Timing of Review of Harlem’s Expansion Plan Irks Board

More than three years in the making, the city is moving forward on Columbia University’s proposed 17-acre campus expansion into West Harlem. The contentious plan is expected to enter the city’s land-use review process as early as Monday. In a telling harbinger of the debate to come, elected officials and community leaders were quick to lash out at the city for starting the seven-month review process in a season when the community board is closed and many in the community leave the city for vacation.“I’m totally frustrated with their attitude, and all I want them to do is provide the proper timing so that the community board can do the job,” the chairman of Community Board 9, Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, said. “We are going to have to go through reams and reams and reams of technical write-ups,” Mr. Reyes-Montblanc added, while many on the board shuttle in and out for week-long getaways. (more)