New York University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Over the past 18 years, NYU has contributed to the renovation, maintenance, and operations of Washington Square Park. Our partnership with the NYC Parks Department and the Washington Square Park Conservancy helps us foster a continuous dialogue and advocate for greater resources in the area. The university gives to both organizations through direct and in-kind support.

The Alliance employs a professional staff of horticulturalists, maintenance workers, ecologists, educators, volunteer coordinators, visitor services representatives who ensure the day-to-day operation of Prospect Park. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas, restores the park’s buildings and landscapes, creates innovative Park destinations, and provides free or low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs. Our gift currently supports the Reimagining Lefferts initiative, which re-envisions the mission and programming of the Lefferts House museum to focus on exploring the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and the Africans enslaved by the Lefferts family. We have sponsored this and other programs in Prospect Park since FY21.

The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) is a catalyst for smart and sustainable policies that reduce inequality, increase economic mobility, and grow the economy in New York City. An independent, nonpartisan policy organization, CUF uses fact-based research to elevate important and often overlooked issues onto the radar of policymakers and advance practical solutions that strengthen New York and help all New Yorkers participate in the city’s rising prosperity. We give annually to support CUF's gala.

NYU is among the consortium of leading institutions selected by Mayor Eric Adams and The Trust for Governors Island to establish a world-leading climate solutions campus on Governors Island. The consortium, called The New York Climate Exchange and composed of top universities, environmental justice organizations, businesses, government groups, and the philanthropic community, is expected to open its first facilities on the island in New York harbor by 2028. https://nyclimateexchange.org/

NYU is a part of Second Nature's Climate Leadership Network. The Climate Leadership Network comprises colleges and universities in nearly every state and the District of Columbia who are taking action on climate and preparing students through research and education to solve the challenges of the 21st century. These signatory institutions report on their yearly progress through the Reporting Platform, publicly sharing their climate action plans, greenhouse gas inventories and more. For a list of all of the signatory institutions and to see their reports, visit the Second Nature Reporting Platform: https://secondnature.org/climate-action-guidance/network/