By CLEMENTE LISI
May 17, 2008
A historic Greenwich Village playhouse - which once featured the works of famed playwright Eugene O'Neill - will not be demolished as part of an NYU project, officials said yesterday.
The school originally wanted to build a new theater and just restore the 1940s-era façade of the Provincetown Playhouses, but backed off the plan at the urging of preservationists.
As part of the rehab project, the theater's interior will be restored and the 1920s seats will be refurbished and reinstalled.
"NYU agreeing to preserve the existing theater within the new building is a giant victory," said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
NYU sent out a memo yesterday to community board members and other groups elaborating on its plans to develop the site, which also includes office space and an empty apartment building.
The project is part of a larger NYU plan to acquire 6 million square feet of space across the city by 2031.
In a report, the school said it needs half the space for academic use and the other half to house future students.
"It gives me great pleasure to announce that NYU has committed with my office to not only retain the historic use of Provincetown Playhouse, but also to address issues related to residential and other uses . . . that houses the theater and to monitor safety of nearby residents during construction and rehabilitation," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
