30 December 2008

NYU to Squash Another Short Building on WSP


NYU hates every building bordering Washington Square Park that it doesn't own. (It's their park, you know!) One that it particularly hates is the squat, '60-style church at 58 Washington Square South, known as the Catholic Center at New York University. The university has been trying to be the thing since the '90s.

Now, it has finally succeeded. The Archdiocese of New York gave NYU the go-ahead to buy the church for $25 million. NYU will build a seven-story building there, which will perfectly destroy what remains of the view of the Washington Square Arch looking down Fifth Avenue. NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the site would not be used for dormitories. "The site will be used for multi-faith and academic purposes, and there will continue to be a Catholic presence there," he told the Real Deal. "It will not be used for student housing."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

the worst part about being an NYU alum is being constantly ashamed of shit like this. Not ALL of NYU's property decisions are terrible, but it would seem that the majority of them these days are. Ugh.

Ken Mac said...

Oh shit! I just walked by this yesterday, thinking it looked almost abandoned with grass growing between the steps. Just freaking incredible.

A friend of mine is a top dog in the legal philosophy apartment. He introduced me to the president one morning. Think they give a rat's ass about this? They are excited about their regular visits to Dubai where they lecture and are building a new NYU extension U in Dubai.

Anonymous said...

They never stop do they. They want to crush the whole Village. In their eyes, nothing is right until they knock it down, and build exactly what they want on top of it. Nothing in the Village can remain untouched by NYU's relentless greed.