NYU superblock development as originally proposed. Image credit: NYU.

Court found no implied dedication of target parcels as parkland.  In 2012, the City Council approved a plan by New York University to develop two “superblocks” bounded by West 3rd Street, Houston Street, Mercer Street, and LaGuardia Place in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan as part of an expansion plan for the campus.  Assemblymember Deborah Glick, joined by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the Historic Districts Council, and other local community groups challenged the approval in court arguing the Council’s approval improperly granted four community parks to NYU for the expansion in violation of the public trust doctrine.

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NYU superblock proposec development. Image credit: NYU.

Coalition of local residents, Greenwich Village community organizations, and elected officials sought to prevent NYU’s development of two superblocks north of Houston Street. In 2012, the City Council voted to approve multiple actions to allow an expansion plan by New York University to develop two superblocks bounded by West 3rd Street, Houston Street, Mercer Street and LaGuardia place in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The project, projected to take 20 years to complete, would entail the construction of four new buildings to be used for student housing and faculty residences, academic use, public space, and a grocery store to replace one eliminated by the development. The largest building, the Zipper Building, would be 980,000 gross square feet. NYU claimed the project would create approximately four acres of publicly accessible open space and amenities. (read more…)

NYU superblock development as originally proposed. Image credit: NYU.

State Supreme Court declares project sites to be dedicated park land; enjoins construction. On July 25, 2012, New York City Council voted to approve the NYU Expansion project (See previous CityLand coverage here). Petitioners, including State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick and more than 20 other individuals and organizations that reside or are located in the vicinity of the NYU Expansion, filed an article 78 petition challenging Council’s approval. In a 77-page opinion, State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Mills on January 7, 2014 ruled in favor of the petitioners on their claim that the approval violated the public trust doctrine. (read more…)