South Village Rezoning Proposal Gets Community Board Endorsement

At its February meeting, Community Board #2 voted overwhelmingly to endorse GVSHP's proposed South Village rezoning plan, which would put in place height limits for new development, end the zoning bonus for dorm, classroom, and other "community facility" developments, and encourage the retention of existing buildings.

Recent out-of-context developments in the South Village such as NYU's Furman Hall and the One VanDam condo tower show how important the rezoning is to protect the character of the neighborhood. According to GVSHP's analysis, towers as high as 300 feet tall would actually be possible on some South Village sites under the existing zoning.

The key now is to get support for the proposed rezoning from local elected officials, and from the Department of City Planning.

HOW TO HELP:

• Write to local elected officials and urge them to support GVSHP's South Village rezoning proposal, and to join in calling upon the City to adopt the measure >>

"Victory for Our Parks" Celebration Saturday, March 15th at 1pm

Please join us for our "Victory for Parks" celebration Saturday, March 15th at 1pm at LaGuardia Park, LaGuardia Place between West 3rd and Bleecker Streets.

On January 7th, Judge Donna Mills made a crucial ruling that will protect parkland in Greenwich Village from being obliterated by the NYU expansion plan -- a great victory not only for us, but for parks and open space advocates citywide. Since our victory, it's been cited a number of times by other communities fighting similar battles as a major turning point.

The celebration will serve as a jumping off point for "Save Our Parks and Open Spaces" Week (March 16-22). We will ask everyone to call or email City Hall during the week to ask the administration to support our open spaces. We will also be circulating a letter/petition for supporters to sign.

In 2012, GVSHP, NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, and a broad coalition of neighborhood and preservation groups and individuals filed an Article 78 lawsuit against several City and State officers and agencies for their unlawful approval of NYU's 2031 expansion plan, including the elimination of precious parkland, open spaces and gardens.

Judge Mills ruled that taking three of four parkland parcels -- Mercer Playground, LaGuardia Corner Gardens, and LaGuardia Park -- and giving them to NYU for its plan was illegal, and that the action violated the Public Trust Doctrine. NYU had argued that the parks were not "technically" part of the Parks Department, even though they had been used as parks and gardens, in some instances, for decades.

Judge Mills was not fooled, and rightly gave the parks and gardens back to the public. If we stand united across all five boroughs, City Hall will have to hear us and chart a new course that will protect our public spaces City-wide, for good.

Find out more:

You help make it happen!