Trump administration set to shutter iconic research center in New York
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The Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York is also home to the diner best known for its appearance on Seinfeld. Photo: NASA
Scientists at an iconic NASA research center in New York City have been told they have until the end of the month to vacate their building and everything in it— with nowhere else to go.
Why it matters: The closure of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which is housed in a building owned by Columbia University and made famous for housing the diner that appears in "Seinfeld," is the latest blow to scientists and climate change researchers from the Trump administration and DOGE.
- Scientists at Goddard who spoke to Axios warn that critical work — including the maintenance of global temperature records dating back to the 1880s used by economists, insurance companies and private developers — is at risk with the Center's closure.
- Home to more than 100 scientists, the Goddard center is nearly as old as NASA itself, founded in 1966. It's where the terms "black hole" and "quasar" were coined.
State of play: Scientists there got an email last month alerting them to the imminent closure of the building, four of them told Axios Friday afternoon.
- "This is existential for us," said Joy Romanski, a climate scientist at Columbia University who works at the center. "We can't recreate this anywhere else. And it doesn't work to be remote."
- The others, who work directly for NASA, asked for anonymity for fear of retribution from the federal government.
- They were told to remove all belongings from the space, down to the bare walls.
Zoom out: The magic sauce to the center, they said, is the collaboration between scientists and the post-doctoral students that come through every few years, as well as its close relationship to Columbia University.
- "This is highly destructive to us, and I believe it's intentional," one said.
The big picture: Scientists and researchers in the federal government have already been battered by DOGE job cuts and grant cancellations, as Axios's Ashley Gold and Mackenzie Weinger report.
- The White House's 2026 budget proposal would slash funding even further for science and tech agencies — including NASA.
- The administration is also considering deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, while seeking to end much of its climate change work.
The other side: "As part of the administration's government-wide review of leases to increase efficiency, NASA is canceling its lease of Columbia University's Armstrong Hall in New York City, home to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)," NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in an emailed statement.
- "The lease will end effective May 31, 2025. Over the next several months, employees will be placed on temporary remote work agreements while NASA seeks and evaluates options for a new space for the GISS team."
- The White House has pushed federal workers aggressively back to the office, seemingly in recognition of the importance of in-person collaboration, though this move leaves GISS employees without a workplace for now.
The intrigue: It's not clear if the White House can just break the lease, which the federal government is obligated to pay through 2031, according to a letter sent by the union that represents over 6,000 federal scientists to the ranking members of the Senate and House committees that oversee NASA.
- Scientists got no information or advanced notice about the change, the union says; according to the letter, critical services will be shuttered as soon as next week.
The bottom line: The scientists say they are hunting for open spaces to work throughout the city.
- "That is really pushing us back and delaying our work," another of the scientists told Axios.
- "We've been encouraged to engage in institutional couch surfing."
