Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer and Columbia University President Lee Bollinger announced today that they had reached an agreement about measures to protect and enhance the West Harlem community as part of the university's expansion plans.
Yesterday Mr. Stringer and City Planning Director Amanda Burden announced the city's plan to rezone the area of West Harlem surrounding the university's expansion plans to maintain its neighborhood character and put in place protections to mitigate secondary displacement impacts.
According to the agreement announced today, the university will create a $20 million affordable housing fund to be leveraged by affordable housing developers towards a much larger sum. In addition, the university has agreed to abide by best practices for environmental sustainable construction and design to ensure that its projects in the expansion will meet a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v. 2.2 "Silver" certification.
The university has also agreed to create a new, 6,300-square-foot public park at 125th Street and Twelvth Avenue on a property previously slated for development by the expansion plan and to fund $30,000 a year for 25 years for its maintenance.
In addition, the university has agreed to fund significant neighborhood open space improvements including $500,000 for playground and schoolyard enhancement at IS 195, a commitment to work with NYC Housing Authority and tenants to fund walkway and grounds improvements at Manhattanville Houses and General Grant Houses, and $11,250,000 over 25 years towards the upkeep and maintenance of the new West Harlem Waterfront Park.
The university will also implement a construction mitigation plan to reduce environmental and health impacts of its new construction and it will create a community information, opportunities and resources center and a 24-hour hotline about construction activity and employment opportunities.
President Bollinger said in a statement that "Our goal is to continue to respond to the concerns of our neighborhoods and their representatives to make sure that Columbia's long-term growth in Manhattanville brings the widest possible benefit to the people who live and work in West Harlem and our whole city."
Yesterday Mr. Stringer and City Planning Director Amanda Burden announced the city's plan to rezone the area of West Harlem surrounding the university's expansion plans to maintain its neighborhood character and put in place protections to mitigate secondary displacement impacts.
According to the agreement announced today, the university will create a $20 million affordable housing fund to be leveraged by affordable housing developers towards a much larger sum. In addition, the university has agreed to abide by best practices for environmental sustainable construction and design to ensure that its projects in the expansion will meet a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v. 2.2 "Silver" certification.
The university has also agreed to create a new, 6,300-square-foot public park at 125th Street and Twelvth Avenue on a property previously slated for development by the expansion plan and to fund $30,000 a year for 25 years for its maintenance.
In addition, the university has agreed to fund significant neighborhood open space improvements including $500,000 for playground and schoolyard enhancement at IS 195, a commitment to work with NYC Housing Authority and tenants to fund walkway and grounds improvements at Manhattanville Houses and General Grant Houses, and $11,250,000 over 25 years towards the upkeep and maintenance of the new West Harlem Waterfront Park.
The university will also implement a construction mitigation plan to reduce environmental and health impacts of its new construction and it will create a community information, opportunities and resources center and a 24-hour hotline about construction activity and employment opportunities.
President Bollinger said in a statement that "Our goal is to continue to respond to the concerns of our neighborhoods and their representatives to make sure that Columbia's long-term growth in Manhattanville brings the widest possible benefit to the people who live and work in West Harlem and our whole city."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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