Earlier we spoke about Columbia's pledge to fund affordable housing and public projects in Manhattanville, a deal that appears to bring the school closer to its planned 17-acre expansion in the West 120s and 130s. In light of this development, the reactions are pouring out. Here's a smattering of opinions:
1) "The area has been better in recent years, with Dinosaur, the Hudson River Cafe, and Floridita's tapas bar providing a little night life, but it is largely still an underutilized brownfield. It is not zoned residential, and Columbia already owns most of it. Plus, the Columbia expansion will be such a job creation machine, which I think few people will argue Harlem does not need. There is the idea of displacing people in the surrounding neighborhoods. People argue that as Columbia improves the general area, rents will go up. But here too the response has been baffling." [Harlem Fur]
2) "So what the BP has failed to do is to draw a principled line in the sand, something that would have been reflective of true leadership on behalf of a beleaguered community that has been looking for a righteous defender. Instead, just two days after Lee Bollinger acquiesces to an Iranian nutcase, Stringer acquiesces to Bollinger and becomes the midwife for the gentrification that he claims to be so concerned about." [Neighborhood Retail Alliance]
3) "This is a win-win for everyone. There are less than 120 apartments in the area, and all occupants will be relocated into other CU owned buildings nearby. CU's apartments are very well run and maintained --probably much better than anything these folks have experienced before." [Curbed commenter]
· Columbia's Manhattanville Project Getting Closer [Curbed]
· West Harlem Rezone to Appease Columbia Foes? [Curbed]
· Why Columbia's Community Board 'Defeat' Is Meaningless [Curbed]