At an open house meeting on the University’s planned expansion into Manhattanville, community leaders said residents should look toward the future now that the state has given Columbia a green light to move forward with the project.
“We’ve taken a position that the courts have ruled on Columbia’s expansion, that the project is happening,” said Larry English, chair of Community Board 9, which represents West Harlem and Manhattanville. “Reality is setting in ... the next step is how do we now, as a community, work with Columbia to get the most out of the arrangement.”
The open house was hosted by the University and CB9 as part of the University’s “continuous effort to communicate, clearly, consistently and effectively with the community,” according to a statement from University spokesperson Victoria Benitez.
Columbia representatives from Integrated Pest Management, Minority, Women and Local Businesses and Jobs Initiatives and the Columbia University Employment Information Center, which maintains an office on Broadway just south of 125th Street, tabled at the event and answered questions about job opportunities for local residents. Others displayed diagrams of construction plans.
New York State Assembly member Keith Wright attended the event to discuss potential benefits for residents.
“As the local elected official, I have to make sure that the community is not railroaded, bombarded, or steamrollered by Columbia,” said Wright. “I represent the community as a whole.”
When asked about his opinion on the expansion, Wright replied, “If my constituents can make some money off of it, it is good. If my constituents can benefit, it is good.”
Kevin Johnson, a local Manhattanville resident, said he has become more optimistic about the expansion, since the Supreme Court decided not to reconsider the legality of the University’s use of eminent domain in December.
“I came to see how everything was going; I think it’s a good project,” said Johnson, who said he found the open house informative. “I got some material on construction, and you know, that’s my field, that’s my interest.”
But Marisol Alcantara, a Community Board 9 member, said she remains uncomfortable with the project.
“I think the job center is just a show,” Alcantara said. “This whole thing is just a way to appease us.”
English said his constituents have long mistrusted the University and that he considered the open house to be “another opportunity to pull down those walls, to help people get to know each other.”
He said that despite the years of antagonism between the two parties, his interactions with University officials have been very positive, and they seem to be genuinely concerned with doing the project well.
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