NYU buys dorm on Cooper Square that everyone already thought was an NYU dorm

According to published reports, NYU bought the dorm at 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street for $69.2 million. 

Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) had occupied the 13-floor residence hall since August 2015. (The building includes retail tenants Librae Bakery and Meet Fresh bubble tea.)

Despite multiple reports about Marymount leasing the space dating back 10 years, some residents thought it belonged to NYU's East Village dorm empire. 

Well, it does now... as the NYU branding is already at the entrance...

The deal is joint venture between two Midtown-based real estate firms, Sherwood Equities and Bhatia Development, Crain's and PincusCo reported. 

MMC's lease was reportedly terminated last month. This seemed like a bit of a hike for students of the private liberal arts college, which has its main campus on the Upper East Side.

Upon the dorm's grand opening nine years ago, 199 MMC students moved in, per a school news release at the time. The additional 73 spots were contracted out to Cooper Union. 

The dorm sits on a lot previously occupied in part by 35 Cooper Square, the Federal-style building dating back to 1825. The closing of the Asian Pub in January 2011 at 35 Cooper Square set in motion a sequence of events that led to the demolition of the historic building in 2011, despite pleas from community activists and preservationists. 

Neighbors weren't so supportive of all this, leaving signs calling developer Arun Bhatia "a destroyer of East Village history." 

Crain's has more about NYU's real-estate empire: 

NYU is considered one of the city's largest and wealthiest landlords, and, like other private colleges, it benefits from tax exemptions on its real estate. Last year NYU acquired a Kips Bay apartment building​​ for $210 million — one of 2023's priciest transactions. And the total assessed value of NYU's holdings is about $1.8 billion, just below Columbia University's total, but NYU is taxed on just $120 million of that, thus enjoying nearly $1.7 billion in savings, according to a Crain's analysis in a piece from last fall headlined "City loses $788 million in property taxes as private colleges eat up 25M square feet of land."

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• 35 Cooper Square, 'this much-beloved little building,' dies at age 186

FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend

Founders Hall on 12th Street this morning

For your information, today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday) mark NYU's Welcome Weekend 2024, when new and returning underclassmen can return to the dorms. 

In the East Village, parking restrictions are in place around the various residence halls along Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 14th Street and on 14th Street and 12th Street. 

Also, the very large (added for the commenter so as not to be "glibly complicit"!) Citi Bike docking station on 11th Street at Third Avenue in front of NYU's Third Avenue North dorm is offline for the weekend. (Thanks, Seth Treiman, for the pic!) ... as is the one on 12th Street just west of Third Avenue.

As always, expect extra vehicular traffic, double/triple parking, and stressed-out parents and guardians.

At NYU, 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' leads to arrests of over 150 people

Photos yesterday by Daniel Efram 

According to published reports, the NYPD arrested some 150 people last night at the site of the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" that a few dozen NYU students set up early yesterday morning at Gould Plaza on the school's main campus.

The numbers at the encampment grew to several hundred during the day. 

As the Associated Press reported: "The school said it warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of 'intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents.'" 

Officers in riot gear began making arrests around 8:30 p.m., per media accounts and bystanders. 

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry posted this statement to X...

Earlier today, the NYPD received the attached letter from NYU — detailing a request to clear Gould Plaza of individuals who were refusing to comply with repeated requests to disperse. They were described as “interfering with the safety and security of our community.” Our… pic.twitter.com/oA758efW74

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) April 23, 2024

EVG regular Daniel Efram shared these photos from last evening...

Those arrested included students and faculty. 

"It's a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus,” NYU law student Byul Yoon told the AP. "Antisemitism is never ok. That's absolutely not what we stand for and that's why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today." 

NYU's independent student newspaper, Washington Square News, reported that after the arrests, some 100 people protested outside 1 Police Plaza.

Read more of their coverage here. 

Meanwhile, at Columbia, the university's campus "has become the epicenter of the unrest in the U.S.," per Axios.

It's move-in weekend for NYU

NYU's Fall Residence Hall Move In starts today ... and lasts through Sunday. 

No Parking notices have been posted around the school's dorms in the neighborhood — along Third Avenue and on 12th Street and 14th Street. (Thanks to Doug for the pic!) 

Students who required a quarantine arrived on Aug. 18-19.

Here's NYU's message about the Fall term:

In fall 2021, with vaccination requirements in place for students, faculty, administrators, and staff, NYU will resume in-person classroom instruction and most other pre-COVID activities, and administrative offices will begin in-person operations again. 

