Mayor Eric Adams and former Mayor Bill de Blasio welcomed students and faculty into the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service’s new building by Union Square at a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month.

In his speech, de Blasio commended Wagner for its role in bolstering the city’s research and civic engagement since 1938. He specifically referenced the school’s work in the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic, which had upended traditional policy approaches, and said Wagner’s involvement in public service will play a critical role in countering the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the government.

In a five-minute speech, Adams — currently in the midst of an independent re-election campaign — touted his efforts to improve gun safety, build affordable housing and lower unemployment rates. He said students who continue work like his own will build “trust” in the government. 

“We know what we accomplished in this administration,” Adams said in the speech. “You need hardworking people to go into government to get it right and do it right.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was facilitated by Wagner dean Sherry Glied and featured speakers including Provost Georgina Dopico, two former deans of the school and professor Mitchell Moss. Students did not attend the event. 

Wagner began the move to its Union Square site in the summer, as its lease for the Puck Building — the school’s previous location on Houston Street — ended in June 2024. Its new 70,000-square-foot space, located on 17th Street and Union Square East, spans three floors and has 12 classrooms. 

In a statement to WSN, Glied said Wagner’s new building includes classrooms with resources better suited for the public policy curriculum and meeting spaces for Wagner students. She said that in the past, Wagner students had to utilize classrooms in other buildings in the Washington Square campus and many students had never visited offices at the schools’ previous location.

“Union Square is a fabulous location for NYU Wagner because it is a transit hub and very easily accessible for our students,” Glied said. “They can meet and socialize between classes, they have a beautiful student lounge, their own meeting rooms for group work and individual quiet study, and faculty, student services, career services and our events are all right here at hand.”

Wagner’s new space contains a faculty seminar room, which acts as a new focal point for faculty engagement, according to Glied. The building is also equipped with study and lounge areas, faculty offices, conference rooms and an event room that accommodates around 120 people. Since the building opened, the room has been used for a debate about congestion pricing, a mayoral candidate forum and a discussion of immigration policy among other programming.

In an interview with WSN, Wagner first-year Lauren Gilonske said that the new building on Union Square makes the school feel more isolated from the university community centralized closer to Washington Square Park. However, she added that consolidating all Wagner classes and programming enables more fluid communication among the school community. 

“Having a central hub is helpful,” Gilonske said. “The energy is always really high, especially at some of these evening classes where we’re all meandering in the hallways and just talking, and especially accessibility to professors and faculty is super helpful.”

Glied said that the new building’s easy access to public transportation allows Wagner students and faculty to better accommodate visitors. She said these interactions could lend to more conversations about public service that include diverse perspectives. 

“It’s a very exciting new chapter in Wagner’s long history of educating students for public service,” Glied wrote. “The move to Puck in 2004 allowed all our faculty and staff to share one space. Now, we’ve added our students — and I feel like Pinocchio — we’re a real school!”

Contact Lekhya Kantheti at [email protected].