By Elijah Hurewitz-Ravitch, Gothamist
Researchers at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies were officially kicked out of their Columbia University laboratory this week in one of New York City’s best-known locations.
The Morningside Heights building — which also houses Tom’s Restaurant, the diner made famous by “Seinfeld” — has housed the Goddard program since 1966. But after the Trump administration canceled the lease last month, scientists are being told to work from home.
The move follows reports that the administration will cut the budget of NASA’s science arm by nearly 50%. And it comes amid a broader crackdown on scientific research and higher education. Columbia in particular has attracted the Trump administration’s ire after becoming the national epicenter for protests last year over the war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, a gaggle of sullen scientists looked on as movers rolled carts of filing boxes and equipment out of the building. They had been instructed not to speak with the press.
Matthew Biggs — president of IFPTE, NASA’s largest union — said the move has little to do with economics or science.
“We have a rogue administration here and they make no bones about seeking revenge on what they believe are political enemies,” he said on Tuesday. “They’re not happy about climate research, and we know how they feel about Columbia. So you’d be naive not to think that they’re being targeted purposely ‘cause of that.”
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