Walk south from the iconic arch in Washington Square Park and you’ll hit a wall. Literally. Looming over the historic, low-rise charm of Greenwich Village are the massive, blocky slabs of Washington Square Village NYU. To some, they are a modernist masterpiece. To others, they are "superblocks" that ripped the heart out of a neighborhood.
Honestly, the first time you see them, they’re jarring. They don’t look like the rest of the Village. There are no brownstones here. No crooked cobblestone side streets. Instead, you get two massive parallel buildings—each spanning two full city blocks—dressed in bright, primary-colored panels of red, blue, and yellow.
It's weird. It’s huge. And if you’re a graduate student or faculty member at New York University, it’s probably the most coveted real estate in your world.
The Architecture of "Superblocks"
The 1950s were a wild time for New York City planning. Robert Moses, the "Master Builder" who basically reshaped the city to his whims, wanted to "slum clear" the area south of the park. What we now call Washington Square Village NYU was the result of that vision. The idea was to replace "blight" with high-density, modern living.
Paul Lester Wiener, the lead architect, wasn't going for "cozy." He went for "international style."
You have to imagine the era's mindset. This was the future! Elevated gardens. Massive footprints. Underground parking when cars were still the ultimate status symbol. The two main buildings, North and South, sit between West 3rd and West 4th Streets and Mercer and Wooster Streets.
They are objectively massive. We’re talking over 1,200 apartments.
Because the buildings are so long, they create this strange micro-climate in the center. There is a private, elevated garden—the Sasaki Garden—which is actually a big deal in the landscape architecture world. It was designed by Hideo Sasaki and is one of the few places in Manhattan where you can feel truly insulated from the street noise, even though you’re right in the middle of it.
The garden sits on top of a parking garage. Think about that for a second. In the 1950s, the height of luxury was "I can park my car directly under my garden in the middle of Manhattan." Today, it’s a quiet oasis where NYU faculty kids run around while their parents discuss tenure over iced lattes.
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NYU’s Takeover and the Faculty Bubble
Washington Square Village NYU didn’t start as university housing. It was originally a private development intended to lure the middle class back to the city. But the project struggled financially. By 1964, NYU stepped in and bought the whole thing.
That purchase changed the DNA of Greenwich Village forever.
Suddenly, a massive chunk of the neighborhood became an academic colony. If you live there now, your neighbor is probably a world-renowned physicist or a professor of medieval literature. It creates this specific "campus" vibe that feels separate from the rest of New York. You’ll see the same people at the Morton Williams supermarket on the corner every single day.
There’s a specific kind of "WSV lifestyle."
- You’ve got the 24-hour security.
- The mailrooms that feel like a small-town post office.
- The basement laundry rooms where probably more than one Nobel Prize-winning idea was scribbled on a napkin.
But living here isn't just about the proximity to the Bobst Library. It’s about the space. Compared to the average "shoe-box" Manhattan apartment, these units are gigantic. High ceilings. Big windows. Balconies that actually fit a chair. In a city where people live in walk-up closets, Washington Square Village NYU is a palace of 1950s functionality.
The Conflict of Preservation
You can't talk about this place without talking about the "NYU 2031" plan. For years, the university wanted to build more on these lots. They wanted to add new buildings in the open spaces between the existing slabs.
The neighborhood fought back hard.
Groups like the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) argued that even though these buildings were once the "enemy" of the neighborhood's historic character, they have now become part of that history. It’s a classic NYC irony. People hated them when they were built because they destroyed the old buildings. Now, people fight to save the gardens and the "open air" from being filled in with even newer NYU buildings.
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In 2021, the Sasaki Garden was actually designated a landmarked site as part of a larger historical district. It was a huge win for people who didn't want to see the "superblocks" become even more dense.
What It’s Really Like Inside
Forget the academic prestige for a second. Let's talk about the grit.
