WestView

NYU Must Show Need, Impact at Park Site

February 2010

NYU is seeking zoning variances to exempt its new proposed Spiritual Center from height and setback requirements. In spite of repeated requests that it set the top of the building back on narrow Thompson and W. Third Sts. to avoid overshadowing these low-scaled streets and the nearby landmarked Judson Memorial Church, NYU has refused. More troubling, however, is that NYU is seeking the zoning variances without meeting the legal requirements to show they are necessary to meet their programmatic needs, and won’t negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood or properties. As NYU plans to seek multiple zoning variances and changes for millions of square feet of space in the immediate vicinity over the next several years, any relaxing of the rules in this case could open the floodgates for a multitude of enormous planned NYU developments that violate the neighborhood’s current zoning over the next several years.

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