A new article in City Hall News highlights former New York City Mayor David Dinkins's support of Columbia's expansion as a pragmatic turnaround from his days as a protestor of the university's development practices.Community leaders don't seem surprised that Dinkins would support the university: he's a professor at their School of International and Public Affairs and and sits on the school's board of advisors. But haven't professors publicly disagreed with administrators in the past?
Dinkins himself appears to see Manhattanville being transformed one way or another, so "it's far better to be in concert with Columbia University than with some other developer." But would any other developer get the rights of eminent domain that Columbia is pursuing? (On second thought: paging Bruce Ratner.) I am surprised by the inevitability arguments -- particularly when the Community Board has completed its own separate plan that Dinkins could support if he chose to.
City Hall News: Lion's Share
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