New York University expansion plan blocked by judge

New York University has been blocked by a state judge from beginning much of a two million square foot expansion in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood, writes Christie Smythe for Bloomberg.

State Supreme Court Justice Donna M Mills ruled last week that portions of the plan would interfere with public parks, a result which would require approval by the state legislature. “The public trust doctrine applies to three of the four parcels of land involved,” Mills wrote, referring to the parks. If NYU were unable to obtain legislative approval, “it will, at the very least, have to develop alternative areas for construction staging that will not interfere with the use by the public,” the judge said.

NYU, one of the largest private, non-profit universities in the US by enrolment, says it needs more space to accommodate its growing student body. Neighbourhood groups, arguing that the plan would overwhelm a cramped historic area, sued the city in September 2012 over its approval of the expansion.
Full report on the Bloomberg site