New York University’s expansion plan passed through the Department of City Planning mostly in tact, but according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s unlikely to overcome the next hurdle — a review by the City Council — without enduring significant changes. City Council Member Margaret Chin, who represents the Greenwich Village area, said she supports, and would seek to implement, many of the changes for which local community groups are advocating.
Chin will push for more open space, dedicating more of the new construction to academics and shrinking the block-long “zipper building.” The Journal said the entire council would likely support Chin’s initiatives.
“I have made it known that the amount of density that has been proposed is out of scale with the surrounding community,” Chin said. “The final plan should reflect only what is appropriate for the Village and only what the university needs to achieve their academic and programmatic needs.”
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer believed he had brokered many of these changes in a meeting with NYU, but the proposal approved by City Planning did not include all of the changes he demanded. [WSJ]