Of all the recent massive university expansions that have neighbors, preservationists, etc. up in arms, it is Fordham's long-held desire to build on its property near Lincoln Center that has flown a bit under the radar. The school's superblock?borderedby Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues and 60th and 62nd Streets?may not be the size of Columbia's Manhattanville takeover or NYU's Plan 2031, but it has something neither of those two do: Upper West Siders. And they are pissed!
To get you up to speed, Fordham's plot currently has a law school tower, another academic building, a dorm and a 36-story condo building called the Alfred. The school wants to add new buildings for the law school and business school, new dorms and an expanded library. The plan is currently in the public land-use preview process, needing approval from the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Unlike with some other neighborhoods, the City Council might actually listen to the concerns of Upper West Siders, and they are making their feelings known. The president of the Alfred's board told the Observer, "It's a rape of Lincoln Center, to put it mildly.” We'd hate to know what he thinks about the proposal when he's speaking in more harsh terms.
· Fordham vs. the Upper West Side [NYO]
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