http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/nyregion/thecity/23park.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&sq=Washington%20Square%20Park&st=cse&scp=1
Even before these economic crisis it seemed an obscene amount of money spent on a park that did not need renovations except for the public bathrooms especially when there are parks in poor neighbors that are in need.
Trees were uprooted and a fountain moved a few feet and flattened to discourage the live NYC spectacle of characters and better accommodate NYU students graduation. NYU is the no. 1 real estate magnate here and runs the community like it's private empire. It is wrong refuse the public access to a public park for a private institution's graduation and clearly Yankee Stadium is a better location to accomodate NYU's student body. The unwanted "improvements" cater to NYU and tourism at the expense of the people of this city in too many way and this continues to be one of the darkest criticism of the mayor and his city planner Amanda Burden constantly putting NYU before the community with St. Ann's tear down at 120 East 12th Street for yet another hideous NYU mega dorm as just one example of many on going battles with the community and NYU which I call the purple reign of terror. NYU parks there many buses and trolleys on Broadway and Lafayette Street so it is no surprise that many perceive this latest destruction called an improvement as the continued behind the scene dealings of Mayor Bloomberg and NYU.
Suzannah B. Troy