The State Historic Preservation Office recently determined Washington Square Village is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning the university's expansion plans will pass through yet another set of eyes.
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SHPO spokesman Dan Keese said because the complex has been determined eligible, the committee will review the university's plans as it moves forward with its project. The decision was made because the site is considered "an impressive example of post-war urban renewal planning and design."
"If [construction] has any adverse impact on the historic resource, we make recommendations to avoid or mitigate those impacts," Keese said.
Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said his organization is very happy about the ruling.
"Now that the WSV in its entirety, including the garden, [is] significant to historic resources, one would expect that the Historic Preservation Office would have some very serious issues with the current NYU plan," Berman said.
Alicia Hurley, vice president of government affairs and community engagement at NYU, said in a statement last week that the university is aware of the SHPO determination.
"We had met and conducted a site tour with the SHPO to ensure that all of these matters were fully understood as we undertake the environmental impact study," Hurley said. "It's inaccurate to claim that the determination by the [SHPO] means that the project will not be successful."
Hurley added in an email that the city has authority over the projects and is its primary reviewer. The SHPO will offer input, but it will ultimately be up to the city to decide whether NYU is allowed to proceed with its plan.
Currently, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission does not consider the site a historic place.
"The buildings [that comprise the WSV] have been altered, including the re-cladding of the ends of the buildings, and the complex was not among Robert Moses' most important projects," Elisabeth de Bourbon, director of communications for the LPC, said.
But Berman said the SHPO decision is just "one more dime on the fact that NYU plan is wrong," and that other alternatives, such as building in the Financial District, should be considered.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said there are currently no proposals for building in the Financial District because it "doesn't have the same compelling academic logic" as the other areas that have been designated for remote growth: the Eastside health corridor, which is on First Avenue between 23rd and 34th streets, downtown Brooklyn and Governors Island.
Beckman also said any growth in the Financial District would not be in place of the growth the university has proposed on the superblocks.
