Sure, we've already given the SOM-designed New School building planned for Fifth Avenue and 13th Street the reaper treatment, but in reality the project is floating around in some sort of Central Village purgatory. A New School spokesperson has said the school is raising funds for the new building while it goes through a redesign, and now New School prez Bob Kerrey himself has spoken up. A group called the Village Residents Alliance got its hands on Kerrey's correspondence with concerned local leaders, and they quote the big guy:
The crisis in the credit markets has put enormous pressure on every not-for-profit in our city. The New School is no exception. The future is nowhere near as certain as it was just six months ago. We have survived 90 years by being cautious with our finances and intend to continue doing so.
That is why we will open our plans for further discussion when they are mature enough to produce an effective dialogue and when we can provide meaningful responses to legitimate concerns. The New School will not issue plans piecemeal or have one-off conversations about what we may or may not do. Such an approach would be shortsighted and would foster distrust in the long run.
Indeed it would, but according to a tipster, the New School is emptying out the current building at 65 Fifth Avenue with an eye on tearing it down by the end of the year. The DOB has yet to issue a demolition permit. We'll wait and see how this plays out, but don't mess with the neighborhood's trust, New School. They're still smarting about that whole St. Vincent's thing.
· The New School Replies: No News is No News [VRA]
· New School coverage [Curbed]For more stories from Curbed, go to curbed.com.