Statement by NYU President John Sexton on City Council Approval of NYU 2031 Plan

“This is a great day for NYU, and for New York City.

“We have gone through a long and very thorough process to get here, and we are very pleased about today’s vote.  With the help and leadership of the City Council – and in particular Councilmember Margaret Chin, Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Leroy Comrie, and Councilmember David Weprin – and of the Bloomberg Administration -- which has had a wise and far-sighted view on the importance of universities to New York --we have been able to arrive at a good and thoughtful plan.  It is a plan that strikes an important balance: permitting NYU to maintain academic excellence by meeting our educational and research space needs on our existing footprint over the next two decades, while at the same time addressing the concerns of our neighbors on such issues as improving access to open space and furnishing space for a public school or other community use.

“This plan benefits not only NYU’s students and faculty; in very real and tangible ways, it benefits New York City.  It is not just the thousands of construction jobs that accompany a project like this, or the permanent jobs, or even the broader economic impact of that employment, though those are all worthy of note. Beyond all of these benefits, institutions of higher education have emerged as vitally important engines of our City’s economy.  While other sectors of New York’s economy have been shrinking, education has been expanding.  Our universities employ thousands of people, offering good jobs with benefits; our researchers discover technologies from which businesses grow; we educate a workforce that will keep NYC at the forefront of the 21st century economy.  Keeping our universities strong keeps New York strong, and will ensure New York remains a world capital in the years ahead.

“I am also hopeful that today’s vote will offer a chance for NYU to engage its local community in a new and more productive way. By creating a plan, our needs and our strategy for meeting them over the next 20 years are now far clearer to our neighbors; that’s a much better basis for dialogue. Having completed the public approvals process, we look forward to partnering with them to implement many of the elements the plan calls for, including improving public space, adding community amenities, and ensuring that the projects that lie ahead are handled sensitively and conscientiously.

“Finally, I want to thank the many, many people whose support and involvement brought about this achievement: students, faculty, deans, administrators, neighbors and members of the local community, members of the NYU 2031 planning team, civic leaders, elected officials, and especially on this day, the leadership and members of New York City Council, who all had a hand in shaping this plan and helping to arrive at this thoughtful balance.  Their dedication and participation ensures a plan that is good for NYU, good for the neighborhood, and good for New York.”