Okay I am officially the only person who thinks it’s kind of cool that we’ll be graduating in a stadium.

GO YANKS!!!!

This is extremely depressing

Wait I’m actually depressed.

I am not at ALL happy about this. Seriously, this sucks. Fuck Yankee Stadium.

Why didn’t anyone know this was happening until now? I thought the renovations were finished when the park opened this summer. I never heard anything about a second phase of construction, and NYU kept saying that the class of 2009 would be the only class to graduate in a stadium instead of the park.

@Keyana I KNOW. I was always like “Thank God I’m not graduating in ‘09. I can graduate in the park!” Why were we totally left in the dark about this? And why are NYULocal and WSN the only ones reporting it? Why haven’t I gotten an e-mail from the administration about this?

“The second phase of the reconstruction project will feature restored landscaping, plantings, and flower beds replacing excess asphalt in the remaining northeast, southeast, and southwest quadrants. The northeast playground will be upgraded, and a new play area in the southwest section will incorporate the “mounds,” rebuilt slightly below grade to improve sightlines and minimize their impact on the park landscape, and covered with carpet-style synthetic turf for safety. A new performance stage will be built, the dog runs will be relocated and expanded, the Giuseppe Garibaldi Monument will be conserved and relocated, the petanque courts will be reconstructed, the paths will be repaved, and new lighting and fences will be added.

The final phase will include a new park house with a new comfort station for the public and space for the Parks maintenance staff.”

We are not graduating in Washington Square Park because the petanque courts need reconstruction.

I just googled pentaque and apparently only people with mustaches play it.

So basically, opening the park this summer was a dick move by the city designed to get our hopes up so they could be appropriately dashed later.

Right. And since this is technically a NYC Parks & Recreation project (after all, it–not NYU–owns the park), NYU doesn’t have to “take the blame” for the re-closing, but will still cohost another goofy “opening celebration” when round two of renovations is finished.

I graduated in ‘08 – in (old) yankee stadium so there was never anything about ‘09 being the only class to not graduate in the park.

Also, maybe you were not at NYU yet, but when the renovation was announced they estimated 2-4 years.

Obviously they did not finish the park because only half was redone – why would they redo half and leave the other half looking “crappy?” They were doing a nice thing by having it all open during the summer.

This really pisses me off, since I’m going for a class of ‘10 masters and told myself that even though NYU stuffed me in the stadium in ‘08, I could at least get one commencement in the park. Now NYU robbed me of 2 commencements in the Park.

Hopefully someone will sue NYU and the Parks department again and make them delay it another year.

They will probably reopen the entire park again about two weeks after our graduation in Yankee stadium like they did for ‘09′ers.

this is not surprising. didn’t they tell us the renovations wouldn’t be done for several years? i’m bummed out, but at least now i can try to run the bases at yankee stadium.