NYU's Role in Gentrification

Now, MetroTech Center stands as a symbol of urban development in Downtown Brooklyn. It has led to growth within the neighborhood as a whole, accompanied by debates on gentrification, as development projects have historically displaced low income residents and driven up rents. But what about New York University’s role in all this? It brings up an important question of what is their role in all of this? NYU's presence has attracted a wealthier demographic to the area. At first this might seem like a good thing, but it has meant long term residents have been forced to leave and search for other areas. This has led to claims of gentrification. 

The Manhattan campus in Greenwich Village is no stranger to gentrification, as expansion projects for the campus have impacted the Village in ways similar to those mentioned above. The largest and most pressing issue the Manhattan campus saw was the housing problems. Obviously due to the influx of students there were a lot more people that had to be housed including both students and faculty. This subsequently led to the development of more students ending up living within the area and around it bringing with it a lot more demands for luxury condominiums and high-end retail, which in turn has led to rising prices of property. This makes it a huge problem for residents already in the area driving them out and leading to cyclical problems that will hurt generations to come. 

Furthermore, with NYU coming into the scene it has somewhat tainted a lot of the historical significance of certain areas. We already saw this story play out once in Manhattan, in Greenwich village. Greenwich Village's historic artistic and countercultural appeal has faced extreme commercialization and has become a husk of what it once was. Mariah Stewart explains this is not a one time issue as the University of Southern California (USC) has seen a similar scenario in Los Angeles. The workaround in that scenario has been USC's Housing Law Clinic, which provides legal assistance and education to empower tenants. As we see this rise in gentrification, it is up to NYU as a university to do something about it or be aware of the problems similar to what we do in this class. 

Of course, it's not all bad. With the incoming richer demographic, it has led to a safer neighborhood due to money being able to fund better services and even better education. This in turn stimulates the economy and brings money into New York which on net is better from a financial standpoint. 

NYU’s merger with Polytechnic Institute in 2014 was significant and highlighted concerns about NYU’s role concerning gentrification as the school expands. While the presence of NYU in these areas contributed to making the neighborhoods safer and to stimulating economic growth, it has also led to many transformations within the neighborhood that affect longtime residents. Paired with NYU becoming a more desirable institution for students around the world, the development and expansion of these areas have also led to rising rents and changes in the demographics of the neighborhood. Rising property values have created socioeconomic disparities in the neighborhood. The issues of balancing expansion and equity in urban development are reflected in the phenomenon of gentrification. It raises a larger problem of cyclical poverty. The idea being that because of this, future generations are stifled as the current generation are being forced out and will not be able to provide in the slightest.