Open Space Oversight Organization

NYU has filed for 501c3 status for the organization that will direct the future of the open spaces in the two superblocks bounded by West Third, Mercer, Houston, and La Guardia Place: the Open Space Oversight Organization or OSOO. The nominating members of the OSOO have appointed the following representatives:

• Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has nominated Lin Zeng, Deputy Director of Land Use, Planning & Development, to serve as his office’s representative.
  
• Council Member Margaret Chin has nominated Matthew Viggiano, Director of Land Use & Planning, to serve as her office’s representative.
  
• Community Board 2 and Chair David Gruber have nominated Terri Cude, CB2 Arts & Institutions Committee Chair, to serve as the Board’s representative.
  
• New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation has nominated William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, to serve as the department’s representative.
  
• NYU has nominated Arthur Tannenbaum, faculty and senate member, to serve as the University’s representative. 

The official announcement can be read at http://caan2031.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OSOOappointments.pdf or at http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/govCommunAffairs/documents/superblocks/2013-01-10-OSOO-Appointments-Memo-Web.pdf.

(HT: CAAN 2031)

Superblocks Remain in Councilmember Chin's District

Preliminary maps drafted by the NYC Council Districting Commission show that the NYU superblocks remain in District 1 under the purview of Councilmember Margaret Chin, reports The Villager here.  (Hat tip: Washington Square Tenants Association)

Coverage of the 44-1 Council Vote for NYU 2031

NYU 2031 Approved with Modifications [The Nation]

The University That’s Eating New York! [The Nation]

City Council approves NYU expansion plan for Greenwich Village [Gotham Gazette]

Council O.K.’s N.Y.U. plan; Antis booted out before vote [The Vilager]

Big NYU expansion passes final hurdle [Crain's New York]]

NYU Expansion Wins Near-Unanimous Approval From City Council [Gothamist]

NYU Expansion Critics Tossed Out of City Council Chambers Before 'Yes' Vote [DNAinfo]

City Council Approves NYU 2031 Expansion [Village Voice]

NYU 2031 plan wins key vote by Council committee [Chelsea Voice]

City Council Passes NYU's Village Expansion Plan [Curbed NY]

Council Approves NYU Expansion Plan [WNYC]

New York Council Approves NYU Expansion Over Neighbor Objections [San Francisco Chronicle]

City Council approves massive NYU expansion, residents vow to sue [amNY]

Two Postscripts: 44-1 Council Vote for NYU 2031

From Alicia D. Hurley on the City Council Vote for Approval on the NYU 2031 Core Plan

Today’s City Council vote in favor of NYU’s 2031 Core plan marks the culmination of over five years of planning, hundreds of hours of meetings with our NYU and external communities, and successive iterations of our plans that were designed to strike a balance between allowing the University to meet its critical academic needs while being sensitive to our surrounding community. The University will now have the ability to plan for growth on its own property in Greenwich Village, complemented by expansion that is taking place in Downtown Brooklyn and near our Health Facilities on Manhattan’s east side. This roadmap for where to plan future facilities will ensure a vibrant and strong University for the decades to come. Read more at http://www.nyu.edu/nyu2031/nyuinnyc/.


From the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

We have to share with you the sad news that today the City Council voted 44 to 1 to approve NYU’s massive proposed Village expansion plan. The Council chose to ignore thousands of New Yorkers and by far the majority of NYU faculty, staff, and workers who had called upon them to reject the plan. GVSHP had urged NYU and the Council, the City Planning Commission, and Borough President Stringer to consider win-win alternatives to the current plan by locating new facilities in the Financial District where such development is wanted and needed. Instead, they voted to violate the public trust, turn this neighborhood into a twenty-year construction zone, and further tip the balance of the Village’s neighborhood character to increasing dominance by NYU. Read more at http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservation/nyu/nyu-07-25-12.htm.

NY City Council Votes Against the Community

The NY City Council voted against the community today. The City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises unanimously voted in favor of NYU 2031. The full Committee on Land Use vote was split: with 19 members voting in favor, one member opposed, and one member abstaining. (source: Deborah J. Glick)

TODAY July 16th Phone Zap

Per GVSHP, call City Councilmembers TODAY, July 16th to urge them to vote 'NO' on the NYU plan.  Phone numbers and a script are HERE and printed below.

Your own City Councilmember — search below for contact info or CLICK HERE if you don’t know who your Councilmember's name.

City Council Votes on NYU 2031 on July 17 and 25

Dogwood at the WSV Sasaki Garden (photo courtesy Hubert J. Steed, source)

CAAN2031 reports that the City Council will vote on NYU 2031 on July 17th and 25th.  The details are as follows:

July 17 at City Hall Council Chambers: Land Use Committee. The Zoning & Franchises subcommittee is meeting at 9:30, and the Land Use committee meeting starts at 10am. A committee-level vote on NYU 2031 is expected. Public may attend, but this is not a hearing so the public will most likely not be permitted to speak.

Deborah J Glick Speaking Out Against NYU 2031

Watch Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick at the June 29th rally which preceded the City Council Hearing on NYU 2031.



Check out the other videos on the Save the WSV Sasaki Garden channel at Youtube.

