Updated 03/25/2010 09:54 PM
NYU To Include Elementary School In Expansion Plans
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New York University has offered to build a 600-seat elementary school in hopes of swaying weary residents concerned about the university's expansion plan.
The university made the announcement Wednesday at a news conference with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
On Tuesday, the university announced it was set to release a
20-year development plan next month.
The plan would add six-million-square-feet of classrooms, labs and dorms in Greenwich Village, Manhattan's First Avenue health corridor, Governors Island and Downtown Brooklyn.
The elementary school will be located in Manhattan's District 2, an area with many currently overcrowded schools.
A task force of elected officials have met with NYU officials to discuss the proposals.
"This task force was not about 'no' and it wasn't about 'yes.' It was about sharing information, coming up with the real plan that we can sit down and talk about for the next couple of years," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, one of the task force members.
Residents have already begun speaking out against the expansion.
"We're really worried that the neighborhood is reaching a tipping point, where NYU is no longer an ingredient in the neighborhood, but the overwhelming presence," said Andrew Berman of the Society for Historical Preservation. "The neighborhood starts to feel like a company town, not like a real city neighborhood."
"We cannot build a university city like the Emerald City in Greenwich Village just because they want to expand," said Community Board 2 member David Gruber. "So they really need to look at different locations and not try to stuff so much into the sausage of the core -- the core being the area around Washington Square Park."
Meanwhile, the university also has plans for Downtown Brooklyn, where it's merging with Brooklyn Polytech to create an NYU school of engineering.
School officials are also looking to add another four million feet of space to its overall plan by opening a satellite campus on Governors Island.
The university's development plans will require approval from city agencies.