Maybe New York University should leave public parks alone.

Christie Smythe of Bloomberg reports.

New York University Expansion Plan Blocked by Judge

New York University was blocked by a state judge from beginning much of a 2 million-square-foot expansion in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.

State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Mills in Manhattan ruled yesterday that portions of the plan would interfere with public parks, a result which would require approval by the state legislature.

“The court concludes that the public trust doctrine applies to three of the four parcels of land involved,” Mills wrote, referring to the parks. If NYU is unable to obtain legislative approval, “it will, at the very least, have to develop alternative areas for construction staging that will not interfere with the use by the public,” the judge said.

NYU, one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in the U.S. by enrollment, says it needs more academic and housing space to accommodate its growing student body. Neighborhood groups, arguing that the plan would overwhelm a cramped historic area, sued the city in September 2012 over its approval of the expansion.

“This is a huge victory for the Greenwich Village community, preserving this historic neighborhood and protecting its precious parkland,” said Randy Mastro, an attorney representing opponents of the project and a deputy mayor under former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.