NYU wins appeal over US$6b expansion in Manhattan

New York

NEW York University (NYU) won an appeals court ruling allowing a planned US$6 billion expansion in Manhattan's Greenwich Village to move forward, overcoming a challenge by a group seeking to save rare urban parkland.

The city's approval of the plan was appropriate because the disputed land isn't park property, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday in Manhattan. If the land were a park, the development would have required approval from the state. "While the city has allowed for the long-term continuous use of parts of the parcels for park-like purposes, such use was not exclusive," the appeals court said.