As expected, the opponents of the NYU 2031 expansion plan have filed a lawsuit appealing the recent decision to allow the University to build on "implied" public park land ("implied" because NYU has spent years blocking its official designation). That decision was the result of an appeal that NYU had filed after a judge ruled back in January that they could not build on the parkland. So, really, this is basically the same battle that you've been reading about for over a year, but now it's more exciting than ever because actor Mark Ruffalo is involved. "As a longtime advocate of our green spaces, I find it alarming that these public parks, which Villagers have been enjoying for decades, can just be handed over to a private corporation for its own financial gain," he is quoted as saying (or "seething" in the oddly chosen words of the Post) in a press release from the plaintiffs, which include NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, East Village Community Coalition, the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, and NoHo Neighborhood Association. He continues, "That decision must be overturned, not just because of its effect on that one neighborhood, but because of its disastrous implications for our precious commons all throughout the state." See, everything is better when Mark Ruffalo is in it, including lawsuits.
· With Ruffalo's Feathers Ruffled, Group Appeals Ruling Favoring NYU Expansion [Bedford+Bowery]
· Mark Ruffalo seethes over NYU expansion plan [NYP]
· NYU Expansion coverage [Curbed]
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