The elevators are old. They’ve been updated, sure, but they still feel like they belong in a mid-century government building. The hallways are long. Like, The Shining long. If you’re at one end of the building, it feels like a hike to get to the other.
But the light? The light is incredible.
Because the buildings are set back from the street and surrounded by open space, the sun actually hits the apartments. In most of New York, your "view" is a brick wall three feet away. In Washington Square Village NYU, you might actually see the Empire State Building or the Freedom Tower.
The kitchens in the original units were tiny "galley" styles, though many have been renovated since the 60s. The bathrooms usually have those classic, indestructible tiles that will probably outlast the human race. It’s solid construction. You don’t hear your neighbors sneezing through the walls like you do in the new "luxury" glass towers in Long Island City.
The Cultural Footprint
This place has seen some things. Because it has been faculty housing for so long, the list of former and current residents reads like a Who’s Who of American intellectual life.
It’s also appeared in plenty of movies. Whenever a director needs a location that looks like "Upper Middle Class Intellectual NYC," they head to these blocks. It has a very specific aesthetic: gray concrete, brick, and those pops of primary color.
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It represents a specific moment in time when we thought we could solve the "city problem" with giant buildings and shared gardens. We don't build like this anymore. Now, we build skinny toothbrushes of glass for billionaires. Washington Square Village was built for a vision of a functional, academic, and professional middle class.
Why Residents Stay Forever
People don't leave. That’s the thing about Washington Square Village NYU. Once a professor gets an apartment here, they stay until they’re carried out.
Why?
- Location: You are steps from the subway, the park, and the best jazz clubs in the world.
- Community: It’s a village within a village. Your kids grow up with the kids of other researchers.
- The Garden: Having a private park in Manhattan is basically like having a private jet.
- Stability: NYU is a stable landlord. You aren't worrying about a "slumlord" ghosting you when the boiler breaks.
It’s a bubble. It’s a very comfortable, very intellectual, very beige-wallpapered bubble.
Managing Your Expectations
If you’re moving in—maybe you’re a new hire at the university or a grad student who got lucky with the lottery—don't expect "The Ritz."
It’s institutional. The lobbies are functional, not flashy. There are a lot of rules. NYU Housing is a bureaucracy, and you will feel that. You’ll get emails about window AC unit inspections and fire drills that feel like you're back in a dorm, even if you’re a 50-year-old department head.
Also, the wind. The way these buildings are positioned creates a wind tunnel effect on the sidewalks. In February, walking between the North and South buildings can feel like an Arctic expedition.
But then spring hits. The cherry blossoms in the Sasaki Garden bloom. You realize you’re living in a piece of architectural history, for better or worse. You're part of the massive, multicolored machine that is NYU’s presence in the Village.
Actionable Insights for Potential Residents or Visitors
- Visit the Garden: While parts of the central plaza are restricted, much of the perimeter and the atmosphere are visible from the public walkways. If you appreciate mid-century landscaping, it’s a must-see.
- Check the Layouts: If you are applying for housing, try to snag a unit on a higher floor in the South building. The southern exposure provides some of the best natural light in the entire neighborhood.
- Local Logistics: The Morton Williams on the corner of Bleecker and LaGuardia is the unofficial pantry of the complex. It’s expensive. For better prices, residents usually walk a few blocks further to the Wegmans at Astor Place.
- Acknowledge the History: Before you complain about the "ugly" concrete, look up Paul Lester Wiener’s work. Understanding the "Le Corbusier" influence makes the stark geometry much more interesting to live with.
- Community Events: Watch the bulletin boards in the lobbies. The resident association is very active, and it’s the best way to navigate the quirks of the building’s aging infrastructure.
The reality of Washington Square Village NYU is that it will never blend in. It was never meant to. It remains a bold, blocky reminder of a time when New York wasn't afraid to tear down the past to build a very specific, very academic future. Whether you love the "superblocks" or wish they’d never been built, there’s no denying they are the anchor of NYU’s modern identity.