What Villagers Really Think About NYU’s Paulson Center

New York University’s giant new facility at 181 Mercer Street was warmly received by the students. The neighbors in the building are less agitated.

After almost six years of construction, the Paulson Center – New York University’s giant new center of academic and student life – opened its doors students and faculty at the end of last month, just in time for the start of the spring semester at the university. Many students and faculty have a generally positive impression of the building, but the vast majority of local business owners and Mercer Street residents with whom WSN spoke were not enthusiastic.

Wayne Conti, who started Mercer Street Books & Records 33 years ago, despises this. A cozy but spacious store is located directly opposite the new building.

“We fought it like crazy – we hate it,” Conti said. “This is very inappropriate for the historic district. Basically, they are turning universities into theme parks, but they justify it by charging a lot of money for all these services. [some NYU students] probably never would have used it.”

Similar thoughts were expressed by a local resident who has lived in an apartment building adjacent to the new Paulson Center for 50 years. Jane, who asked to be referred to only by her first name, received her master’s degree in counseling from New York University, and her husband was once a distinguished professor at the university. However, she said she believes the new institution and NYU as a whole are encroaching on Greenwich Village.

“Go and look at this building,” Jane said. “I think it’s a monster. I understand that NYU needs a room, but it just seems to be eating us up.”

New York University plans keep investing billions into new facilities, a move that is likely to continue to impact local communities. The Morton Williams supermarket, located at the intersection of Bleecker Street and LaGuardia Place, was to be replaced by public school back in 2021. Many residents of Greenwich Village protested this stephowever, claiming that the supermarket was the only one in the area.

“If they get rid of Morton Williams, we [wouldn’t] have a supermarket within a reasonable distance,” said English professor Ernest Gilman, who has lived in Greenwich Village since 1982. – What do we do? Walk all the way to Whole Foods?”

In the last decade rental prices skyrocketed in Greenwich Village, and new developments such as the Paulson Center have further increased property values. This trend, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has hit small businesses particularly hard.

Said David, owner of NoHo Juice Bar & Deli, felt the impact when it came time to renew his lease two years ago.

“[Buildings like the Paulson Center] definitely increase the prices in the neighborhood,” David said. “The value of the area has gone up and the homeowner was mindful of that. He raised the price much higher than I expected, but I had no choice. I just want to stay in business.”

On the other hand, some Greenwich Village residents are less concerned about the Paulson Center’s impact on their community. NYU’s Washington Square Village is home to many faculty members. Housing is subsidized, so rental prices do not fluctuate so much from year to year.

Tony Slover, whose wife is a professor at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, has been living in NYU’s subsidized housing since 2019 and isn’t worried that high rents will force his family to leave the area.

“Given the way our rent is structured, even thinking about moving is pretty expensive because we can’t afford to live anywhere else but subsidized housing,” Slover said.

Gilman explained that while his rent increases by a certain amount every couple of years or so, he doesn’t expect it to skyrocket due to the construction of the Paulson Center.

“Unless the rent suddenly skyrockets to pay off the mortgage on this building, I don’t think it will wash people away,” Gilman said.

Although some of the Paulson Center facilities not opened yetNYU student foot traffic in the area, which could soon increase, has already caused concern for some residents.

“My kids are small,” Slover said. “They just love to scream in the streets. Obviously this raises some concerns, especially if I can’t see him.”

The Paulson Center was only the first step in NYU Expansion Plan. While the university professes its commitment to the well-being of the communities around it as it continues to develop its own spaces, the ever-changing circumstances and environment it imposes have proven to be a difficult adjustment for permanent residents.

Contact Liz Lindane [email protected]