Columbia Not Quite in Labor

As the Crain's Insider is reporting this morning, the Central Labor Council isn't quite ready to support the university's expansion plan: "Central Labor Council officials met recently with Columbia University to discuss endorsing its expansion plan, which would create work for trade unions. Insiders say there is a snag in the talks; the CLC says it is not ready to discuss the negotiations."

On information and belief, as the lawyers are wont to say, we surmise that the snag may be about the recent labor forays into the affordable housing market-and the university's lack of any effort in an area that labor believes to be essential, both for its own workers, as well as for low income New Yorkers being squeezed by gentrification.

Stay tuned for more deliberations in this area; and we're hopeful that Columbia will begin to see the wisdom of the Sprayregen swap proposal. The set aside of property on the East Side of Broadway-alongside other residential high-rise buildings, would be a winner for all concerned.