By Amy Sacks
Special to DNAinfo
GREENWICH VILLAGE — The city's Parks Department has ripped out four full-grown trees from a Washington Square Park street to ease construction on a new NYU building, despite the community’s vehement opposition.
“Trees and greenery are such a precious resource in our community that any loss is regretful,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Historical Preservation Society.
School officials triggered an outpouring of community criticism in December when they made a last-minute request to Community Board 2 for clearance to remove six healthy locust trees that were blocking construction of the university's future Center for Spiritual and Academic Life.
The university said the trees had to be immediately removed so workers could install underground steam pipes for the new building. They promised that the trees would be safely replanted before the onset of winter, according to their letter to the Parks Department.
The community board asked the Parks Department to deny NYU’s request, saying the trees on the east side of Thompson St. between Washington Square South and West Third Street had a good chance of survival if construction crews worked carefully.
Last week, however, four of the trees were gone.
Parks Department spokeswoman Cristina DeLuca confirmed they removed the trees, saying work on the project was already underway when the agency received the community board's concerns.
"We were only able to save two of the six trees for NYU's steam pipe construction project. It's not unusual that during construction projects like this one that street trees are displaced."
DeLuca said the four removed trees were not transplanted elsewhere.
"Work on the project was already underway by the time the community board sent us the resolution asking us to deny NYU's request."
A university spokeswoman defended the move and said it promises to replant new saplings once construction is completed in 2012.
Still, community activists argue that planting young trees will not reproduce the special, mirrored streetscape created by the mature, healthy trees that lined both sides of Thompson St.
East Village resident Susan Goren said she is outraged over the tree removal, but is more more concerned about the bigger picture.
“As bad as the loss of mature trees is, it is nothing in comparison to the fact that yet another bulky building permitted by current zoning law is coming our way,” she said.
On Tuesday, NYU's controversial future building cleared another hurdle when the city's Board of Standards and Appeals green-lighted the university to expand the footprint of the Center for Spiritual and Academic Life.
When it's completed, the six-story student building will block light from the street and the neighboring Judson Memorial Church, critics say.
The university promised the community they would not build to the full height of 11-stories, as allowed under zoning regulations. Instead, they wanted an exemption from zoning rules so they could build a shorter, wider, footprint.
Berman fears the BSA's exemption could set a precedent for NYU’s plan to add 6 million square feet to its footprint through 2031.
“In granting these exemptions to NYU in this case, the BSA has lowered the threshold for granting variances from proving an indisputable need to a mere casual whim," he said.