The Villager editorial: Chin must reduce NYU 2031 project’s scale

The Villager editorial titled "Chin must reduce N.Y.U. 2031 project’s scale" provided "a six-point road map to help put [the NYu 2031 plan] into balance." The six points relate to the strips, the Zipper Building, the Mercer Boomerang Building, Washington Square Village (WSV), the Bleecker Building, and the 505 Laguardia Place lease.  About the WSV courtyard:

N.Y.U.’s contention that it would create public open space inside of Washington Square Village by building two Boomerang Buildings and creating a university quad strains credibility. The Planning Commission has called for a management and programming oversight committee for the proposed open space. Councilmember Chin needs to give this oversight committee legislative teeth so that it can effectively fulfill its oversight function.

Read the complete article at http://www.thevillager.com/?p=6154.

"Garden Struggle" in The Villager

So much information packed into a short article about the struggle for the life of the WSV Sasaki Garden!

Meanwhile, though we know intense negotiations between all parties are currently ongoing, we asked Councilmember Margaret Chin for an official statement on N.Y.U. 2031. Her position will be critical when the Council takes its vote in mid-July. From the sound of it, she’s hearing what the community is saying — and feels that residents’ concerns “come first.” “Right now, I am focused on bringing the best possible proposal in front of the Council,” Chin told us. “This is a give-and-take process, and N.Y.U. needs to modify their proposal. I have made it known that the amount of density that has been proposed is out of scale with the surrounding community. I want a plan that residents can live with first, and that N.Y.U. can live with second.”

Read the entire article at http://www.thevillager.com/?p=5887.

TODAY, June 25th: Phone Zap the City Council

Per GVSHP, call City Councilmembers next Monday, the 25th to urge them to vote 'NO' on the NYU plan. Phone numbers and a script are HERE and printed below:

--- 

PLEASE CALL CITY COUNCILMEMBERS URGING THEM TO REJECT THE NYU EXPANSION PLAN.

They are ranked in the order of importance for you to call; call all fifty-one if you can.

June 29th: Rally City Council to Vote NO on NYU 2031

GVSHP and NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan will be holding a press conference/rally on the steps of City Hall on Friday the 29th at 8:30 am, prior to the City Council NYU hearing, displaying our opposition to the NYU plan and calling upon the City Council to vote ‘NO.’

NYC Planning Commission Approves NYU2031 by 12:1

The New York City Planning Commission (CPC) voted 12:1 to approve NYU's 20 Year Expansion Plan with minor changes.  Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio's representative voted against the plan.  The recommended changes to the plan are:

• The height of the proposed new buildings in Washington Square Village have been reduced
• The commercial overlay for the blocks east of Washington Square has been eliminated
• The hotel use has been eliminated from the proposed "Zipper" Building on Mercer Street
• Some underground classroom space under what are currently publicly owned park spaces have been eliminated

Take Action:
Write City Councilmembers urging them to reject the NYU plan > >
Call City Councilmembers' offices urging them to reject the NYU plan > >
Thank Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio for his independence and for his City Planning Commission appointee voting AGAINST the plan -- e-mail him at GetHelp@pubadvocate.nyc.gov!

For more details on the decision, readthe full letter from Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation which is included below.  NYU's press release about the CPC decision can be read at http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/govCommunAffairs/documents/2031/Resources%20Page/NYU-2031-Core-Proposal-June-6-2012.pdf.

Write to the City Council

You can write to all 51 members or you can write strategically to Council Members Quinn (Speaker), Chin (represents District 1), Weprin (chair of the Zoning Subcommittee), Comrie (chair of Land Use Committee), and Mendez (represents part of the Village, was on Borough President's NYU Task Force).  Contact information for these five council members are:

Council Speaker Christine Quinn (District 3)
224 West 30th St, Suite 1206
New York, NY 10001
212-564-7757

Council Member Margaret Chin
Chatham Green
165 Park Row, Suite #11
New York, NY 10038
212-587-3159
chin@council.nyc.gov

Council Member Mark Weprin (District 23)
73-03 Bell Boulevard
Oakland Gardens, NY 11364
718-468-0137
MWeprin@Council.NYC.gov

Council Member Leroy Comrie (District 27)
113-43 Farmers Boulevard
St. Albans, NY 11412
718-776-3700
comrie@council.nyc.ny.us

Council Member Rosie Mendez (District 2)
237 First Ave
Suite 504
New York, NY 10003
212-677-1077
rmendez@council.nyc.gov

Contact Information for all NY City Council Members

Contact information for all New York City Council Members is available at http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml. This link can also be found on our Get Involved page. (Hat tip: Washington Square Village Tenants Association.)

ULURP Timeline for NYU 2031

NYU 2031 ULURP Timeline courtesy of Assemblymember Deborah Glick

Assemblymember Deborah Glick's office has prepared a ULURP timeline for the NYU plan.  The first official step in the ULURP occurred on February 23rd with the (unanimous NO vote) of Community Board 2.  The next step is a vote from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.  Mr. Stringer will begin deliberating the NYU plan on March 11th and must vote by April 11th (he will submit his recommendation to the City Planning Commission).

Updated: Special WSVTA Meeting with Council Member Chin

Originally posted on December 3, 2011:

SAVE THE KEY PARK PLAYGROUND!

SAVE THE SASAKI (COURTYARD) GARDEN!

Please come to a special WSVTA meeting where Councilmember Margaret Chin will hear your questions, concerns and advocacy regarding the NYU 2031 Expansion Plan.