Historic Districts Council’s 18th Annual Conference

Mark your calendar for the Historic Districts Council’s 18th Annual Conference on March 2 -4, 2012. The keynote speaker will be Charles A. Birnbaum, founder and president of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. The theme of this year's conference is The Great Outside: Preserving Public and Private Open Spaces.

Updated: Press Coverage of Hearings on NYU 2031

Coverage of the Town Hall meeting on January 4th and the CB2 Hearings (the first stage of the ULURP) has been extensive and covers the gamut of media, from television to blogs.  We have provided a list of the reporting below, in reverse chronology.  Please let us know of our omissions by leaving a comment.

Ten Favorite Sasaki Garden Bird Photos

Inspired by A Tidewater Gardener's ten favorite photos from 2011 blog post, we asked resident photographer Hubert J. Steed to select his favorite Sasaki Garden bird photographs. Mr. Steed's 10 favorites are presented below -- enjoy (and leave a comment)!

Northern Cardinal

Thank you, Assemblymember Glick

On Thursday, January 12, Ruth Rennert, chair of the Save the WSV Sasaku Garden Committee, and several committee members met with NY State Assemblymember Deborah Glick to discuss the adverse impacts of NYU 2031 on the WSV Sasaki Garden, Washington Square Village, and the neighborhood-at-large. The meeting was satisfactory to both parties. Ms. Rennert sent a thank you

Photo: First Snow of the Season

First snow, Jan. 2007

First snow, Jan. 2012

The first snow of the 2007 (left) and 2012 (right) seasons are shown above.  For more photographs of the Garden in winter, visit the Washington Square Village Sasaki Garden Winter Gallery by Hubert J. Steed.

Rally to Save the Village As We Know It From NYU

A letter from Assemblymember Deborah Glick announces a rally against NYU's mega development to be held on Saturday February 11th, 2012 at Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square South between Sullivan and Thompson Streets) at 12 p.m.  Assemblymember Deborah Glick's website is http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=066 and her letter is posted below.

NYU 2031 Presentations to Community Board 2

The presentations made by NYU to CB2 and the community are available on the NYU 2031 Resources webpage and are listed below for your convenience.

NYU 2031 Environment, Public Safety & Public Health (Construction) Presentation

NYU 2031 Social Services & Education (Public School) Presentation

Tonight: CB2 Full Board Hearing on NYU 2031

The Full Board of Community Board 2 will meet on Thursday, January 19th at 6 p.m. to receive reports from the Chair, District Manager, Borough President, and Standing Committees on NYU 2031. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of PS 41, 116 West 11th Street. Speakers' cards will be accepted between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Please confirm date and location on the CB2 Calendar.

Venue Change for Tonight's CB2 Environment Hearing on NYU 2031

The final Community Board 2 Environment Hearing on NYU 2031 will be held tonight.  NYU will present the campus expansion plan impacts on environment, public safety, and public health.  The hearing will be begin at 6:30 p.m. at in the lower hall of Our Lady of Pompeii at Bleecker and Carmine Street (entrance on Bleecker)at the Tony Dapolito Rec Center, 1 Clarkson Street (between Carmine and 7th Ave South).   Please confirm dates and locations by visiting the CB website.

Tonight: CB2 Social Services & Education Hearing on NYU 2031

Community Board 2 has been holding hearings on NYU 2031 as part of the ULURP since January 9th.  Tonight, NYU will make a presentation to the CB2 Social Services & Education committee at 6:30 p.m. at Judson Church Meeting room, 55 Washington Square South (near Thompson Street). 

On Wednesday, January 18th, CB2 will hold its Environment, Public Safety & Public Health hearing at

Open House New York's Field Trip Friday Visits the Garden

Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village courtesy of OHNY/Jailee Rychen (source)

On Tuesday, January 10th, OHNY’s program coordinator, Jailee Rychen, toured the Garden with several of the Save the WSV Sasaki Garden Committee members.  Jailee wrote a thoughtful profile of the Garden which was published as part of OHNY's Field Trip Friday program.  You can read the photo-essay at http://blog.ohny.org/field-trip-friday-washington-square-village-sasaki-garden.  Our thanks to Jailee and OHNY.

Editor's note: this post was originally published to the blog on January 13, 2012.

Tonight: CB2 Parks Hearing on NYU 2031

The NYU 2031 ULURP began on Monday, January 9th with NYU's Land Use Presentation to the Community Board 2 Zoning Committee.  An overwhelming turn out of concerned citizens led to a venue change!  Tonight at 6:30 pm, the CB2 Parks, Recreation & Open Space Committee will hear from NYU and the community.  The hearing will be held at

New Venues for CB2 Hearings on NYU 2031

Due to the overflow crowds at last night's CB2 hearing on the land use and zoning impacts of the proposed NYU 2031 plan, Community Board 2 has selected new venues for the remaining hearings which we have listed below.  Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation,  Fox 5 News, NBC New York, and The Epoch Times published

Tonight: CB2 Zoning Hearing on NYU 2031

The ULURP of NYU's 20 Year Campus Expansion Plan (NYU 2031) officially begins today tomorrow with the Community Board 2 Zoning Hearing of the plan. The hearing will begin at 6pm at AIA Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place between Bleecker and West 3rd Streets.  A STRONG TURNOUT AT THIS MEETING IS CRITICAL!

Press Coverage of the Community United Town Hall

The Community United Town Hall Meeting on the NYU 20 Year Expansion Plan held on January 4, 2012 was well attended by "nearly 500 people" reported Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and was covered by several media outlets.  The meeting was held at the AIA Center for Architecture and was co-organized by GVSHP, CAAN 2031 and GVBA as well as "more than fifty community groups from the Village, Chelsea, SoHo, Union Square, and the East Village."

Here is a list of some of the reporting:

DNAinfo.com: NYU Expansion Review Process Gets Rowdy Start

NBC New York: NYU Expansion Plan Draws Opponents to Town Hall

NY1: Greenwich Village Residents Plot Next Move In Battle Against NYU Expansion

The Architect's Newspaper: Opening Salvo Aimed at NYU Expansion

The Epoch Times: NYU Expansion Scrutinized at Public Meeting

The Villager: Villagers pack town hall, hoping to stop N.Y.U. plan

The Villager Op-Ed: It’s crunch time in fight against ‘N.Y.U. 2031’ plan

The Villager: Year of the ULURP

Tonight: NYU 2031 Town Hall Meeting

Proposed Mercer St. Building courtesy of Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (source)

The Community United Town Hall Meeting against the NYU 20 Year Campus Expansion Plan (NYU 2031) will be held this Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the AIA Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place (between Bleecker and W. 3rd Streets). 

CB2 Public Hearings on NYU 2031

Community Board 2 has finalized the calendar for its five public hearings of the NYU 20 Year Campus Expansion Plan (NYU 2031).  The dates and locations are as follows (but please confirm by visiting the NYU Plan 2031 page at the CB2 website):

1. Monday, January 9, 6:30 pm, CB 2 Zoning Committee, AIA Center for Architecture