From my point of view, here are 3 Greenwich Village buildings that received NYC authorization to exceed building height and mass zoning laws. The building on the left is a luxury condominium that accommodates about 8 residential units. The top 5 floors represent one unit. It was built about 30 years ago on the former LaGuardia Place Community Gardens that accommodated about 20 community gardeners and was open to public access. The middle building is the main NYU Student Center. It was built about 11 years ago, replacing a much smaller Student Center providing more open space into Washington Square Park. The red sandstone building on the extreme right is the main NYU Library and University Administration Building. It was built on a public park plot around 1973 when NYU deserted their University Heights Campus in the Bronx and established the Washington Square area in Greenwich Village as their main campus. There was strong community opposition to this building as it was built on public park land and blocked access to Washington Square Park from the LaGuardia Place park strip that was an extension of 5th Avenue on the south side of the park to West Houston Street. It would also cast a dark shadow over the east end of WSP from daybreak to late afternoon hours.

This building pattern of privatizing public access land and facilities over the past 40 years will be significantly accelerated by the recently approved NYC/NYU2031 expansion plan to build a series of new skyscrapers on the 2 super blocks south of the NYU Library and Administration Building, despite strong community opposition. NYU was repeatedly asked to expand into NYC areas where there facilities were wanted and needed, but the NYU administration refused to comply with those requests and demands. Current legal proceedings are pending to prevent NYU from privatizing what is essentially public land. Click http://savewsvsasakigarden.blogspot.com/p/resources.html for more information about the current NYC/NYU administration expansion plan. Also click http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/photo_shoot_120406 for more photos and information about this ill conceived NYC/NYU expansion plan.