Noted

EVG reader Sheila writes in: "Peter Cooper, advocate for public education, seems to be going down in flames today."

No one to our knowledge has claimed responsibility for the paper fire just yet...

The Peter Cooper Block Party is tomorrow (Saturday!)

Via the EVG inbox...

Peter Cooper Block Party
Free & Open to the Public

Saturday, Sept. 3
Noon-5 pm

7 East 7th St., Outside Cooper Union's Foundation Building

Development, construction, demolition, re-development, re-construction, re-demolition, un-re-development, re-un-construction, de-un-remolition...Amidst the dust, it's hard to know: what's going on here?

- - -

About Peter Cooper Block Party 2016

The Block Party is a relatively new tradition of coming together to celebrate, reconnect, and showcase the ongoing work of the Cooper community.

The theme of this year's Peter Cooper Block Party is a provocation:

“Under Construction:"

And a question:

"What’s Going On Here?”

2016 marks the completion of a decade’s worth of private and public redevelopments — architectural, financial, and cultural — at and around Cooper and the Astor Place area. This year’s celebration bears witness to the unfolding impact of these changes.

This year's programming also takes on an additional charge:

Reflecting while in motion.

Let's! Yet! Both!

- - -

Programming

This family-friendly event will feature many alumni, student, and faculty projects, live music and performances, informational materials about the state of the Cooper Union and the re-development of Astor Place, a bouncy house and family craft table, and light refreshments.

More details here.

What went wrong at Cooper Union

Catching up to a long look at the recent turmoil at Cooper Union … via a piece by Felix Salmon at Fusion titled "How one of America’s last free colleges screwed its students and betrayed its legacy."

There's a lot going on to try to summarize for a post here … so here's a quickie overview:

Cooper Union’s finances are dreadful, and the fact that it charges tuition is a dereliction of everything Peter Cooper stood for. George Campbell, Jamshed Bharucha, and Mark Epstein should be shamed for what they did. It will take something approaching a miracle, or at least a couple of hundred million dollars, to get Cooper Union back to where it was.

Salmon also points out that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's 55-page report into what went wrong at Cooper Union "should be required, and sobering, reading for anybody who cares about higher education in America." (You can download a copy of the report via the Fusion article. Some good Labor Day reading.)

Introducing Nonstop Cooper, a community residency on 3rd Avenue

Via the EVG inbox…

Nonstop Cooper is a community residency at 31 Third Avenue. It will serve as a workspace for community engagement and a platform for public outreach.

Opening on September 7th, Nonstop will feature a wide variety of programming, and drop-in hours from noon to midnight. Community members are welcome to host and attend happenings.

Find more details about this residency at Facebook … and the Nonstop Cooper Tumblr.

The space, 31 Third Ave. at Stuyvestant Street, previously housed St. Mark's Bookshop before a rent increase saw the the owners relocate to East Third Street.

The storefront has been empty now for more than a year.


[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Updated 8 a.m.
In other Cooper Union news ... from the Associated Press via ABC News:

New York's attorney general has reached an agreement that would end a suit against Cooper Union and create an independent monitor into the financial management of the engineering and architecture school.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is expected to announce the agreement Wednesday.

He says he hopes it could eventually lead to the school restoring its tradition of free tuition.

There'll be no more trespassing at the Cooper Union academic building

Back in late July, the Cooper Union academic building made headlines as part of the Post's ongoing Bill-deBlasio-is-the-worst-mayor-ever coverage. Sources told the Post that some crusties/travelers had been like urinating, defecating and masturbating right out there in public. (Side note: Cab drivers have apparently been using the space to relieve themselves dating back to 2010.)

Perhaps this attention ushered in the No Trespassing signs that are now on display around the building here between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street…







In July 2010, Cooper Union put an end to people skateboarding on the $175-million building by placing metal spikes on the tempting bank of polished concrete out front.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cooper Union puts the brakes on its skateboarding bank

The 'urination, defecation, masturbation' vacation outside Cooper Union (66 comments)

Gleaming the Coop

The 'urination, defecation, masturbation' vacation outside Cooper Union

The Post has a new front for its ongoing exposes on perceived quality-of-life offenses: The Cooper Union academic building.

