More on the NYU-NYT hyperlocal union

As you may have heard, NYU and The New York Times are teaming up to create a hyperlocal neighborhood news site called The Local: East Village (LEV).

Seth Lewis at Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab interviewed LEV mastermind Jay Rosen for a Q-and-A posted on Monday. Here's an excerpt: (Warning! It's pretty journalismish...)

So, are you suggesting that journalism schools could do well to focus on small, incremental steps toward local media partnerships? I mean, if I’m a journalism school director and I like what I see from this partnership, what’s the first step? What should I do?

This project began when I noticed what the Times was doing with The Local, and thought I glimpsed a need to experiment and learn. I mean, that was the logic of what they were doing. So, the first step is to get inside the head of the potential collaborator and start with a need or interest they have. The next step was to look at what we are doing at NYU and where we wanted to go with our program, and figure out where the two circles overlapped.

So, my Studio 20 concentration wants to work on innovation puzzles that matter in journalism in the broadest sense, but to do that through projects that can be completed in a semester. The Carter Institute at NYU teaches local reporting and needs a better way to do that. Put those things together and you get a version of The Local that Studio 20 can incubate, that the Reporting New York concentration at NYU can “own,” and that the Times can benefit from as a learning lab — and the community can gain from because it serves the East Village well. So it’s really four or five overlapping circles, because this is a community that NYU, the university at large, has a big stake in; it’s a big land owner and expects to own more land here.
Once I had the idea — East Village! The Local! — I just looked for ways to multiply the overlapping circles.

Oh, and one more thing: I tried to listen well to what the Times needed from such a project and understand it from their perspective as well as I did from ours.

Also, from here on out, perhaps we can shorten NYU-NYT to, say, NYUT.

Image via.

Slacktivist leader to NYU: We have had enough

In response to some earlier NYU-related news today.... A message from Slacktivist leader John Penley:

Attention NYU students: Tell your University We have had enough! Can't take no more. I have decided to organize a protest against out of control NYU dorm expansion. No date set yet... Tell people who support this to friend me on Facebook. Slactivists are gonna be at Washington Square Park. Count on it !!!!!!

Penley's Facebook page is here.

Good news, kids! NYU dining halls now with fewer vermin

There's an investigative piece in the Washington Square News — NYU's student newspaper — that examine's the university's health violations in dining halls.... To the story!

Health violations at NYU's dining halls dropped to 2008 levels after a sharp increase in the beginning of 2009, according to a WSN analysis of New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's restaurant inspections.

In March 2009, examinations at the university's dining halls received an average score of 19. During the most recent round of inspections, the average number of violation points for the 15 dining locations listed was 11, the same number of points as in 2008. While 28 points is considered a failing grade, 14 points is the New York City average.

NYU Director of Dining Facilities Owen Moore said the issues raised by the inspection reports are being addressed. One of the most common issues in the report was that the facility was not "vermin-proof," with "evidence of live mice in facility's food." According to Moore, NYU has been working with pest control experts.

"In New York, there's always going to be that problem — because of the fact that it is a several hundred year old city," Moore said. "You're never going to eliminate, only control."

And later!

Stern freshman Janshaaz Khan recently picked a green piece of roast beef out of his Quizno's sandwich. Still, he said he eats at Upstein — which scored 14 violation points — every day.

"It makes me feel vulnerable to disease," Khan said. "This was the first time, though."

Things that we were unaware that happened on Wednesday

NYU Wednesday at Butter Lane Cupcakes on Seventh Street.

We're gonna need some more dorms

NYU has announced another year of record-breaking admissions, reaching a total of 38,037 for the pool of regular and early decision applicants. For the class of 2014, NYU anticipates enrolling 4,500 students in New York. (NYUnews.com)

[Image via]

"Space-starved" NYU to also ruin Governors Island?

As you may be painfully aware, NYU aims to increase its space in New York City by approximately six million square feet by the year 2031. Aside from swallowing you whole and likely forcing you to move to, say, Delaware, expansion plans include a possible university center on Governors Island, Washington Square News reports today. Why? "We're space starved," NYU President John Sexton said.

Here's more from the article:

Sexton said he would like NYU to begin executing its 2031 plans as soon as possible. He anticipates the opening proposal to be completed in mid-January and construction for the first project to be completed by the following summer.

NYU hopes the 2031 expansion will make the degrees of NYU alumni more viable.

"It's our task to make sure that the value of your degree becomes more and more potent," Sexton said. "From now on, I don't want to refer to us as New York University. I want to refer to us as 'the New York University.' "

Orange crush: Why Jude Law tossed his fruit at NYU frosh

Yesterday, I pointed out the piece from Washington Square News about Jude Law living right across the way of an NYU frosh dorm. Well! Today, the Post follows up on the article, noting:

In Shakespeare's day, audience members heckled actors by hurling rotten fruit. But a few weeks ago, when Law's yoga session was interrupted, the fruit flew in the opposite direction.

