From left: Andrew Berman, Alicia Hurley and NYU

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the New York University Silver Towers landscaping plan yesterday in a unanimous vote, the school announced last night. The plan, which includes a dog run, toddler park and increased vegetation in the area, was seen as an olive branch to community activists who have opposed the school’s 2031 expansion program. But Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said that many in the community are further angered by the landscaping plan. “In their new location, the playground and dog run will interfere with what is now the pristine view of Picasso’s Sylvette sculpture,” Berman said. TRD [more]

Following community backlash to its initial Greenwich Village expansion plan, New York University today unveiled new scaled down renderings for a few buildings that are part of the school’s citywide growth scheme.

The university will present the revised plan for three buildings, rather than the four as initially proposed, to the public next week, and said it expects to begin the public approval process in May.

The plan, initiated in 2006 and known as “NYU 2031,” calls for 6 million square feet of growth, about half of which spans West 3rd to Houston streets, and LaGuardia Place to Mercer Street, within the heart of the Greenwich Village campus, said Lynne Brown, NYU’s senior vice president of public affairs at a press briefing this afternoon. [more]

Community activists are set to protest outside the Provincetown Playhouse theater at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and West 4th streets Saturday at noon, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which is organizing the event. The protest centers on what the non-profit group calls a “misrepresentation regarding the supposed preservation” of the historic site by New York University. The structure, which protesters say is now “entombed within a newly built NYU Law School” facility, was recently repurposed for university use. The Provincetown Playhouse, considered a seminal part of theater history, is being feted by NYU on Saturday in a so-called re-opening open house. TRD [more]

From left: NYU’s Lynne Brown, a rendering of NYU’s proposed tower and GVSHP’s Andrew Berman

New York University withdrew its controversial application for a proposed fourth tower on Bleecker Street, the school announced today. Now, the university will begin work on its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application, seeking approvals to build on the site currently occupied by the Morton Williams supermarket, on the blocks near Washington Square Park that are already owned by the University. “From the beginning, we sought a design for the Silver Towers block that was most respectful of [architect I.M.] Pei’s vision,” said Lynne Brown, NYU’s senior vice president. “Mr. Pei has now had a change of heart.” TRD [more]

A group of community activists are set to protest NYU’s proposed 400-foot tall tower this Sunday. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Community Action Alliance on NYU 2031 plan to gather on the proposed development’s site at 2 p.m., to protest the university’s growth in Greenwich Village. Community Board 2 will subsequently host a hearing and vote on the planned tower on Monday. TRD

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Swig Equities has signed a new lease with H&R Block, the world’s largest tax services group, at 5 Hanover Square. Meanwhile, an historic preservation group is lobbying for the so-called “South Village” to be landmarked and a Garment District rental building served as the site of an interior design competition. Click here for more. [more]

At the community meeting to discuss New York University’s long-term expansion plan on Monday, Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said more than 200 people signed a letter expressing concerns about the university’s growth. The letter urges Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, NYU President John Sexton and other officials to support alternatives to the university expanding in Greenwich Village. The university plans to expand by 3 million square feet in the area, and a comprehensive expansion plan will be released to the public in the fall. “NYU’s growth has dramatically transformed our neighborhoods over the last 20 years, and the overall effect has not been good,” the letter, obtained by The Real Deal, says. “The current 2031 plan would have NYU not only further expand in our neighborhoods, but actually double its rate of growth. That is unacceptable,” adding that the university should be focusing on utilizing its existing space, and if it needs to expand, to reuse existing buildings instead of demolishing them and rebuilding. A spokesperson from NYU was not immediately available for comment. TRD

On the same night of New York University’s neighborhood barbecue celebrating the
completion of its newest dorm, community activists are meeting to voice
their opposition to the school’s overall expansion plans. Andrew
Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for
Historic Preservation, said the goals of tonight’s meeting are to
educate the public about NYU’s plans, discuss how it will affect the
neighborhood and mobilize people to push the university to expand
outside of Greenwich Village. “The bottom line is we need to make NYU look outside of our neighborhood,” Berman said. “It cannot accommodate their growth.” [more]

A plan to replace St. Vincent’s Hospital with a residential complex
will likely be approved when it comes back to the Landmarks
Preservation Commission for a vote next month, commission members said
yesterday. Commission Chairman Robert Tierney said the current St.
Vincent’s proposal, which lowered the height of the tallest residential
building, is essentially appropriate. But Andrew Berman, director of
the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said
preservationists are still worried that the Rudin Organization’s
development will not match the character of Greenwich Village. [more]