NYU Expansion Plans Update
The Community Action Alliance on NYU 2031 (CAAN 2031), a coalition of community groups including GVSHP founded to respond to the NYU plan, has grown by leaps and bounds in a very short period of time.The coalition now consists of more than twenty-five community groups, and has received prominent coverage in the NY Times and the Villager. If your community organization would like to join the coalition, please contact us.
CAAN 2031 was founded in the wake of the suspension of the Community Task Force on NYU Development by Borough President Stringer, to ensure that the recommendations of the Task Force are still heeded. CAAN 2031’s mission is to ensure that NYU’s massive expansion plans, which require multiple public approvals, do not destroy the special qualities of the Village, East Village, and NoHo; to educate the public about the plan and the public approval process it must go through; and to call upon the Community Board and elected and appointed officials who will vote on the plan to protect the character of our neighborhoods (read the CAAN 2031 letter to the Community Board and elected officials HERE). Since CAAN 2031 first began its outreach, the Executive Committee of Community Board 2 has voted to support the recommendations of the Task Force; the full Board is expected to vote on the resolution in September.
 Secondly, at a recent public meeting, NYU gave additional details about the size and composition of their proposed new buildings, including a 385 ft. tall hotel/residence tower (the tallest building ever erected in the Village), and a 1,400 bed mega-dorm on Mercer Street (NYU’s 26-story dorm on East 12th Street — the tallest building in the East Village — is only 700 beds, by contrast). CLICK HERE for an illustration and details of the recently revealed plans, or READ HERE for more details.
Finally, you might be interested in a recent article in the NY Post regarding a member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission having to recuse herself from consideration of NYU’s upcoming application for the 385 ft. tall tower because she has been hired by the university to lobby other city agencies on the plan (read HERE), and an op-ed in the NY Times questioning the financial viability of NYU’s massive expansion plans in light of their meager endowment and growing debt (read HERE).
Read more about NYU’s expansion plans and GVSHP’s response HERE.
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