Across the board, NYU students have grown increasingly irritated with the poor conditions of student dorms and facilities. In January 2026, mice were reported in the Paulson Center. A year before, a pipe burst caused a flood in the building, which relocated the biannual club fair and closed all facilities on the cellar and subcellar levels. Even now, small scale facilities are experiencing issues, including the dysfunctionally slow water dispensers across campus or the three toasters in the Lipton dining hall — none of which have worked since December.
According to NYU statements, the university has a capital budget of $525 million. Of this budget, 54% is dedicated towards improving academic facilities, and 10% goes toward student and faculty housing. This means that there should be a $341 million fund that can be used to resolve incidents like the one at Paulson Center.
Either pest control has gotten incredibly expensive, or NYU is cheaping out on the quality of student life. How can this be the case?
Despite the clear necessity for renovations, it seems like NYU is dedicating more money towards building more academic facilities to expand across the city rather than improving the quality of their current buildings.
But there’s no point.
From renovating six Manhattan buildings, notably including Gould Plaza, to the demolishing of two vacant buildings in Brooklyn, the projects throughout the New York campus are not small. That’s not to mention NYU’s two lab expansion projects to the Brooklyn campus’s MetroTech center, totaling out to 14 renovation projects.
As a student, this is entirely unacceptable. The tuition for an undergraduate student living on campus at NYU costs over $91,000 per year. Hopefully, this issue won’t grow into students exchanging tips on mice trapping in their dorms. Before NYU begins constructing another new space, nonetheless finishing the 14 outstanding projects, it must address the current issues.
It’s not as if the university is unaware of these problems either. In fact, the greatest issue becomes the university’s lack of action when it has the resources to do so. The mice incident was reported four weeks ago, and yet, first year Leo Chen who lives in Paulson Center residence hall, told me his fellow residents are still seeing mice. Residents were assured that NYU was taking the issue seriously. However, they failed to give actual solutions, adding to the lack of urgency and priority the school has towards student housing — issues that their diversion of funds already reflects.
It’s important that the quality of student life is prioritized at a university. A February 2025 study found that “housing can directly influence academic performance.” In other words, if students do not feel comfortable in their living situations, it could negatively affect their grade. NYU is a rigorous school, so students should at least have a place of their own where they can relax and take refuge from a busy day at class.
In New York City, it is normal for residential facilities to falter and have inconsistencies. But not like this, and not at a place like NYU. It is not normal for a university to dedicate its funds towards expansion when its existing facilities are barely mediocre. Before NYU builds, it must repair.
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Contact Grace Penny at [email protected].