NEW YORK CITY-The battle over the expansion of New York University’s Greenwich Village campus continues to gain steam here, after a new study commissioned by NYU found that private academic institutions fuel the neighborhood’s local economy. But this isn’t anything new, says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, an opponent of NYU’s 2031 long-term plan to add three million square feet throughout the Village, including 1.5 million square feet in the Washington Square core.
“It was no surprise that NYU commissioned and paid for a study that said what they wanted it to say,” Berman tells GlobeSt.com. The report, prepared by Appleseed, a New York City-based economic analysis firm, found that the Village’s universities--including NYU and the New School--employ approximately 10,350 people and generates an annual payroll of $611 million, attracting thousands of visitors and students alike.
And while the strength of the business and academic community is evident, concerns about open space preservation and overbuilding persist. “NYU clearly is a job creator, NYU clearly has a huge impact and they will have an even huger one if they build these millions and millions square feet of additional space,” Berman says. “The question is where is the best place for them to do it.”
The NYU 2031 application is currently undergoing the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure for the university to acquire two residential superblocks between West 3rd and West Houston streets, and La Guardia Place and Mercer Street. Over a 19-year period, NYU is proposing to construct four new buildings, including a new academic building, residential units for NYU faculty and students, a new athletic facility and a University-affiliated hotel, according to their application. Plans for parking facilities and a 100,000-square-foot public school are also in the works.
In a statement, NYU SVP Lynne Brown says the latest report documents the significance of the Village’s economic well-being and NYU’s role in the future of the neighborhood. “More than 10,000 people work in the Village for universities and colleges; and together they earn more than $600 million,” Brown says, in a statement. “That’s a significant infusion of money generating thousands of other jobs in the neighborhood and millions of dollars in tax revenue.”
William Kelley, executive director of the Village Alliance, says in a statement that the organization applauds NYU “for seeking ways to strengthen its presence in the Village, and look forward to working with the University as it continues to boost the area’s economy.”
But Berman says alternatives need to be considered, such as moving some of NYU’s expansion plans into the Financial District, where high-rise and high-density development are commonplace. “In the Village, they are really threatening to change the entire character of the neighborhood and turn it into almost a company town,” he says. “I think everybody would agree that in the Village, adding more students into the mix is not going to add anything that is not already there. It’s not going to foster a new level of economic development, whereas in the Financial District, having more of a young, vital 24-hour-a-day environment could have a very beneficial impact.”
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