Public Information Meeting to be Held Thursday for Natural History Museum Gilder Center Project

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Museum of Natural History will hold a second informational meeting Thursday night regarding the proposed Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.

The meeting is being held at the request of Community Board 7 and will start at 7 p.m. at the Museum.

Here's what will be discussed, according to a Community Board 7 email:

• The work of the Park Working Group on a new design concept for the west side of Theodore Roosevelt Park, including plans to protect and conserve the Pin oak and English elm in front of the proposed new building.
• The scientific and educational programming being planned for the Gilder Center.
• The next steps in the public review process, when you will have the opportunity to provide your comments on the Landmarks Preservation Commission application and the draft environmental impact statement (EIS). These documents require extensive design work and technical analysis, and are still in the process of being prepared.

The Gilder Center project was first announced by the museum in 2014 to "reflect the full range of the Museum’s integrated mission of science and education, letting visitors share in the excitement of scientific discovery,"according to a 2014 press release. In 2014 the museum said the project would add 218,000 square feet of existing and new space, is estimated to cost approximately $325 million.

The public meeting on Thursday is not part of the formal public review process for the project, said the Community Board 7 email. If the project is approved the museum plans to start construction on the Gilder Center in 2017 and open the Gilder Center in 2020, according to the museum's website.

[Photo: Patch editor Brendan Krisel]