Mayor Zohran Mamdani is threatening to sue Columbia University if it does not reopen a walkway through campus that has been largely closed to the public for nearly three years.
The walkway, known as College Walk, cuts through the heart of Columbia’s campus along West 116th Street, providing pedestrians a shortcut between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue and access to the 1 train.
The university has kept its gates closed for much of the past three years, following the NYPD’s removal of what protesters called a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”
The dispute centers on a 1953 agreement under which Columbia purchased the walkway from the city for $1,000. The city says the agreement includes an easement allowing public access, while Columbia disputes that interpretation.
At the start of 2025, a group of neighborhood residents filed a class-action lawsuit against Columbia, arguing that keeping the gates closed violates the purchase agreement.
Andrei Fedorov, whose two children attended Columbia, said he wants the university to reopen the walkway while addressing any safety concerns.
“I think the university leadership just have to take courageous and bold action and open things up. Figure out the structure for, reasonable safety if they concerned about that,” Fedorov said. “I’m not in favor of suing anyone and lawyering. But that has to open.”
A Columbia employee, Alan Dwayne Dixon, said safety should remain a priority.
“If it’s clear that there is no problems with outsiders coming in and hurting then, yeah,” Dixon said. “But y’all remember that incident so we don’t want that to happen again. Safety first.”
Some older residents say the closure makes it more difficult and time-consuming to get around the neighborhood and reach public transit and medical facilities.
NY1 timed the walk from the gate at West 116th Street and Broadway to the gate on the Amsterdam Avenue side of campus.
Walking around the perimeter took 7 minutes and 35 seconds. Walking along West 114th Street, which runs parallel to College Walk, took just over three minutes.
In response to Mamdani’s threat to sue, a Columbia spokesperson said the university has the right to control access to its property.
“As the property owner, Columbia has the legal right and responsibility to manage access to College Walk, including taking appropriate measures to protect our community and the continuity of our academic operations,” the spokesperson said.
Columbia has also said it created an access advisory committee with a range of stakeholders to explore ways to safely provide greater public access to campus.