The annual appearance by the travelers/crusties/whatever-you-like, who have been camping out here every summer since the school opened the building six years ago at 41 Cooper Square between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street, prompted this headline-worthy quote:

“I have seen drug deals, public urination, defecation, masturbation in broad daylight in the Taras Shevchenko alley,” a Cooper Union faculty member told The Post.

Apparently the group didn't care for reporter Kevin Fasick, who earlier this summer posed as a homeless person outside Gracie Mansion, attempting to interview them.

Nine of the drifters were splayed out on bits of cardboard Thursday morning, and began hurling insults, water and bits of cookie when approached by a reporter.

“I was going to chase him down and beat the s–t out of him,” one thin, bedraggled man spat in anger.

“If I ever see you or that photographer again, I’ll kick the s–t out of you,” he threatened.

And where was the Post in 2010 when a serial vomiter (careful with that link) was targeting this building?

Updated 4:32 p.m.

Oh! We didn't see the paper's version of the story with this headline…



Thanks Matt Rosen!

Report: New York Attorney General now probing Cooper Union's finances

[EVG file photo]

In case you missed this from The Wall Street Journal yesterday ... New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the financial decisions that led Cooper Union officials to charge undergraduate tuition for the first time in its history.

To the article:

The probe includes a look at several decisions by Cooper Union’s past and present trustees, according to people familiar with the investigation. Among them: a $175 million loan, using the Chrysler building as collateral, to help finance more than $100 million in new Greenwich Village facilities, the people said.

Mr. Schneiderman’s office is also reviewing the terms of the school’s lease agreement at the Midtown skyscraper with real-estate company Tishman Speyer, a bonus that the board approved for former President George Campbell Jr. and potential inaccuracies about the board’s financial decisions on the school’s official website, the people said.

A Cooper Union spokesperson told the Journal that school officials are fully cooperating with Schneiderman's office.

In May 2013, a group of Cooper Union students occupied President Jamshed Bharucha's office for 65 days to protest the decision to start charging tuition.

Peter Cooper is now out of the box

[Photo last April by Dave on 7th]

As we noted yesterday morning, workers were starting to remove the Peter Cooper monument from its protective plywood.



So just for some closure, so to speak, Peter Cooper is now completely out of the box… free to once again watch over the park outside Cooper Union that bears his name…





Workers had covered Coop up for safekeeping during the Astor Place-Cooper Square reconstruction project, which will be done just as soon as the 4-5 guys working on it are done.

Nearly 1 year later, Peter Cooper starting to emerge from his box

[File photo via NYC Parks]

Workers boxed up Augustus Saint-Gaudens' sculpture of Cooper Union founder Peter Cooper last April ... for safekeeping during the ongoing Astor Place-Cooper Square reconstruction project.

EVG reader Katie B. has been keeping tabs on the boxed Cooper, which overlooks the Cooper Triangle Park ... and notes that he is slowly starting to emerge from underneath the plywood...


[Click on image for more detail]





Eventually the Park, which closed in November 2013, will look like this...with new seating and plantings as well as upgraded lighting (minus the ghosts probably)...



As for the statue, the official dedication took place on May 29, 1897. Check out the NYC Parks website here for more background.

Cooped up

[Photo by Dave on 7th]

We've been meaning to note that the statue of Peter Cooper in Cooper Square was boarded up this past week for the Astor Place reconstruction project … So, noted!

BoweryBoogie noted this today as well … and BB also has a shot of the statue circa 1900.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project

An updated look at the all-new Astor Place

Report: Cooper Union Board says no to proposal that would keep the school tuition-free

[EVG file photo]

Gothamist has the story:

Cooper Union will officially start charging its undergraduates tuition, after the Board of Trustees rejected a 54-page report compiled by a Working Group of alumni, staff, students and trustees that outlined a plan to keep the school free.

