If NYU’s expansion plan is blocked by New York’s Highest Court, it could set a dangerous precedent that would negatively affect affordable housing, advocates argued in a recent brief.
Greenwich Village residents have been fighting the expansion plan for years, arguing that the university would be building on public green space without permission from the Legislature, DNAinfo reported.
However, the groups, including Phipps Houses, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development and the New York Housing Conference, say that while preserving green space is a worthy goal, “worthy does not mean paramount.” The advocates argue that if the plan is rejected, it could make it even more difficult to build sorely needed affordable housing in the city.
Opponents of the plan won the first round in New York State Supreme Court before it was overturned by the Appellate Division late last year. The state’s Highest Court, the Court of Appeals, is set to hear the case in the coming weeks. [DNAinfo] — Tess Hofmann