Oversight

Overview: NYU will designate a liaison to work with a Construction Committee to be setup by the Manhattan Borough President. The Construction Committee liaison will address questions and concerns raised by the Committee in a timely fashion. For further reference, please review Restrictive Declaration section 6(f), page 79, section 4.

Current Status: NYU has designated a liaison from NYU Community Engagement to work with the Manhattan Borough President’s Construction Committee.

Overview: With the consent of the Department of City Planning, a third-party independent construction monitor has been hired to oversee the implementation and performance of NYU’s commitments and project components related to mitigation, monitoring, and theenvironment. The monitor reports to the Department of City Planning. Please review the Restrictive Declaration section 4.8, page 64 for more information.

Current Status: The Department of City Planning has approved HDR, Inc., as the independent monitor for the project. The monitor commenced site visits in September 2016 (with the start of exterior brick removal at the Coles gym) to monitor NYU’s compliance with the Restrictive Declaration constuction mitigation measures. The monitor prepared monthly reports for City Planning and quarterly reports for the Manhattan Borough President’s Construction Committee. HDR's quarterly reports can be made available upon request. Please email community.engagement@nyu.edu for more information. The monitor continued regular site inspections thorugh completion of the Paulson Center project.

Overview: If the Department of City Planning does not identify a permanent relocation sitefor the Garden, NYU and DCP will formulate a garden protection plan. The plan would need approval by the LaGuardia Corner gardeners and City Planning. Best practices for avoiding impacts to the Garden during the Bleecker Building’s construction may include temporarilyrelocating the Garden, protecting the space during construction, or temporarily closing it. In all of these instances, NYU would pay for the garden’s reconstruction and establish a Garden Viability Fund to increase plants’ viability post-construction. For further reference, review the Restrictive Declaration, section 4.4(g) page 62 and Restrictive Declaration, section 44(a) (i) (B), page 54.

Current Status: The garden protection plan would be formulated prior to construction of the Bleecker Building and implemented during and after construction of the Bleecker Building.

Overview: Twelve months prior to the construction of the Bleecker Building, the City Planning Commission will convene a Task Force to determine if there is a feasible relocation site for the LaGuardia Corner Gardens within Community Board 2. NYU will be responsible for the garden’s relocation costs. The Task Force will collaborate with representatives of the LaGuardia Corner Gardens and will have 6 months to identify a relocation site. Alternatively, if the garden is not relocated (ie, if a relocation site is not found) NYU will establish a fund for use by LaGuardia Corner Gardens to help ensure the garden remains healthy and viable as there is potential for an increase in shadows due tothe Bleecker Building. Refer to Restrictive Declaration, section 4.4 (a)(i)(A), page 53 for further reference.

Current Status: This item pertains to the construction of the Bleecker Building.

Overview: On an annual basis, an architect, landscape architect, or engineer will inspect the public open spaces at the request of NYU and confirm that NYU has met its maintenance obligations for the spaces. A draft compliance report will be generated and submitted to the OSOO for comment before it is finalized and submitted to the Chair of the City Planning Commission and the Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation. For further reference, please refer to Restrictive Declaration section 7.3(b), page 92.

Current Status: The first annual compliance report was submitted to the OSOO in June 2017. Subsequent reports were submitted in June 2018, June 2019, June 2020, June 2021, June 2022, and July 2023. 

Overview: To the extent practical, NYU will endeavor to protect mature trees inclose proximity to construction. NYU will create Mature Tree Protection Plans for twoconstruction staging areas – on Mercer Street between Bleecker Street and West 3rd Street, and on LaGuardia Street between Bleecker Street and West 3rd Street. For further reference, please review the Restrictive Declaration section 4.1(j), page 42.

Current Status: This project will be part of the design/construction due diligence process related to the Mercer and LaGuardia buildings.

Overview: The Open Space Oversight Organization (OSOO) was established in May 2013. It is a 501(c )(3) organization with a mandate to review and comment on the design, maintenance, and operation of the public open spaces on the superblocks, as well as review NYU’s compliance with commitments made for these spaces. NYU’s maintenance obligations are memorialized in a license agreement with the NYC Department of Parks. The OSOO is comprised of five appointees, one each from the New York City Council, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Community Board 2, the NYC Parks Department, and NYU. For further reference, please review Restrictive Declaration.

Current Status: The Restrictive Declaration required the formation of the OSOO by December 2012. Per Restrictive Declaration requirements, NYU prepared and submitted the not-for-profit application to the New York Department of State. The OSOO continues to monitor NYU’s ongoing maintenance of the public open spaces on the periphery of the Silver Towers and Washington Square Village blocks – Bleecker Street Landscape, Fiorello La Guardia Park, and Mercer Playground.

Overview: NYU created an endowment fund, managed by the University, for the maintenance of the public open space constructed on the Superblocks. For further reference, please review the July 16, 2012 letter from NYU to Council Member Margaret Chin.

Current Status: The Restrictive Declaration requires that the endowment be created before the completion of the Bleecker Landscape and Fiorello LaGuardia Park. The endowment has been established.

Overview: NYU entered into a maintenance agreement (license agreement) with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the maintenance obligations for the public open spaces on the superblocks. For further reference, please review the Restrictive Declaration, section 6 (c )(i), page 74 and also Exhibit I.

Current Status: The Restrictive Declaration requires the agreement to be executed prior to completion of Bleecker Landscape, Fiorello LaGuardia Park, and Mercer Playground. The license agreement has been executed.  

Overview: NYU posted a letter of credit with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation to ensure that maintenance funds are available for the public spaces bordering NYU property on the superblocks. For further reference, please review Restrictive Declaration, section 6 (c)(i), p.74.

Current Status: The Restrictive Declaration requires that the letter of credit be prepared before the opening of the Bleecker Street Landscape Fiorello LaGuardia Park, and Mercer Playground. The letter of credit has been prepared and accepted by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

Overview: NYU established a Tree Maintenance Plan for the Willow Oak Grove adjacent to Bleecker Street on the southern superblock. NYU collaborated with the Departmentof Parks and Recreation on this project. For further reference, please review Restrictive Declaration section 4.2(c), page 43.

Current Status: The maintenance plan was implemented by NYU in June of 2013.