Dozens of students rallied in Washington Square Park on Sunday in support of legislation that would end property tax cuts for NYU and Columbia University and reroute the money to the City University of New York system. The bill, which was introduced by New York state legislators last year, has been waiting for the Assembly’s approval since May before it can be passed to the Senate. 

The rally, which was organized by members of the activist group NYC Union of Students, featured multiple organizers from NYU, students and faculty at CUNY colleges, city Comptroller Brad Lander and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who co-introduced the legislation, Repeal Egregious Property Accumulation and Invest It Right. 

“I hope that NYU and Columbia can come to see it as doing a better job of fulfilling their mission,” Lander said in an interview with WSN. “Their mission is not to be narrow institutions that facilitate the hoarding of wealth. Their missions are liberal education that lets knowledge and flourishing grow in the world.”

During speeches at the rally, CUNY students said public universities receive insufficient funding compared to private institutions and detailed that deteriorating infrastructure, cut courses and overpopulated classrooms have worsened the quality of education. Speakers also cited concerns about how President-elect Donald Trump could impact the public education system in New York in his second term.

Trump has repeatedly said he plans to pull funding from universities — a move that could significantly harm CUNY, given that more than a quarter of its budget is federally funded. Trump has also promised to abolish the Department of Education, which provides student aid and loans and funds public universities. However, experts say this is unlikely.

Lander also said that after last week’s election results, both the rally and the bill’s potential passing have made him “the most hopeful” he has felt all week. Although Lander initially said that NYU and Columbia would oppose the legislation, he believes that the bill will gain momentum in the state legislature. 

Since August, more than 300 students from universities across New York City — including NYU, Columbia and CUNY — have signed a petition supporting the REPAIR Act. In response to REPAIR’s introduction last December, NYU said that if taxed after “two centuries” of exemption, it would be “extraordinarily disruptive” to the ways NYU supports the city.

Sebastian Leon Martinez, SPS sophomore and lead organizer of the rally, said that if the bill were to pass, both NYU and Columbia could alleviate some of the financial burdens that CUNY might face during the Trump administration. 

“We’re here because NYU and Columbia combined evade $320 million in property taxes every year,” Leon Martinez said at the event. “As one of the most notorious gentrifiers in the city, NYU has an obligation to come back and pay their fair share to New York City, to its residents and to the place it calls home.”

Two days earlier, a group of students from NYU’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement also rallied against the incoming Trump administration. The rally — organized in collaboration with students from Columbia University’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement and The New School’s Climate Justice Club — began at Washington Square Park, and ended after students marched to Union Square. At the rally, speakers criticized Trump’s climate policies, as well as both President Joe Biden and the Trump administration’s response to the war in Gaza. 

“It’s going to be about local elections, trying to protect our city,” rally organizer Mae de Villemejane said. “It’s going to be about setting the stage for a future presidential candidate that can actually represent the people and build their platform on progress.” 

Rory Lustberg contributed reporting.

Contact Mariapaula Gonzalez at [email protected].