Cooper Union development plans.

The Cooper Union has asked REW to clarify points raised in the article "The Bowery becoming the new Millionaires Row" by Andrew Pittel featured in the special retail supplement of March 22.

The current School of Engineering building will remain standing until the new academic building is completed and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences have moved into the new building. The site on which the current engineering building stands--51 Astor Place--will be then leased to a developer, as was the case with 26 Astor Place. The envelope that the City approved for 51 Astor Place calls for a 14 story, not 17 as noted in the article, building. Cooper Union's new academic building will be situated on 3rd Ave b/w 7th and 6th Streets (41 Cooper Square).

The nine-story building will provide technologically advanced facilities for the Albert Nerken School of Engineering as well as contain interdisciplinary research center for programs in urban infrastructure, bio medial engineering and environmental design among others.

REW has been asked to point out that Congregation Shearith Israel does not need to get community board approval before proceeding with its plans for a new building, as reported in the March 22 edition of REW. The community board phase for the Landmarks approval is finished. The next step is approval by the Board of Standards and Appeals.