Felix Salmon has an opinion piece on the decision today at Reuters titled The shame of Cooper Union.

An excerpt:

The minute that Cooper starts charging tuition, it loses its soul. It becomes a second-choice college in the most expensive part of the most expensive city in the world, which will never regain the kind of love and loyalty among its students and teachers that produced the summer’s sit-ins and the fall’s Working Group Report.

[Updated] Want to buy a dorm?

Was talking with an EVG friend the other day. The conversation turned to St. Mark's Bookshop and its likely move.

And my friend casually mentioned the building owned by Cooper Union that houses the Bookshop as well as other businesses, not to mention a dorm, is for sale.

Oh really?

Turns out that there is a listing (PDF) for the building…



The listing is active on Property Shark… with a listing age of 36 days…



Anyway, it's not a secret that Cooper Union is facing financial problems due to increasing operation costs and declining investment income, among other things.

The Student Residence here opened in September 1992 at Stuyvesant Street and Third Avenue. Here are details about the dorm via the Cooper Union website:

The Student Residence offers apartment-style housing for 178 students. Units range in size to accommodate from three to five people, with the majority of the apartments being two bedroom units shared by four people. Each unit contains a bathroom, common living area, and kitchenette. The building amenities include a study room, laundry room, the Residence Hall Office, and the Menschel Room.

As the flyer indicates, "the seller will enter into short term leaseback." Meanwhile, Cooper Union is one of the schools reportedly leasing space in developer Gregg Singer's dream dorm project at the former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street.

------

Updated 6:02 pm
Robert Frischman, executive vice president, retail brokerage, at the EVO Real Estate Group, said that the building is not for sale. No word on how or why the listing appeared on Property Shark in the first place.

Free Cooper Union presents #TwoWeeksOfLeaks

From the EVG inbox…

Free Cooper Union has received a collection of anonymously leaked confidential documents pertaining to The Cooper Union’s Board of Trustees and the Administration of Jamshed Bharucha. For the next two weeks we will be releasing one document per day to our press contacts.

Bharucha and the college’s trustees have claimed to run a transparent and accountable administration, yet the community has unilaterally been barred from participation in decision-making and access to financial and organizational information. On Nov. 11, the Board prematurely cancelled the election of a student representative because the process adopted by students was too democratic. Transparency without accountability means nothing, and Cooper’s Board has demonstrated that they are accountable to no one.

In addition to documents queued for release in the next two weeks, Free Cooper Union is calling for additional leaks pertaining to the mismanagement perpetrated by Cooper Union’s past and present Board and Administration. Information may be emailed to cooperunionsos@gmail.com or sent to our voicemail at 917-746-5634.

In celebration of open flows of information, on Nov. 24 from 6 to 9 pm, students will be performing a second reading of the Board transcript leaked this summer by The Village Voice at e-flux, 311 East Broadway.

And here is yesterday's selection:

Today’s document is a guide of “Helpful Information for Administrative Assistants” to former president George Campbell. The guide is highly indicative of the oppressive corporate culture and the luxurious wasteland of hierarchy and bureaucracy that have come to characterize Cooper Union’s administration:

“Office Cautions:”

“The blinds in the Reception Area must be drawn to the same level at all times...This is the President’s pet peeve.”

“Unless you like being admonished by the President about using his office as a highway, it’s advised that you refrain from [walking through] while he’s around.”

“When ordering lunch, ask to have all salad ingredients brought separately (GC is allergic to cucumbers, Lawrence and Ronni do not eat onions). That also allows you to construct the salad yourself and make it look nicer.”

“He likes weak coffee, black. Place coffee thermos and mug to the left of his computer.”

