Photo: Garden Hawthorns in Poor Condition

Hawthorns, northern edge of the WSV Sasaki Garden, courtesy of Hubert J Steed (source)

The hawthorn pictured in the foreground of the photograph lost a major branch (it's only one) during an early fall storm (not superstorm Sandy).  The remaining trunk was removed after the hurricane.  The hawthorns in the background have been improperly pruned and no longer exhibit the traditional structure of a hawthorn.  Furthermore, the loss of much of their canopy has led to poor growth and stunted habit.

NYU's Final Approved ULURP Plan (Oct. 23, 2012)

NYU's Final Approved ULURP Plan as presented to Community Board 2 on October 23, 2012 is available at http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/govCommunAffairs/documents/2031/2012-10-23-ULURP-Approvals-Summary-Presentation.pdf, with items of particular interest on pages 11, 13, and 14.

Recent Media Coverage of NYU 2031

From the Times Higher Education on November 14, Skyscraper's the limit for furious NYU academics.

Two Major Projects Will Help Transform NYU and NYC

The title of this post is the subtitle of an article in the NYU Alumni Magazine (Fall 2012) about NYU 2031 and the Center for Urban Science and Progress (or CUSP).

NYU has been busy this past year— and things are likely to get even busier since two vital projects were reccently green-lighted by the city..... To deal with an ever-tightening campus crunch, the university sought and received approvals for its first-ever, longterm space growth plan, called NYU 2031....NYU is at a significant disadvantage when it comes to space; the 2031 plan will help ensure the university can meet the needs of its students and faculty for decades to come. “While other sectors of New York’s economy have been shrinking, education has been expanding,” President John Sexton says. “Keeping our universities strong keeps New York strong, and will ensure [the city] remains a world capital in the years ahead.”

The complete article is available on pages 17 - 18 at http://www.nyu.edu/alumni.magazine/issue19/pdf/NYU19.pdf.

Mid-Century Modern Landscape Architecture

The Sasaki Garden is a mid-century modern landscape. No books have been written about it yet, but Lawrence Halprin's Skyline Park, a mid-century modern park, is the subject of a new book by Professor Ann Komora. Read ASLA's book review here.

CB2 Hearing of NYU 2031 Restrictive Declaration

Jessica Dailey covered the October 23rd CB2 hearing of the NYU Restrictive Declaration  of Large Scale General Development for Curbed and noted the following:

• Construction will not begin until 2014.
• NYU has not decided where construction will start but construction on the North Block/ Washington Square Village will not begin until 2022.

Images of the changes to the LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street elevations are embedded in the article.  Read it at http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/10/24/nyu_expansion_schedule_new_building_heights_revealed.php.

The Garden During and After Hurricane Sandy

One of readers shared the following photographs of the garden during and after Hurricane Sandy.

If you have photographs of the garden during the hurricane, please share them with us. Our email is savethewsvsasakigarden @ gmail.com.

NYU 2031 Means Less Open Space

According to an analysis conducted by Tom Angotti, Ph.D. and Evan Mason of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning & Development, implementing the NYU 2031 development plan would decrease the amount of open space in the neighborhood. Getting to NYU's Core: Greenwich Village Proposal Means Less Open Space is available online at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ccpd/repository/files/nyuopenspacefinal-formatted.pdf. You can also find a link to the document on our Resources Page.