESSAGE THAT OUR COMMUNITIES NEED AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE ONGOING AND CONTINUAL EXPANSION OF NYU.

HOW TO HELP:

 

The Community Board hearings are the first critical step in what we expect to be a long campaign to protect our neighborhoods from institutional overdevelopment.  Expect further updates soon from GVSHP

about next steps.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.