“Hotels: Dr. Campbell likes to stay at nice hotels when on College business: Ritz Carleton is his favorite, especially while in LA (he always stays at the Ritz Marina Del Rey when in the LA area — make sure to book the executive level suite, ocean view room).”

“Cars: Dr. Campbell prefers to drive a luxury SUV during the winter and a luxury Cadillac in the summer/spring or in warm climates. If a luxury car isn’t available, order a convertible. He likes to have a car on almost all of his trips as he prefers to drive to different venues.”

Bharucha and Banksy

Here's more about the additions from the weekend to the Banksy installation on East Seventh Street and Cooper Square ... via the EVG inbox...

Free Cooper Union is pleased to present the repentance of Jamshed Bharucha.

“Cooper Confessional” depicts Cooper Union’s overpaid and visionless President, Jamshed Bharucha, as he confesses his transgression from a historically merit-based full scholarship model, to an expansionist tuition agenda. Hearing Bharucha’s lament is Peter Cooper, who founded the Cooper Union in 1859 and established the mission of the institution as necessarily providing free education to all admitted students while educating against the evils of debt.

This collaborative work is flanked by an image of the infamous Jamshed the Giant, who insists that must students PAY for years of financial mismanagement and administrative bloat at the Cooper Union, along with the title of the Free Cooper Union Player’s latest drama, Free Cooper: The Musical, which is the sequel to the group's debut hit The Politics of Destruction.

As Banksy notes, “there's nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place,” and with that in mind, and with many more plans for direct action, we continue to fight against tuition at Cooper Union and the rising tide of student debt.

After 65 days, Cooper Union students end occupation of president's office

[May 10]

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Joint Statement by Former Occupiers of the President’s Office, the Administration, and Board of Trustees of The Cooper Union, July 15th, 2013

The administration, Board of Trustees of The Cooper Union and those members of the Cooper Union community who have been occupying the Office of the President since early May have reached an agreement that ended the occupation on Friday.

A working group will be established promptly to undertake a good faith effort to seek an alternative to tuition that will sustain the institution’s long-term financial viability and strengthen its academic excellence.

The working group will consist of Board, faculty, alumni, students and administration representatives and will report to the administration and Board of Trustees for consideration at the December Board of Trustees Meeting.

The Board also confirmed, in accordance with the motion approved at the June Board meeting, that procedures for student representation on the Board will be established at the September meeting.

An interim room has been identified as a Community Commons that can serve as a student center or a community center for all members of the Cooper Community.

All individuals who have violated Cooper Union policies throughout the period of the occupation will be granted amnesty, and in turn, commit to complying with, and cooperating with the enforcement of, all laws and Cooper Union policies.

Here's a look at the start of Day 65 on Friday...

The sun just rose on 65 days of occupation at Cooper Union https://t.co/8lYOs7Mu8h

— Free Cooper Union (@FreeCooperUnion) July 12, 2013

Find more details here.

Previously.

Bloomberg's Cooper Union commencement address includes, oddly enough, jab at the Coal Yard

Mayor Bloomberg delivered the commencement address at the Cooper Union's 154th Graduation Ceremony yesterday.

During the 18-minute speech, Bloomberg showed that his staff did some research, localizing several references, including: "But it is true also that all of you survived thousands and thousands of slices of Two Bros pizza. I will make a point to stop and have a piece of pizza at Two Bros. I hope it’s really thin. That's the way I like it."

Uh-huh.

Also!

Later, at the 10-minute mark, the Mayor discussed the importance of giving back... and he referenced one of our favorite bars around – the Coal Yard on First Avenue.

"I started working on Wall Street. My first job was working in the cage counting securities in my underwear because it was not air-conditioned in the summer. My first year's bonus was forgiveness of the loan they gave me so that I could afford to go to work there, because they paid a lot less than other firms that had offered me a job.

"But you can always give something. And so I gave $5. That $5 would be about $37, which I'm guessing is probably less than what you’d spend in a night at The Coal Yard.

