Columbia University must reopen campus to public, neighbors, local politicians demand at rally

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Sep 8, 2026

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NEW YORK — Neighborhood residents rallied on the first day of classes Tuesday to call on Columbia University to reopen its campus to the general public.

The gates have been closed since protests on campus over the war in Gaza during the 2023-24 school year. Last year, Columbia’s neighbors sued the university in a Manhattan trial court over the restrictions, which locked down six city blocks in Morningside Heights, between 114th and 120th Sts., to anyone without a school-issued identification card. The case is ongoing.

An online petition to reopen the Columbia campus reached close to 3,400 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Every day that Columbia keeps this campus closed is unlawful,” Dave Robinson, the president of the Morningside Heights Community Coalition, told rallygoers on Broadway at 115th St. “Every day is a breach of the law.”

The rally followed a major win for advocates after Mayor Mamdani’s administration said it supported opening the gates, a shift in New York City’s position since former Mayor Adams’ City Hall remained neutral in the dispute. The change was disclosed in a court filing last Thursday, as first reported by Politico.

The shift renewed pressure on Columbia — and the university’s new president, Jennifer Mnookin — to make her position clear, which she did in an email to students and faculty on Monday.

“I believe that, together, we can develop an approach to campus access that protects our community and the continuity of our academic work while also moving us back toward a campus that is more open and welcoming,” Mnookin wrote in the memo.

Mnookin announced a new advisory committee, five same-day guest passes per student as of Tuesday, and plans for a temporary visitors kiosk as of Oct. 1.

“There is no single policy change that will achieve that balance overnight, nor do I believe it would be responsible to make significant changes without carefully considering their consequences,” Mnookin added. “We can, however, begin taking meaningful steps now.”

The response at Tuesday’s rally — which featured a speaker from Mamdani’s Office of Mass Engagement, as well as students, professors and elected officials, including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and City Councilman Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) — was lukewarm at best.

Initially, Victor Edwards, chairperson of Community Board 9, said he was hopeful for change with a new university president, and about the opportunity to work with Mnookin.

“But when I received a notice yesterday, that ‘We’re forming a committee,’ I was a little leery about a committee to talk about — what? What we’ve already talked about?” Edwards said at the rally. “You know what needs to be done. You know how it’s affecting the community. Open the gate.”

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the area’s Democratic nominee for Congress and a Columbia alumna, who would represent the university if elected, said “the people who actually built this neighborhood” should not be “locked out of their own front yard.”

“I’m demanding that Columbia open its gates,” Chevalier said, “and start acting like a good neighbor.”

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