"He noticed we were there and we started waving at him. Then he went inside and came back with two oranges," freshman Neha Najeeb told The Post. "He threw them at our window, but he missed." Law then went back inside and returned with two additional oranges, she said.

"This time, he hit the windows -- there was orange pulp on the glass for a week -- and then he went back to working out," she said. "Now we don't like Jude Law anymore."

One reason, perhaps, why Jude Law moved in next to a freshmen dorm at NYU

From Washington Square News:

On a recent night, a group of freshmen girls (and several boys) on the ninth floor of Hayden residence hall fought each other for a spot at the window in a dorm room. They all pressed their faces against the glass, straining to catch a glimpse of someone a few floors below in the building behind Hayden.

The word was spreading — Jude Law had officially moved in next door.

"We didn't even know he lived here," Tisch freshman Erica Rose said. (Her room is where the students gather to spy.) "I just came home one day and the entire floor was in my room staring out the window," Rose said.

And!

LSP freshman Bryan Hall said he feels bad for Law.

He said: "He moved in next to a freshmen dorm, so he'll always be ogled by freshmen girls."

Related:
On the Market: Jude Law's Sinful Village Hideaway (Curbed)


Photo via Priya Vij

Now you can own "THE ONLY REAL FRAT HOUSE AT NYU!"

Cool! The already legendary home of the Delta Phi House/East 12th Party Crew is for sale! You may recall some of the Greek-life hijinks from last month here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Anyway! As the Massey Knakal site notes:

Each unit contains designer bathrooms & chef kitchens, featuring GE stainless steel appliances, black granite counter tops & floors. The 32,870 SF new construction building consists of (13) studio apartments, (7) one bedroom apartments, (5) two bedroom two bath apartments, (1) three bedroom three bath apartment with rooftop terrace and 7 community facility units. Located in the heart of the East Village, just 3 blocks from the subway.

What? No mention of the multiple pong and flip cup tables?

Oh, and it's $17.3 million. For the building.

Report: NYU enrollment up 33 percent since 1990

From the Post today:

Cachet trumps cash.

Despite the downturn in the economy, New York University -- one of the priciest colleges in the county -- enrolled its largest student body in decades this year, school officials told The Post.

Just as the recession sent record numbers of students to New York's more affordable public colleges, the vaunted Greenwich Village school saw its highest enrollment since at least 1990 -- the most recent year for which data was readily available, according to school officials.

The upswing comes at a time when annual tuition, room and board at NYU hit nearly $52,000.

More than 21,600 undergraduates enrolled at NYU this school year -- up nearly 400 from last year -- while more than 18,200 graduate students enrolled -- a one-year spike of nearly 800 enrollees.

Overall since 1990, the school's enrollment has surged by an impressive 33 percent -- or roughly 10,000 students.

Jeez, we're going to need more dorms! And bars! (For those of-age students who choose to go out, of course...)

Delta Phi offers an apology; but are they sincere? "If not, the wrath of 12th Street will be a good college lesson for any young man"

Jill has an update on the story she has been covering at Blah Blog Blah. She spoke with members of the Delta Phi fraternity on 12th Street. According to her post just now:

[T]he fraternity has said that they've made attempts to reach out to as many of their neighbors as they could to apologize for the disturbance their party caused.

In response to an email that I sent to both them and NYU, they have assured me that they will take great pains in the future to ensure that their parties will not attract as many people by limiting the number of invites distributed. They said that the turnout was unprecedented and unexpected, unlike any of the previous parties they had on Avenue C and that they do not have big parties every week, and plan only one more next semester, but they say it will definitely not be as big a party, and they will post notices around the block so that we will have advance warning.

Currently four people are living full time in the frathouse apartment. I recommended that they volunteer their services in the garden across the street from their house, which might go a long way toward a mutual understanding and respect for the community, the block and the East Village. I also think they will learn a thing or two about drinking.

Some other blogs have picked up this story and it is making the rounds around NYU also, so either they are on notice to be on their best possible behavior, or the news will make them more popular than ever and cater to that pent up frathouse demand that NYU's been missing all these years. Only time will tell if they are sincere about making amends. I for one certainly hope they are and keep to their word, as I will be holding them to it personally and I have their phone number. If not, the wrath of 12th Street will be a good college lesson for any young man.

Previously.

Those guys playing beer pong in 1E may be the next J.P. Morgan Jr. or John Jacob Astor III some day

Just following up on Jill's post yesterday that NYU's Delta Phi fraternity is now calling 531 E. 12th St. home. Since we're going to be neighbors, I thought we should get to know the brothers (bros?) of Delta Phi ... Some history!

