NYU Dorms Map: Every Residence Hall Location, Bathroom & Room Type

Search "NYU dorms" and you'll get a list of names: Lipton, Weinstein, Brittany, Third North, Alumni Hall. What you won't get is the thing that actually decides your year — where each building sits relative to your classes, your dining hall and the subway.

NYU has no gates and no quad. Its residence halls are scattered across Greenwich Village, the East Village, Union Square, Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Two dorms with nearly identical rooms can produce completely different freshman years because one is a 3-minute walk to Bobst Library and the other is 18 minutes away down Lafayette Street.

This guide is the map-first companion to our best NYU dorms ranking. It covers every major NYU residence hall by neighborhood, estimates real walk times, explains the bathroom situation (the most-asked question nobody answers clearly), and breaks down the three room layouts you'll be choosing between.

Contents

• The NYU dorms map (schematic)
• Every NYU residence hall at a glance
• Walk times to Washington Square
• Washington Square cluster: Lipton, Weinstein, Rubin, Brittany
• East Village & Third Avenue: Alumni Hall, Third North, Founders
• Union Square: University Hall, Palladium, Carlyle Court
• Farther out: Lafayette, Second Street, Gramercy, 26th Street
• Brooklyn: Othmer and Clark Street
• NYU dorm bathrooms, explained
• Traditional vs. suite vs. apartment-style
• Which NYU dorms freshmen actually live in
• How to rank your housing preferences
• FAQ

The NYU Dorms Map

The diagram below is a schematic — streets are simplified and it is not to scale — but the relative positions are what matter. Filled dots are halls typically used for first-year students; hollow dots are halls typically used for continuing students.

Read the map and three patterns jump out. First, the four most in-demand first-year halls hug Washington Square Park. Second, a dense "Third Avenue corridor" of halls runs from 9th Street up to 14th Street. Third, a handful of halls — Lafayette, Gramercy Green, 26th Street and the Brooklyn buildings — trade proximity for something else: space, quiet, a different neighborhood or a different campus.

Every NYU Residence Hall at a Glance

Walk Times: How Far Each Dorm Is From Washington Square

"Close to campus" is meaningless at NYU unless you specify which campus. For most undergraduates — CAS, Stern, Steinhardt, Gallatin, Tisch — the center of gravity is Washington Square: Bobst Library, the Kimmel Center and the academic buildings around the park. The chart below estimates door-to-Bobst walking time at a normal pace.

The practical takeaway: every Manhattan NYU dorm except Lafayette is within a 15-minute walk of Washington Square. The difference between 4 and 14 minutes sounds small, but multiply it by three round trips a day in February and it becomes a lifestyle. Close-in halls let you go home between classes. Third Avenue halls mean you plan your day around staying on campus.

If you're in Tisch, note that many Tisch facilities sit on Broadway, and if you're in the Silver School, Steinhardt or the Gallatin School, check your program's main building — it can shift the "best location" calculation by a few blocks. For the bigger picture of getting around, see our NYU commuting guide.

The Washington Square Cluster

These four halls are what most people picture when they think "NYU dorm." They're old, central, and in high demand.

Lipton Hall — 33 Washington Square West

Lipton faces the park itself. Walk out the door and you're under the trees, a few minutes from Bobst and the main academic buildings. It has a dining hall on the ground floor and a reputation as one of the most social first-year halls. Rooms are traditional style, with bathrooms shared within a room or suite rather than down the hall. The only real downside is competition: it's a frequent first choice, so don't list it without strong backups.

Weinstein Hall — University Place

Weinstein is the dorm people search for because of the food. The building has historically housed multiple dining options under one roof, including kosher dining, which makes it the easiest place on campus to eat without putting on a coat. It's a block north of the park, steps from the Kimmel Center. Expect traditional doubles and some suite configurations, smaller rooms, and a constant flow of non-residents coming in to eat. If your search was "nyu weinstein dorm," the short answer is: unbeatable convenience, modest rooms.

