Since City Council approved New York University's 2031 expansion plan last July, two lawsuits have been brought against the institution. The Article 78 case, which focuses on whether or not the city illegally gave away parkland, has been widely publicized (the opponents won a small victory in court last month), but the other case, brought by rent-stabilized tenants of Washington Square Village, has flown under the radar.
In a lawsuit filed last August, the plaintiffs sought to stop NYU from eliminating a two-acre courtyard and commercial strip as part of the school's expansion. However, NYU issued a statement today announcing that New York Supreme Court Justice Ellen M. Coin dismissed the case, saying that the tenants would first have to take up the complaint with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
A press person from NYU told us that Coin said that because the expansion plans are very preliminary and construction won't be happening in the courtyard for 10 years, it's too early to assess this issue. In the official court decision, Coin says, "Considering that NYU's construction project is currently in its infancy, with architectural and engineering plans not even drafted, much less finalized, this legal controversy has not fully matured and is subject to long-term gestational development and a long array of changes that may be made to the underlying plans." The full court motion can be read here.
· Purple People Haters [Curbed]
· NYU Expansion coverage [Curbed]
· WSV Green Neighbors Inc. v. New York University [official court decision]
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