Should NYU faculty and their dependent children receive full tuition remission?
In planning the new NYU Academic and Spiritual Center, the university has taken several steps to appease the Greenwich Village community.
For instance, some were concerned the Center will overshadow nearby Judson Memorial Church — but a computer model showed this will happen only early in the morning.
The university also conducted a survey to ensure that noise from the music ensembles would not be heard by surrounding buildings or streets.
NYU plans to have an image of a large tree on the facade of the building to reflect the tree of life (a common religious symbol) and the trees in Washington Square Park.
David Reck, chair of the Community Board-2 Zoning and Housing Committee, said he is warily anticipating the tree image.
“I can’t decide whether it is going to be a total flop or really great,” he said.
Reck said he was convinced by NYU that the current design for the Center is not a good plan and the need for design changes was legitimate. But he said he is opposed to the boxy design.
“That block needs a little oomph,” he said.
The full CB2 will vote on the new plan Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Cronin Auditorium of St. Vincent’s Hospital, 170 W. 12th St.
Detailed plans for the new NYU Academic and Spiritual Center were discussed at the Community Board-2 meeting last Thursday. NYU had already announced designs for the Center, but then proposed a new plan that must be approved by the Board of Standards and Appeals. Before that board makes it decision, it will take into account the recommendation by CB2.
Here are the detailed plans:
Floor 1
This floor will be for the sole use of the Catholic Center and will be operated by the Archdiocese of New York.
Floors 2 and 3
These two floors will have rooms to be used for both academic and religious purposes throughout the day. For example, Jewish worship could be held in a room from 8 to 10 a.m., and class would be held in that same room from 11 a.m. to noon.
Floor 4
This floor will have offices for chaplains and meeting rooms for various religious groups.
Floor 5
Also known as the events floor, this floor will have a high-tech conference room. There will also be a large multipurpose room to be used for musical ensembles and Muslim prayer worship.
anonymous
Oct 14, 2009
9:38 a.m.
will someone please explain how projects like this justify firing hundreds of employees from nyu? is this where that money is going -- spiritual centers at a university? this is a great idea if you have a bunch of extra money, but when the upper administration is claiming that all departments have to 'tighten their belts' and multiple people are getting laid off in dozens of departments, you have to wonder where nyu's priorities are - providing much-needed services and support in areas directly related to academics, or making sure that students have as many extras as possible, even at the expense of cutting that academic staff to a skeleton crew.
well, as your requests for documentation, advisement, and other vital university services begin to be delayed or complicated because there simply aren't enough employees left to serve the student body, at least you'll have a place to go and pray.
HotConflict
Oct 14, 2009
4:08 p.m.
Some may say that the problem with every administration is the lack of spirituality?!
Check out this audio podcast on the tree of Life in Islam.
http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2008/06/mystical-connection-between-sufi-islam-and-jewish-kabalah---tree-of-life.html
Sulayman
Oct 15, 2009
1:24 a.m.
This spiritual center looks awesome, I totally can't wait to go there when it's done
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