Rubin Hall — 35 Fifth Avenue

Rubin sits on Fifth Avenue at 10th Street, one of the quietest and prettiest blocks in the Village. It's known for a close-knit floor culture and themed residential communities. It's slightly farther from the park than Lipton but still an easy walk.

Brittany Hall — 55 East 10th Street

Brittany is the character pick. The building dates to the late 1920s, and its older architecture shows up in the lobby, ballroom-style common space and irregular room shapes. It sits at Broadway and 10th — east of Rubin, a short walk to Washington Square, and conveniently close to Broadway's Tisch-adjacent buildings and the Astor Place subway. Brittany has historically hosted arts-oriented residential communities, which suits creative students. The trade-off with any pre-war building: room sizes and layouts vary more than in modern halls, and you won't have a dining hall on site.

East Village & the Third Avenue Corridor

Third Avenue between 9th and 14th Streets is where NYU stacked many of its newer, larger halls. The neighborhood is louder, cheaper to eat in, and closer to the 6, L and N/Q/R/W trains via Astor Place and Union Square.

Alumni Hall — 33 Third Avenue

Searching "New York University Alumni Hall" usually means one of two things: you've been assigned there, or you're wondering whether to list it. Alumni Hall stands at Third Avenue and East 9th Street, roughly 12 minutes on foot from Washington Square. It's typically designated for continuing students and offers apartment-style suites — shared bedrooms off a common area with a kitchen and in-suite bathroom.

Alumni Hall's appeal is independence: you can cook, host friends in a proper living space and still be inside NYU's housing system with a front desk and residential staff. Its location also puts St. Marks Place, Cooper Square and dozens of cheap restaurants within two blocks. If you're a sophomore deciding between staying in NYU housing and leasing in the Village, compare the full cost in our NYU cost and financial aid guide first — kitchens change your food budget substantially.

Third Avenue North — 75 Third Avenue

"Third North" is the apartment-style first-year hall. Students get kitchens in their units and an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall downstairs, the best of both worlds for a first year. It's large and social, with a courtyard, and sits around 12th Street.

Founders Hall — 120 East 12th Street

Founders is one of NYU's newer first-year halls, with traditional rooms, a courtyard and an East Village address within easy reach of Union Square. It's a good pick if you want modern finishes without needing a kitchen.

Coral Towers — 129 Third Avenue

An upperclass apartment-style hall near 14th Street, popular with students who want a kitchen and quick access to the L train.

Union Square

University Hall — 110 East 14th Street

"UHall" pairs apartment-style first-year rooms with one of the best transit locations in the city: the 4/5/6, L and N/Q/R/W trains are a short walk away at Union Square. It's the right pick if you'll be leaving the Village often — for internships, family visits or exploring the rest of Manhattan.

Palladium Hall — 140 East 14th Street

Palladium is typically upperclass housing in a large building that also contains the Palladium Athletic Facility and a dining hall. Living above a gym is underrated.

Carlyle Court — 25 Union Square West

Upperclass apartment-style housing on the west side of Union Square Park, steps from the Greenmarket.

Farther Out: Lafayette, Second Street, Gramercy & 26th Street

These halls are less "Village" and more "New York." They're often the ones students are nervous about when assigned, and often the ones they end up defending.

• Lafayette Hall (80 Lafayette Street) — First-year hall south of Canal Street, near Chinatown, Tribeca and the courthouses. About an 18-minute walk to Washington Square, but well served by subway. Residents tend to bond precisely because they're a bit removed.
• Second Street (1 East 2nd Street) — Upperclass apartments at the Bowery edge of NoHo/East Village, about 12 minutes from the park.
• Gramercy Green (310 Third Avenue) — Upperclass apartments near 23rd Street. Quieter, more residential, roughly a 25-minute walk or a short train ride.
• 26th Street (334 East 26th Street) — Upperclass apartments in Kips Bay, near NYU Langone; a practical choice for students with health-science placements.