"Actually, if you spend more than $37 at The Coal Yard, the next morning you'll probably wish you had donated the money."

The joke received some chuckles from the crowd. Points for trying?

As for the big issue at hand with Cooper Union ... students have been occupying President Jamshed Bharucha's office since May 8 to protest the school's plan to charge tuition starting next fall. The New York Times has a recap of the address, and notes that some students were disappointed (but not surprised) "with what they saw as Mr. Bloomberg's evasion of the free education issue."

And you can find the entire address here.

[Updated] At the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY'

‏[Photo by @tenementcity]

We'll have more photos on the "Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY" later this evening ... the rally started around 6 at Cooper Union...


[Photo by @tenementcity]

Updated 8:30

Here are a few more photos from the starting point of the march on East Ninth Street our the former PS 64... which included members of Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Tiny Band and others.


[Bobby Williams]


[BW]


[Dave on 7th]


[Do7]

... all under the watchful eye of the NYPD...


[BW]


[BW]

...later at Cooper Union...


[BW]

Updated

Serena Solomon filed a story on the march and rally at DNAinfo. Read that here.

From the article:

March organizer Susan Howard said the eviction, followed by years of watching the building deteriorate, has been a “devastating blow."

"I don't think the owner knows how much damage he has done and how deep the hurt is," said Howard, who is also part of the group Save Our Community Center CHARAS-64 (SOCCC-64).

"It was a cross-pollination of so many people — activists and artists," Howard said of when the building operated as a community center. "You had [singing practice] in the plaza. You had AA meetings in the gallery, computer classes, English classes."

The Villager also has an article today on the march/rally. Find that here.

Per that article:

"There is no room, and no desire, and no way we will live with a dorm in our backyard," declared Councilmember Rosie Mendez, shouting to the crowd from a bullhorn. "Cooper Union needs to rescind whatever deal I believe it doesn't have so Singer can give us back our building," Mendez added.

Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh was equally strident.

"As a community, we have to at some point draw the line and say this is a battle we are not going to lose, and this is a fight we're not going to quit," Kavanagh said.

Cooper Union students mark 1-week anniversary of occupation of president's office

As of 11am EST, the Presidents office of the Cooper Union has been occupied for 1 week.

— Free Cooper Union (@FreeCooperUnion) May 15, 2013

On Monday night, Cooper Union President Jamshed Bharucha went up to the seventh floor to speak with the students who are protesting the school's decision to end its 111-year practice of providing a full-tuition scholarship.

Runnin' Scared has details on the meeting between the two sides here. Here's more background from Business Insider.

Previously.

Tonight at 6: 'NYC Art Action' to keep Cooper Union Free

From the EV Grieve inbox... via Student Bloc NYC

*NYC ART ACTION to keep Cooper Union Free*
Tonight at 6, we're creating an "art-in" outside Cooper Union. Bring poetry, chalk, puppets, paints, pencils, easels, songs, tap dance routines.

Statement from Students at Cooper Union:

For Immediate Release:

50+ students, faculty, and staff are maintaining a ‘sit-in’ inside Jamshed Bharucha’s office on the 7th floor of the Foundation Building of the Cooper Union. As students we have reclaimed the President’s office in response to the Administration and the Board of Trustees announcing the implementation of tuition for the incoming class of 2014- desecrating a 154 year old tradition of meritocracy and free education. We stand together with the extended Cooper community in opposition to this decision; we reaffirm all of the previous and future actions of our fellow students and allies.

WEAR red squares
BRING pots and pans
Let's make our solidarity seen & heard around the world!

Live updates here:
Twitter

Facebook

Ustream

Previously.

Here's video of Cooper Union students entering the president's office this morning

As you may have heard, some 50 students, faculty and staff at Cooper Union started a sit-in inside the office of school president Jamshed Bharucha this morning.

While the video isn't exactly action-packed, you get the idea of their commitment to the cause at hand ...

Live updates here:
Twitter

Facebook

Ustream