Against the backdrop of the lingering risks and uncertainty of COVID-19, we will continue to be guided in our decision-making by a focus on safety and health. The requirement for vaccination of NYU community members — both in New York City and at the majority of our Study Away sites in the U.S. and abroad — remains at the heart of our planning as we carry out NYU’s research and teaching mission.

At this time last year, smaller numbers of students returned to the area ... as NYU employed a physically distanced move-in to the residence halls as some students and faculty returned to campus for in-person instruction with many others taking part in remote learning.

About 2,600 students moved in earlier in the month to quarantine, and another 3,200 are arriving now. pic.twitter.com/dPUJjlAT08

— New York University (@nyuniversity) August 31, 2020

Last night in Tompkins Square Park

There were reports of a pretty raucous party last night in Tompkins Square Park ... someone described it as a "rave" (with glowsticks and White Claw!). 

We're told that it was an NYU party, complete with a DJ and a crowd here past 1 a.m. We're also told that it was "a prom for those who couldn't have a prom earlier. And there was someone's birthday too..." while others said they were protesting. Something.

Given the noise, duration (four-plus hours), alcohol and lack of social distancing, observers were surprised the NYPD didn't break up the bash. And they were on patrol nearby guarding the Samuel S. Cox statue this whole time.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was walking through the Park and took this video...

Back to school

Welcome Week is underway at NYU... and starting tomorrow (Sunday, Aug. 25), new and returning underclassman are able to return to the dorms.

Something to keep in mind if you were planning on a trip to, say, Trader Joe's on 14th Street tomorrow afternoon. Also, No Parking signs are posted around the various dorms on streets including, but not limited to, 13th, 12th, 11th, 10th and 9th. Expect some extra vehicular traffic, double parking and frazzled parents and guardians, among other things.

Wednesday's parting shot

An early morning graduation-day scene from Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place via Vinny & O...

Shiina closes on 3rd Avenue

Shiina, a women's boutique selling clothing, accessories and makeup, has closed at 83 Third Ave. at 12th Street.

The shop opened in June 2017 here in the base of NYU's Third North dorm.

Until Shiina arrived, the storefront had been empty for nearly two years after Pushcart Coffee vacated the space. The address was previously home to Just Sweet, which sold bubble tea and desserts.

In more positive retail news for the NYU dorm retail space, H Mart is opening soon in the long-vacant shops along the base of Alumni Hall on Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

NYU's residential hall Move-In Day is today

Today marks NYU's annual Residence Hall Move-In Day... so you can expect some traffic and parking restrictions in and around the NYU dorm area in the East Village — the Third North Dorm on Third Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street, Founders Hall on 12th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, and University Hall on 14th Street between Third Avenue and Irving Place.

Move-in times are staggered throughout the day between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Something to keep in mind in case you were planning a trip to Whole Foods Market Union Square, Trader Joe's or Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc.



P.S.

Frogurt machine dorm outside the Third North Dorm...

Higher learning

Earlier in the week, the "NYC not NYU" message arrived outside the Dunkin' Donuts on First Avenue and Sixth Street.

And by yesterday...


[Photo by @edenbrower]

Updated!

SMU is getting into the act, too, per Goggla...

A letter for new NYU students: 'think good thoughts about yourself and others'

EVG reader Lori Kohn shared this letter that she spotted taped to a light post on Ninth Street and Third Avenue...


[Click on image for more detail]

The letter of support reads in part:

The struggles among new students at NYU are no doubt taking different forms. You might be struggling with how to meet friends or how to socialize with people who drink when you don't, or how to get involved in something, anything, when time seems so precious, etc. Some of you are wondering if everyone's smarter than you or if you're smart enough to be at NYU. Some of you are stressed with performance anxieties, with being cool. Some of you are just missing a home-cooked meal.

The struggles are real and sometimes hard, but they are normal. They are not a sign of a problem, but just the normal challenges of transitions to a new phase in one's life.

Dismiss any idea that your enrollment at NYU was a fluke. You belong here.

My suggestion: think good thoughts about yourself and others. Relax. And through it all, know that you are where you belong.

The letter is signed by "your neighbor," Mr. Steck.

Today in street-closure planning

The Fourth Avenue Festival is happening now (Street fair!) ... and the Avenue is closed from Ninth Street to 14th Street ... coinciding with NYU's Move-In Day.

NYU's residential hall Move-In Day is Sunday

You may have noticed some activity of late around the neighborhood's NYU dorms... it's all in preparation for...



Fall Welcome Week!

Sunday marks the Residence Hall Move-In Day... so you can expect some traffic and parking restrictions in and around the NYU dorm area — the Third North Dorm on Third Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street, Founders Hall on 12th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, and University Hall on 14th Street between Third Avenue and Irving Place.

