Photo: Spring in the Garden

From reader "Resident Against the Plan" are these two photos of the garden in bloom this year.

For more photographs of the garden in bloom, like the new photo in our banner, visit Hubert J. Steed's spring gallery.

Guest Post: Trees and Skyline to be Replaced by a Skyscraper Building

Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village, April 19, 2012 by Hubert J Steed (source)

The NYC/NYU2031 expansion plans call for the construction of several new skyscrapers in the heart of historic Greenwich Village which will be built on this garden, bordering park strips, the comprehensive children's playgrounds, and on a "super block" south of WSV which will destroy a treasured community garden at LaGuardia Place Corner Garden.

Protests and legal appeals are being made to stop the destruction of these community and NYC necessities & amenities for the planned skyscrapers.

Virtually all of these trees and gardens will be destroyed in the near future, if our courts of law allow the NYC/NYU2031 Plan to proceed.

Please run the slideshow button on the upper right corner of http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/photo_shoot_120419 to see conveniently what is planned to be destroyed. If you run the slideshow with a soundtrack of "Where have all the flowers gone?" it might break your heart.

Click http://savewsvsasakigarden.blogspot.com/p/resources.html for more information and photos of Washington Square Village Sasaki Garden.

Also click http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/laguardia_place_community_garden for more photos of LaGuardia Corner Garden.

And http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/nyu_athletic_center_mercer for gardens around the NYU Athletic Center.

Click http://nyufasp.com/nyu-departmental-resolutions/ for NYU Faculty resolutions against the NYU2031 plan.

A video on this is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgBKhRGkLU0&feature=youtu.be.
 
Also see http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservation/nyu/nyu_main.htm for more information.

Author note: Hubert J. Steed is a longtime resident and photographer of NYC.  His extensive galleries can be viewed at http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed.

Sasaki Garden at Washington Sq Village in Decline

Precariously leaning redbuds, photo courtesy of Hubert J Steed

Dying pine, courtesy of Hubert J Steed

For a collection of photos of the WSV Sasaki Garden in decline, visit the WSV Sasaki Garden & Landscape Bleak House & Pending Death gallery courtesy of Hubert J Steed.

Photo: Winter in the Garden

Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village, Feb. 8, 2013, photo by Hubert J. Steed (source)

Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village, Feb. 2013, photo by Resident Against the Plan

Hubert J. Steed's Winter 2013 Gallery has been updated at http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/wsv_gardens_winter.

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 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.

NYU Restrictive Declaration of Large-Scale General Development

The Restrictive Declaration of Large-Scale General Development for the NYU LSGD by New York University dated July 2012 is now available online via GVSHP at http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservation/nyu/doc/nyu-restrictive-declaration.pdf.

Section 6.3 (d) Phase 3 Development provides the following information about the Sasaki Garden:

The open area in the central portion of the North Block Parcel located on the roof of the existing below grade parking facility (the “Sasaki Garden”) contains certain mature trees in planters. Although these trees are in areas in which construction and/or construction-related activities will occur, and therefore will be removed in connection with the construction and/or construction-related activities in this area, Declarant shall, in consultation with a qualified arborist and to the extent practicable, use all best horticultural practices to preserve such existing mature trees and, subject to City Planning approval, replant such trees on the Subject Property.

(Hat tip: Washington Square Village Tenants Association)

Birds of the NYU Superblocks

From "The Birds in Our Garden: The Potential Impacts of the NYU 2031 Expansion Plan on Birds & Other Wildlife" by biologist Gabriel Willow:

The Birds in Our Garden report was completed with the help of the Save the WSV Sasaki Garden Committee and local volunteers.  The complete report is available online here and is referenced on our Resources page here.