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Q&A
Council Member Bottcher inquires about CUNY Reconnect enrollment and real estate projects
1:28:43
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167 sec
Council Member Erik Bottcher questions CUNY officials about the enrollment numbers for the CUNY Reconnect program and updates on public-private partnerships and real estate asset management. CUNY officials provide explanations on enrollment figures and discuss ongoing real estate negotiations and potential projects.
- CUNY Reconnect enrollment of 1,700 new students is considered robust for specific high-demand fields
- CUNY is pursuing real estate monetization while balancing the need for campus growth
- Multiple potential real estate projects are in negotiation, including one in Council Member Bottcher's district
Erik Bottcher
1:28:43
Is 1,700 do we think is that considered a lot or high, low?
1:28:49
It seems like if free community college is offered to all adult learners, 25 to 50 five, that in the city of New York wouldn't you'd think there there might be more than 1,700 new students across all the CUNY campuses.
Alicia Alvero
1:29:09
So 1,700, it's based off of the original proposal which is in very specific high demand fields.
1:29:17
It's not all majors that are covered.
1:29:20
And so based off of those very specific majors, 1,700 is a robust number.
Erik Bottcher
1:29:26
In a previous hearing, we discussed CUNY's efforts to pursue public private partnerships and potentially even dispense with some of your real estate assets to bring in income for CUNY.
1:29:43
Can you give us an update on those efforts and any specific plans that are underway?
Hector Batista
1:29:50
Yeah.
1:29:50
Thank you, councilor.
1:29:51
It's good to see you again.
1:29:52
I know you and I have had lengthy conversations about, your plans in your district.
1:29:58
I mean, we we continue to, as you know, real estate and we have discussed looking at how to monetize our buildings is is something that it is a priority for us.
1:30:14
But in in a way that allows us to continue to stay in the core of our mission which is to provide additional space for our campuses to be able to grow that program and so forth.
1:30:24
So it is a balance that we're trying to strike.
1:30:28
I think that right now we have some potential projects that are in the negotiation phase, I'm not gonna sort of talk about them in a public setting right now.
1:30:39
But eventually, we will be having some conversations.
1:30:43
And you and I have talked about what some of those potential projects are.
1:30:47
The the most important thing is we're gonna stay focused on who we are and what I what I'm charged with, which is to provide space for our for our campuses.
1:30:57
And whatever spillover and how we sort of navigate, make sure that those resources go really to to providing resources to our to our our operation and to our budget.
1:31:11
And right now, we have at least two, three projects that were that are in consideration.
1:31:17
But real estate negotiations take a long time.
1:31:23
And your district, we have one in particular, so we're hoping that we'll be able to talk to you soon about that.
1:31:29
Thank you.