NYU Scoping Revised (Zipper Bldg)
May 24, 2011 Mr. Robert Dobruskin, AICP, Director Environmental Assessment and Review Division NYC Department of City Planning 22 Reade Street, Room 4E New York, New York 10007-1216 RE: NYU Core CEQR No. 11DCP121M Comments on Draft Scope of Work Dear Mr. Dobruskin: Community Board No. 2, Manhattan (“CB2”), at its May 19, 2011 Full Board meeting, voted approval of the following testimony to be submitted to the New York City Department of City Planning at its May 24, 2011, Public Scoping Hearing for the above project. New York University (“NYU”) has anticipated a significant expansion of its facilities and holdings in our community district for over six years. CB2 held numerous public meetings with the University to learn about their stated needs, and offered, along with members of the community, meaningful input as to concerns about the appropriateness of the proposed development and potential impacts. In 2006, CB2 joined representatives from NYU, local elected officials, other community boards, and community groups in the Community Task Force on NYU Development (“Task Force”), convened by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. The Task Force developed a set of unanimously accepted Planning Principles (attached as Appendix A), which were based on a premise first articulated by NYU President John Sexton in 2004, that Greenwich Village is a “fragile ecosystem” and the University must not overwhelm the historic neighborhood that is their home campus. The Task Force met for over three years and made many specific recommendations about urban design, quality of life, sustainability, community planning process and accountability. Page 1 In July 2010, CB2 began its own review process of NYU Plan 2031.
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