Honoring a Seven-Decade Public Agreement and Upholding Democratic Ideals

 

UPDATE: September 2026

Sixteen community, student, faculty, alumni, disability, and local merchant groups partnered on Tuesday, September 8 to organize our fifth Open the Gates Rally in front of the Columbia campus.  With almost 250 attendees and thousands more reached as they walked by, we very effectively delivered the message that the University's ongoing campus closure is neither normal nor healthy for our shared community.

Print, broadcast, and online media coverage of the event blanketed New York and a national audience was reached via an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

We were joined by all of our local, state, and federal officials and nominees, with the exception of one.  The seven officials and nominees spoke clearly about the need to re-establish public pedestrian access from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue.  This was the intended agreement when W116th Street was deeded to Columbia in 1953 and a class action lawsuit on the issue is now underway.

Columbia's ongoing campus lockdown is a misguided and unsustainable policy.  It has raised the suspicions of many neighbors about the motivations for the closed gates and Columbia's ability to understand and manage relations with the communities it shares with diverse New Yorkers who live and work on the blocks adjoining the campus.

We have reached almost 4,000 petition signatures and we'd like to get to 5,000 before we formally deliver them to Columbia President Jennifer Mnookin.  She has struck many community members as a reasonable person acting in good faith.  A recent announcement that unaffiliated community members would be asked to serve on a committee to discuss the gates is a step in the right direction but it is just not enough.   

Please stay tuned for our Midterm Report Card on Columbia's efforts.  We'll also announce future rallies and other creative and interactive programming which celebrates our shared communities and advances our reasonable expectations and demands.

Thank you so much to all who have signed our petition and engaged in our efforts to reinforce the diversity, stability, and authenticity of Morningside Heights/West Harlem!

 

UPDATE: February 2026

The Morningside Heights Community Coalition has partnered with a variety of Columbia student, faculty, and alumni groups and has jointly held three demonstrations to date in opposition to the ongoing closure of the Morningside Heights campus.

It has now been two years since the closure began.  This is an outrage to Morningside Heights.  We have heard from countless neighbors, small businesses, and visitors who agree that Columbia must reverse this policy, which literally and figuratively divides our shared community.  (Can you imagine the feelings of students' families visiting from across the country or even overseas and unable to step foot on campus?)

WE ARE GAINING MOMENTUM.  Our efforts have been covered in CBS New York, the Columbia Spectator, Fox5 New York, and West Side Rag.  We have also begun working with local businesses whose revenues have been impacted by the closure.

Our Request: Would you please share this page with your contacts, so we can get to 5,000 signatures?

Thank you so much for your interest and engagement as we work hard to keep our beloved community authentic, affordable, and diverse.  It takes all of us cooperating to achieve this.

 

Original Text:

February 15, 2025

For almost one year, senior administrators at Columbia have locked down the University's Main Campus in Morningside Heights for the stated purpose of enhancing student safety after last year's Israel-Palestine protests.

As concerned neighbors, we strongly oppose the closing of this public space in our community, both because it does not guarantee safety for Columbia students or other personnel and because it violates the University's agreement with the City of New York to maintain College Walk (W116th Street) as a public thoroughfare between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.  (This agreement was formalized in 1953 and includes a public easement across the Columbia campus.)

Seniors, people with mobility challenges, parents with strollers, local workers, and many others are adversely impacted by the closing of the Main Campus.  Local businesses have also reported a negative impact by this overreach.

We agree with the overwhelming sentiment we have heard from Columbia students and alumni: Reopen Main Campus now.  Doing so would show appropriate respect for the perspectives and priorities of Columbia's neighbors.  

It would also reinforce our shared community's storied commitment to democratic ideals.  Now, more than ever before in our lifetimes, this is a critical priority.

Morningside Heights has traditionally been a shared community.  We speak out to honor and support that vision and keep it real.