Groups rally at City Hall in support of NYU expansion, say project will bring jobs

Despite the opposition to the 20-year NYU 2031 expansion plan, which received a unanimous thumbs down from Community Board 2 Feb. 23, construction workers, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce rallied on the steps of City Hall yesterday in support of the project, DNAinfo reported.

The protestors claimed that the approval and initiation of the project would create jobs in construction, which The Real Deal reported today lost 3,000 jobs in the month of January alone.

In addition, DNAinfo wrote, the plan would expand the city’s tax base and help local businesses.

The NYU expansion plan would add four buildings between LaGuardia Place, Mercer, West Houston and West 3rd streets. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the project would create 2,400 jobs over the next 20 years and provide almost $500 million in economic output, DNAinfo reported.

Community Board 2 shut the plan down last month for two reasons: the towers would change the historic character of the Village and construction would change the quality of life during the full 20 years of construction it requires, according to DNAinfo. [DNAinfo]