By Stephen Jacob Smith 5/07 3:35pm

Purple People Eaters

You'd never guess it, but Vanderbilt Hall was actually build in the '50s.

You Win Some, You Lose Some: NYU Checked in South Village, Approved for Expansion in NoHo

If you thought that the war over New York University’s expansion in and around the Greenwich Village was over, think again: the university’s banner “NYU 2031″ plan to add infill buildings to its superblock may be over (okay, well, almost over), but skirmishes continue on the periphery, and two battles that broke out over the past week showing no sign of abating.

The first battle involved the new South Village historic district, which preservationists wanted to go hand-in-hand with  the Hudson Square rezoning. Preservationists claimed that the rezoning, in addition to endowing property owners with millions of square feet of residential development rights in exchange for ensuring that nothing like the Trump SoHo would ever happen again, would imperil the unprotected historic neighborhood next door. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/10/12 4:24pm

It Takes a Village

She looks good in purple, but she doesn't like it.

Susan Sarandon Latest Star to Jump on the Anti-NYU Bandwagon

Fran Liebowitz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Thurston Moore and John Zorn—many are the successful artists and intellectuals who have spoken up (unsuccessfully so far, it must be said) against NYU’s Greenwich Village expansion plans. Now, Susan Sarandon has chimed in, or rather tweeted in, her support, specifically for the show Messrs. Moore and Zorn are hosting tonight at Le Poisson Rouge. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/08/12 2:21pm

It Takes a Village

Scarry. (NYU FASP)

Thurston Moore and John Zorn Host ‘Save the Village’ Benefit to Fight NYU Expansion

The Beats may be long gone, but protest music is alive and well in Greenwich Village—thanks in part to the institution that helped drive many of the artists out, New York University.

On Wednesday, a group of musicians, including Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth fame) and John Zorn will convene at 6:30 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge to help raise money for NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan’s legal fund. Last month, the faculty group that opposes the university’s expansion south of Washington Square filed a lawsuit against the city and the University trying to stop it. All proceeds from the $20 show will go directly to the cause. Read More

By Matt Chaban 9/25/12 6:28pm

It Takes a Village

Bringing down the houses. (NYU)

Purple Pulverizers: NYU Faculty, Preservationists Sue University Over Greenwich Village Expansion

As promised, a group of NYU faculty, preservationists and community groups, a dozen parties in all, have filed a suit against the city over the university’s controversial plans to expand its campus on two superblocks in the heart of Greenwich Village.

The suit charges that the rezoning that allows for the expansion violates a number of technical land-use issues, including the alienation of parkland, prior deed restrictions and the destruction of historic buildings and features within the community. There is also the argument that it will create decades of unmitigated environmental impacts, from pollution to construction noise. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10:42pm

It Takes a Village

11 Photos

P1030940

Occupy NYU: OWS Brings Its Light Cannon to the Village for Faculty’s Foolhardy Protest

School is back in session, and so are those pesky professors fighting NYU’s plans to expand in Greenwich Village. In the spirit of the season, NYU Faculty has teamed up with The Illuminator, Occupy Wall Street’s Great Bright Hope. Famous for projecting a 99 Percent sign on the side of the city’s ugliest building, the van is back, this time trolling the streets of Greenwich Village rather than the Brooklyn Bridge.

After getting to know a few NYU faculty members, the Illuminator team was asked to partner with them and spread the message on campus. Last night, they hit the street, projecting soothingly clever graphics onto the side of three different structures around campus. Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/25/12 8:30am

It Takes a Village

Not in our back quad! (GVSHP)

Ivory Sours: Late to Class, NYU Professors Fail at Blocking So-Called Sexton Plan, Hope for Extra Credit

Last Thursday, as has happened every day for going on a century, a couple middle-aged intellectuals gathered around a table in Greenwich Village to discuss the news of the day, which, as has happened every day for going on a century, did not suit them.

“They act like it’s a no-brainer,” Mark Crispin Miller explained of the acquaintances he had made in recent months in his quest to stand up to his employer and landlord, New York University. Just two days prior, a committee of the City Council, part of the monolithic “they” Mr. Crispin Miller was railing against, approved the university’s 2 million-square-foot expansion plan, which would plant four sizable buildings just across the street.

“‘Of course it’s going through,’ they tell you,” he said with disgust. “‘She’s running for mayor, she needs the support of the real estate industry, you moron.’” She would be Christine Quinn, Speaker of the City Council, without whose blessing almost nothing happens there. Her district also happens to be just around the corner, giving her added incentive to take an interest in, and credit for, the project.

“This is a no-bullshit city,” Patrick Deer interjected with his British crack. “Even if we see something’s off from across the street, we’ll barge in and do something about it. There’s an innate sense of justice. Or so I thought. I know there was when I got here.” Mr. Deer has been at NYU since 2002, teaching English. Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/23/12 7:30pm

It Takes a Village

5 Photos

NYU 2031 Thumbs Up

NYU Anew: Just How Much Smaller Is the Shrunken Greenwich Village Expansion?

Tomorrow, NYU will take its somewhat shrunken plan for its Greenwich Village expansion back to the City Council. Last week, local rep Margaret Chin convinced the school to shave 17 percent off its scheme, modifications that were approved today at the City Planning Commission. The university has cooked up a new set of renderings showing the changes to the towers on the site in anticipation of full council approval come Wednesday. Can you tell the difference? Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/17/12 8:55pm

It Takes a Village

7 Photos

NYU had planned to expand its campus by nearly 2.5 million square feet on two superblocks south of Washington Square Park (pictured). After months of negotiations, it has not agreed to a 1.9 million square foot expansion, a 22 percent reduction in space. Almost half the campus is located underground, so the sections above have been cut 26 percent over time.

Renderings and Reactions to NYU’s Greenwich Village Expansion: What It Looks Like, What It Means

New York University won a huge victory at the City Council today, when it received approval for its somewhat less massive plan to expand its campus in Greenwich Villag, from from 2.5 million square feet to 1.9 million. What does that look like? The university produced some handy visual aids that show exactly that.

Was it enough? Not according to the project’s opponents, two dozen or so of whom showed up at the council this morning to waggle their hands in the face of the assembled pols (cheers, boos and hisses were forbidden, so they were left with jazz hands, like an Occupy protest).

“I’m really disappointed,” Community Board 2 chair David Gruber said after the land use committee voted 19-1 in favor of the modified plan. “I really felt the plans was not modified enough. NYU, with the tacit backing of the mayor, felt they could do whatever they wanted.” Read More