Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

State Mulling Sale of Hunter College Building on West 41st Street

By Maya Rajamani | January 20, 2017 5:08pm | Updated on January 23, 2017 8:50am
 The state-owned Hunter College building at 450 W. 41st St., between Ninth and 10th avenues.
The state-owned Hunter College building at 450 W. 41st St., between Ninth and 10th avenues.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Maya Rajamani

HELL’S KITCHEN — The state is considering selling off a Hunter College building on West 41st Street to fill a fiscal gap created by a plan to reduce funding to the CUNY system.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year includes a 5.2 percent cut in funding to CUNY’s senior colleges, a newly released executive budget financial plan shows.

Up to $60 million in proceeds from the sale of the building at 450 W. 41st St. could support expenses “already accrued or to accrue during the 2017-18 academic year” at senior colleges including Hunter College and John Jay College, a draft of Cuomo’s budget bill states.

“The expected sale of certain CUNY capital assets will result in available resources to partially offset state support for CUNY,” the financial plan says.

The state-owned building between Ninth and 10th avenues previously housed Hunter College’s MFA program and is still used by the school, Politico reported.

In a statement to the outlet, CUNY’s faculty union said it was “disappointed” by the proposal but said it would "await the details of the plan."

A spokesman for CUNY on Friday did not comment specifically on the proposed sale of the building.

“We are at the very start of the budgetary process and we look forward to receiving more details as the process unfolds in the coming weeks,” he said.

Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.