project that would remove large tracts of open space from Greenwich Village and create a construction zone on and off for years to come. Out of 170 academic departments in the University, 37 passed resolutions against the NYU 2031 plan, including a majority of the departments in the Faculty of Arts and Science; in response, Sexton indicated in a University Senate meeting in spring 2012 that he would establish a presidential working group, composed largely of faculty selected by the Faculty Senators Council and the schools and chaired by the head of the Faculty Senators Council, to review space and development issues. That group, the University Space Priorities Working Group, began its work in fall 2012; it completed its work in March 2014. In its final report, the group found that NYU did indeed have a pressing need for additional academic space, determined that the university's plans for a new facility were within it financial means, and recommended that the university construct on the site of the Coles Sports and Recreation Center. After receiving editorial support by New York City newspapers, including The New York Times, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Crain's New York Business, and the New York Observer, and the approval of the New York City Planning Commission, the New York City Council overwhelmingly approved, by a margin of 44-1, the NYU 2031 proposals in July 2012. Grad student labor dispute, and an agreement on a graduate student union In November 2013, NYU and the United Auto Workers (which represented graduate teaching assistants, or TAs) announced a joint agreement to recognize a graduate student union; in March 2015, the two sides reached agreement on a contract. In the preceding years, there was controversy at NYU over the issue of collective bargaining and union representation for TAs as well as research assistants (RAs). In 2001, NYU signed the first and only collective bargaining agreement for TAs at a private university. In July 2004, in a case involving Brown University, the National Labor Relations Board reversed its 2000 ruling involving NYU and determined that graduate students are not workers. In the spring and summer of 2005, there were discussions between NYU and the UAW to try to come to terms on a new contract. Ultimately, this proved unsuccessful, and NYU decided not to negotiate a second contract with the Graduate Student Organizing Committee, sparking a strike