As Columbia aims to expand, doubts persist
Businesses skeptical of Manhattan school’s attempt to acquire 17-acre piece of property for new buildings
For Columbia University, undergoing the largest expansion in its 253-year history is big news. But big news may spell trouble for Amrik Singh.
The New York City Council in December approved Columbia’s $7 billion proposal to rezone 17 acres of Manhattan’s West Harlem neighborhood and make them part of the university’s Manhattanville campus. Columbia currently owns about 65 percent of the area and is looking to acquire the rest, which spans roughly from West 125th to 133rd streets between Broadway and Riverside Drive. Should it acquire the land, the college plans to raze all but a...
35 acres were rezoned. but only 17 are in the expansion footprint.
Why is the YDN covering something regarding Columbia? Are you that desperate to fill pages. This article has "filler" written all over it.
Several points should be made.
1. All the vacant buildings are due to Columbia's practice of emptying the buildings. You can be sure that any vacant or derelict building is a Colubmia property.
2. The jobs that Columbia will create are to be of a scientific, academic, administrative, technical and professional level. Most residents of the area are foreign born, with little or no English or African-American, poor and poorly educated. Fat chance to get any of thsoe jobs.
3. Regarding the 1200 construction jobs, theyse will be union jobs and most residents will not benefit except and unless they are members of one of the trades unions and that is not because of Columbia's effort. At the most 15% will go to locals who are non-union and these will be the most menial, start-up type of jobs.
4. The menial jobs and benefits that Columbia may eventually create accessible to local residents will never equal the number or quality of the industrial jobs being eliminated.
5. Columbia's support comes from their own employees and people who benefit by Columbia's largess mostly from other areas of Harlem or the City. Most locals
do not oppose the exopansion, what is being oppossed is the way the expansion is being shoved down their throats and the abuse of eminent domain.
Roland Martell
Local Resident and Business Proprietor