Delta Phi has remained an exclusive fraternity. Rather than engaging in the wholesale expansion policies that have marked the operation of other greek letter fraternities, the brothers of Delta Phi choose to establish chapters only at the finest schools and usually with proximity to other chapters. It grants its chapters a substantial degree of local autonomy - allowing them to develop their own traditions and policies within the scope of a larger institution.

Members of Delta Phi have come from every walk of life; social and economic. It’s members have reached the pinnacles of business, politics, education and service. Our fraternity is an organization where names such as J.P. Morgan, Jr., John Jacob Astor and James Roosevelt and are but the start of a long and distinguished list.

And at NYU:

The Gamma chapter was established on Tuesday, June 1, 1841 and is the second oldest social fraternity at New York University and the oldest continuous chapter of our National Fraternity. Among Gamma chapter’s alumni are many distinguished men and the namesakes of several buildings at NYU. The men of Gamma greatly value the traditions of brotherhood in Delta Phi and continue to preserve fraternal life as an integral part of the college experience in a large metropolitan area.

Distinguished Alumni

Howard Crosby - Initiated 1841
William H. Nichols - Initiated 1869
Ernest Howard Crosby - Initiated 1872
Henry Pomeroy Davison - Initiated 1901

Notable former Delta Phi members from other university's include John Jacob Astor III, Charles Scribner and George Will.

Astor photo via.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 12th Street now home to "THE ONLY REAL FRAT HOUSE AT NYU!"

East 12th Street now home to "THE ONLY REAL FRAT HOUSE AT NYU!"

In case you missed this (And I did — found the link via Curbed first), Jill has a post on NYU's Delta Phi House opening up shop at 531 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's the description via Facebook:

531 East 12th Party Crew (Apt 1E)
Category:
Entertainment & Arts - Nightlife
Description:
There are lots of places to party in New York, but few can match the insanity of 531 East 12th Street. If you are tired of going out to bars, come to an apartment with a massive common room filled with multiple pong and flip cup tables.

Here is an article by the New York Observer written about the parties we throw:

You belong in this group if any of the following apply:

1) Came to NYU and within 2 days, missed having house parties.

2) Think beer pong should be in the 2012 Olympics

3) Forgot your keys, wallet, and name at one of our parties.

4) Hooked up on one of the couches in the common room in the dark, thinking that nobody could see you.

5) Bought St. Ides malt liquor from the deli below our old apt (40 Avenue C).

6) Couldn't find your way back to Weinstein, Hayden, or even the front door after partying.

7) Gone to the website and seen a picture of yourself, trashed, on the front page.

8) You fell down the two flights of stairs walking home from our old house (40 Avenue C).

9) You have taken a picture next to our suit of armor in the common room.

10) You and your friends want to come to some of the sickest parties in New York.

Don't miss our welcome week blowouts...there's a reason why the NY Observer called them "legendary".

THE ONLY REAL FRAT HOUSE AT NYU!

Jill writes:

On Saturday night it was reported that hundreds of people were streaming in and out of that building and the police came by at least 5 times, to no avail. At around 3am one resident heard something outside her ground floor window and opened it to find a young man pissing in her flowers. She yelled at him and he ran down the street with his dick hanging out.

Now I am officially freaking out. Frat bars are one thing, an actual frat house is beyond anything I can put into words. Let the phone calls of protest begin.

Here's a piece Curbed had on the new building back in March 2007.

Photo via.

16 hours on 12th Street

Just taking one last look at yesterday's NYU move in on 12th Street...the site of the former St. Ann's church....



Best moment maybe ever: An SUV pulls up, the man behind the wheel next to his daughter yells to an NYU security guard on the sidewalk, "Excuse me, do you speak English?!"



Anyway, at least the neighbors were prepped...



Previously on EV Grieve:
NYU students are REALLY moving in! NYU students are REALLY moving in!

NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

NYU students are REALLY moving in! NYU students are REALLY moving in!

Whoa. EV Grieve reader Eric checks in from the new 12th Street Dorm (that sort of incorporated St. Ann's...)... This is where the action is!





Previously on EV Grieve:
NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

P.S.
This reminds me that I watched "The Swarm" the other night. Good, unintentional hilarity!

NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

Welcome Week kicks off tomorrow at NYU. Today, students continue to move into the East Village-area dorms....

I spotted license plates from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Illinois...





The school's "Welcome Ambassadors" were spotted welcoming people on Third Avenue.





Some of the dads seemed understandably stressed out and annoyed. So I've organized a "I'm Helping My Kid Move Into the Dorms" Pub Crawl. See you at the Pourhouse!

Paradise Lost

A few excerpts from a commentary titled "Our Side of Paradise" published last week in Forbes. The author is a soon-to-be-NYU graduate. She provides some insight into the minds of other students now trying to find their way in the post-college world.