Move-in times are staggered throughout the day between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Something to keep in mind in case you were planning a trip to Whole Foods Market Union Square, Trader Joe's or Bed, Bath & Beyond ... or anywhere on the map below...


[Joking!]

Noted

An EVG reader shared this from earlier today... a worker attempting to scrub off a spray-painted message inside the front door of a Steve Croman-owned buidling on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The message reads, in part: "NYU frats suck," and you can see the rest.

Last month, someone spray painted "Rats > Frats" on the new Big Belly trash can nearby on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street.

M2M has closed for now on 3rd Avenue; new storefront coming 2 blocks away

As we reported, M2M was closing on Third Avenue at 11th Street at the end of the business day yesterday.

This morning, the owners of the Asian market put up signage with an announcement about their new East Village location ...



As you can see, M2M will eventually be moving two blocks to the south ... to the long-empty spaces in the retail strip of NYU's Alumni Hall...



The corner space was home to Birdbath Bakery until the summer of 2014. Next door, Citi Habitats moved out in June 2014. No word how many of these storefronts M2M will take. There are two other empty slots that the Subway sandwich shop and Saint's Alp Teahouse previously rented.

As for the former M2M space, Wagamama, the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants, is coming here soon. Before M2M opened in 2002, the storefront housed an OMG jeans outlet.

For now you can get your M2M fix at their Waverly Place store.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

The pilot program to house NYU students with local seniors

The Post brings news of a pilot program that NYU will debut next fall in partnership with University Settlement, a Lower East Side nonprofit that provides social services to low-income seniors.

Per the Post:

Students who opt in to the “home stay” program would slice their $14,000-per-year housing bill in half.

Under the plan, cash-strapped students will get a break on rent, and seniors will get extra cash.

While the the initial program "will consist of 10 mature juniors, seniors or grad students," the Post dropped in this lead: "Beer pong at Grandma’s?"

There is a similar housing program for college students in Chicago.

Reminders: NYU Welcome Week starts today

At NYU, Fall Welcome Week begins with the Residence Hall move in...

With this in mind, you may want to avoid the following areas...



Kidding!

But there are parking restrictions around the various residence halls along Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 14th Street...and on 14th Street ... and the one on the Bowery at Second Street...

And maybe today isn't the day you decide to pick up a few non-dorm-related items at Basics Plus on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street. Could be crowded...

Noted

Ideas for your dorm room via Kmart on Astor Place.

No idea what product is in the tube...and if that is supposed to be part of the display...



And in case you were wondering, NYU's Fall Welcome Week begins on Aug. 28.

Photo by Edmund John Dunn

Full reveal at NYU's expanded Academic Support Center on Lafayette and 4th Street

After nearly 21 months of work, the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding have been removed from NYU's Academic Support Center (the former Tower video space) at 383 Lafayette St. at East Fourth Street...



As Curbed reported in July 2014, NYU was expanding the space, adding a new 4-floor buidling on the land that previously housed the Plantworks garden center for nearly 40 years.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Growing soon in the former Plantworks garden center — an NYU building

[Updated] Woman in critical condition after being struck by cab on University Place

A yellow cab reportedly jumped the curb this morning on University Place, pinning a woman against a building near East Eighth Street.

The collision happened around 10:50 a.m. NYU College of Dentistry professor John Evans witnessed the incident.

“The woman was facing away from the cab, and when it hit her, she went up in the air and the cab basically pinned her against the wall,” Evans told NYU's Washington Square News.

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, was in critical condition but is currently stable, according to an update at WSN.

Woman hit by taxi in front of Weinstein, in critical condition

-- https://t.co/A6BAxuCDqC pic.twitter.com/D4j9rSSNJn

— Washington Sq. News (@nyunews) April 7, 2016

The cab driver was suffering from a medical attack, which caused him to lose control of the car, police sources told the Post. There apparently haven't been any charges filed as the investigation continues.

Updated:
The Daily News has a different version of things. They reported that the victim, 32-year-old Meral Arisoy "was battling for her life after she was hit and dragged a half block by an out of control cab going the wrong way."

"After the accident, the driver went back to his car to look for something,” [witness Jay] Ahn said. “He didn't like he was fazed too much."

The mayhem started after the unidentified cab driver went the wrong way on East 8th St. and University Place at 10:53 a.m. Thursday, police officials said.

The cabbie smashed into a tree pot and then hit Arisoy whose body got wedged under the car, witnesses said.

Ahn and another witness said the cabbie appeared to be speeding.