An intruder entered an unlocked dorm at NYU’s Third Avenue North residence hall at around midnight Monday after running through the lobby and jumping the turnstile, according to an email to residents from the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services.
The trespasser, who Residential Life and Housing said is unaffiliated with the university, bypassed security at the dorm’s 12th St. entrance before entering a student’s room on the third floor. The intruder, who was seen yelling in the residence hall’s courtyard unclothed, was escorted out of the building 40 minutes later and transported to a nearby hospital, according to the email.
Matt Shelosky, associate director of communications and engagement, said a Campus Safety officer on the scene immediately alerted the New York City Police Department, and that additional Campus Safety officers were sent to the residence hall in a statement to WSN.
Amanda Fine, a first-year Third North resident, said the intruder chased her roommate in the courtyard. Fine said the intruder eventually made their way to the residence hall’s third floor, where she and her friends were looking for a place to hide.
“Security didn’t do much,” Fine said. “He seemed to be easy to get, but security was just watching. I was on the floor he was on for a while and no one was coming, and I was a little confused about why no one was coming.”
Last November, a string of intruder incidents hit university residence halls, with trespasses taking place at Third North, Alumni Hall, Coral Tower and Lafayette Hall. In April 2022, a trespasser entered Rubin Hall multiple times over the course of a week, having stayed the night twice according to student accounts. Campus Safety head Fountain Walker apologized for the Rubin incident a few days later.
Following the breaches to dorm security, former NYU president Andrew Hamilton ordered a full-scale review of safety protocols and procedures in university residence halls. As a result of the review, the Department of Campus Safety posted additional security guards at NYU dorms and installed new surveillance cameras across the housing system. The investigation also led to the installation of more secure turnstiles and a planned redesign of Rubin Hall’s lobby.
Shelosky said the trespass incident will be recorded in Campus Safety’s Daily Crime Log in compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law that requires universities to report certain crimes on campus within 48 hours of an incident taking place.
Krish Dev contributed reporting.
Contact Yezen Saadah at [email protected].