[U]nlike the rest of the responsible adult population, fear of unemployment among recent college grads is not quite as evident as one might expect. For a generation trying to find its place in the job market, the excuse of a "bad economy" has actually been a relief -- even a breath of fresh air -- for recent grads. At least for some of them. The post-graduate summer for recent NYU alums has been freckled with rooftop barbecues, typical bar gatherings on Manhattan's Lower East Side and apartment parties in Brooklyn.

And!

Several weeks ago, during cocktail hour with some new acquaintances, the subject turned, inevitably, to unemployment. Once it was established that nearly everyone just graduated from NYU, the dreaded question was posed: "What are you doing now?" Financially speaking, the answers were unsurprising: freelance photography, an unpaid internship, waitering. And yet no one seemed to mind that income was slim to none and the jobs unassuming. "The economy's bad," someone said.

The thing is, some lucky (some may say "spoiled") recent college grads are OK with the idea of unemployment--at least temporarily. As a generation once defined by SAT scores and the number of clubs on our resumes, we have found ourselves suddenly free of the conventions of school and the pressures of finding a "good" job. "We're young. We should enjoy not having a lot responsibility," a friend recently told me.

And!

In June of this year, I moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with several recent NYU grads and spent the summer interning and finishing up one last course. One of my roommates, who graduated in May, spent the summer in a part-time, paid internship. Another was able to find a few freelance editing jobs earlier in the summer, and another has yet to find any job at all. But it's not the end of the world that none of us are able to fully afford rent.

That's because, thankfully, our parents can.

And!

Yes, our generation has traditionally been criticized as selfish, spoiled and coddled by boomers, but we aren't the only generation to have this experience. Flip through the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "lost generation" masterpiece This Side of Paradise, and you'll find the relevant tale of the young Amory Blaine, who hauntingly reflects a generation privileged with minimal responsibility and a sense of exciting uncertainty.

The full article is here.

Preservation of the Provincetown Playhouse not going so well so far

"The preservation of the original Provincetown Playhouse within a new building that New York University is constructing at the MacDougal St. site was put on hold on Aug. 18 after neighbors discovered that part of the historic playhouse wall that was to have been preserved had been removed." An outraged Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said: "What’s unfortunate and clear is that N.Y.U. has yet again been caught in a lie, the lie that they would preserve the walls of the theater in their entirety." For its part, an NYU official apologized and said that work will cease until a report can be made to the community. (The Villager)

Previous Provincetown Playhouse coverage from The Villager. Washington Square Park has been all over the story as well. And BoweryBoogie, photo via BB too.

200 Water Street now leasing

Following up on my post a few weeks back...when I noted that NYU had packed up and left the Water Street dorm in the Financial District.





And Rockrose has a new Web site for the property — luxury rentals...but no details. But hey — the rooms are good enough for NYU students! And a commenter noticed the following:

Taking a closer look at that poster, I'm thinking she almost looks like she's preparing to fellate that bridge. What makes no sense whatsoever, though, is that it's the Manhattan Bridge. Where do they think 200 Water Street is ... Chinatown? DUMBO?

Meanwhile, RR is changing all the lightbulbs...

NYU de-dorms 200 Water St.; preps the 12th Street residence hall

As we noted yesterday, NYU plans on expanding into parts of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Well, there are plans for developing up to 6 million square feet of additional space by 2031 in the area around Washington Square Park.

Meanwhile, what else is happening in the NYU dorm world? First, 200 Water St. in the the Financial District is getting de-dormed. Since 1998, NYU has housed some 1,200 students in these 32 floors. As the Times reported on April 3, 1998, the building went up in 1971 as an office tower for the securities and insurance industry. It was converted from office space to residential space for NYU by the Rockrose Development Corporation.

The decision to lease the Water Street building comes as part of the university's drive to provide housing for a student body that includes fewer New York residents than ever before.

"Ten years ago, half of a typical freshman class was from New York," said John Beckman, a spokesman for NYU. "Now that is about 20 percent."

According to the Water Street home page, "Our theme for the 2008 – 2009 year is "Leave your Watermark" inspired by Water Street’s last year as an NYU residence hall." What's going in this space? Not sure! (According to a commenter here, Rockrose is converting the units to rentals.) But at least they have that new Duane Reade anchoring Fulton and Water. So the students will be moved to other dorms closer to campus.




In recent weeks, all the old dorm mattresses -- hope the students didn't leave their watermarks here! -- were stacked up in the lobby at 200 Water St. and carted off to...




... I don't know, perhaps the new eyesore called the 12th Street dorm that sort of, but not really incorporated the façade of St. Ann's into the residence hall's entrance. This 26-floor dorm between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue will house 700 freshman starting this August.



Here are a few of the articles The Villager has done on the 12th Street dorm in recent years.

See you at the Village Pourhouse in August kids!