Brooklyn: Othmer and Clark Street

Tandon School of Engineering students live and study in Downtown Brooklyn. Othmer Hall (101 Johnson Street) is the primary first-year option, a few minutes' walk from the MetroTech campus. Clark Street (55 Clark Street), in Brooklyn Heights, is close to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the 2/3 train. If you're a Tandon student, a Manhattan dorm near Washington Square is the far option, not the central one — rank accordingly.

NYU Dorm Bathrooms, Explained

This is the question that keeps appearing in search — and the answer is better than at most universities. NYU residence halls generally do not use communal hallway bathrooms. Instead, a bathroom is attached to a room or suite and shared only by the people who live there.

The fine print students learn in week one:

• You clean it. Housekeeping covers common areas, not your bathroom. Agree on a rotation in your roommate agreement before anyone's annoyed.
• Morning rush is real. Five people and one shower means staggered schedules. Ask suitemates about class times early.
• Bring a shower caddy anyway — counter space in older buildings like Brittany and Rubin is minimal.
• Report leaks fast. Older buildings have older plumbing; work orders are quicker when submitted early.

Traditional vs. Suite vs. Apartment-Style

Almost every NYU housing decision reduces to choosing among three floor plans. Here's what each one looks like in simplified form.

Traditional rooms are the most social: your door opens onto a hallway of people your age. Suites give you a living room without a kitchen. Apartment-style units are the most independent and usually the priciest — but if you genuinely cook, a kitchen can offset part of that through a smaller meal plan. If you won't cook, you're paying for a very expensive mini-fridge stand.

Which NYU Dorms Do Freshmen Live In?

NYU reserves a set of residence halls — around ten in recent years — for first-year students through its First Year Residential Experience (FYRE). Typical first-year halls include Lipton, Weinstein, Rubin, Brittany, Founders, Third North, University Hall, Lafayette and, for Tandon, Othmer. Upperclass-only halls such as Alumni Hall, Palladium, Coral Towers, Carlyle Court, Second Street, Gramercy Green, 26th Street and Clark Street are generally not available to incoming freshmen.

Living on campus is optional, but roughly nine in ten first-year students choose it. For a ranked comparison of the first-year halls by dining, community and amenities, read our best NYU dorms guide.

How to Rank Your NYU Housing Preferences

1. Start with your school's building, not the dorm's reputation. A Tandon student and a Stern student have opposite "best" dorms.
2. Decide on kitchen vs. dining hall. This single choice splits the list roughly in half.
3. Pick your neighborhood vibe. Village (quiet, historic), East Village (lively, cheap food), Union Square (transit hub), Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn (more space, more independence).
4. Check for construction. NYU and the city are always building. Read our guides to NYU campus construction and sidewalk scaffolding before choosing a low floor.
5. List realistic backups. Everyone ranks Lipton high. Rank a hall you'd genuinely be happy in second and third.
6. Factor in study space. If your hall is farther out, know where you'll work between classes — see our best NYU study spots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the NYU dorms located?

Most are between Washington Square Park and Union Square, in Greenwich Village and the East Village. Outliers include Lafayette (Lower Manhattan), Gramercy Green and 26th Street (Midtown South), and Othmer and Clark Street in Brooklyn.

Where is Alumni Hall at NYU?

33 Third Avenue at East 9th Street, in the East Village — roughly a 12-minute walk from Washington Square. It's generally an upperclass apartment-style hall.

Where is Brittany Hall at NYU?

55 East 10th Street at Broadway, a short walk from Washington Square Park and Astor Place.

Where is Weinstein Hall?

On University Place just north of Washington Square Park, about a block from the Kimmel Center and Bobst Library.

Do NYU dorms have communal bathrooms?

Generally no. Bathrooms are attached to rooms, suites or apartments and shared only by the people who live there.

Which NYU dorm is closest to Washington Square Park?

Lipton Hall faces the park; Weinstein is about a block away.

Can freshmen live in Alumni Hall?

Alumni Hall has traditionally been for continuing students. Assignments can change year to year, so confirm with NYU Housing.

Editor's note: This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by New York University. Residence hall designations, amenities and rates change annually; verify current details with NYU Residential Life & Housing.