A camera in the St. Paul’s cemetery has been fi lming the World Trade Center site since 2001. A new documentary intersperses the footage with interviews of ten 9/11 family members on the anniversaries of the attack. Professors from Columbia and Georgetown universities are using the unedited footage in their classes.

After New York University’s NYU 2031 expansion plan was recently leaked — by an unknown source — to two local newspapers, one of the newspapers’ articles, and most of the subsequent media reports, focused on the university’s relatively far-off hopes to develop up to 1 million square feet of facilities on Governors Island. The Governors Island angle was admit- tedly the “sexy” urban planning story.

However, missing in the hyped-up coverage was the fact that N.Y.U. plans to start immediately on its expansion plans for its two South Village superblocks, part of its strategy of adding 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of space in its Washington Square-area campus “core.”

Top N.Y.U. offi cials laid out the university’s sweeping expan- sion plan, under which the university aims to increase its space by 40 percent by 2031, in a March 24 meeting with Downtown Express.

Under the ambitious scheme, the university would add 240,000 square feet of space annually over the next 25 years, while its student body would grow by up to 4,000 over the same period, though with most of these students being added at N.Y.U.’s now dozen international campuses.

N.Y.U. currently houses 54 percent of its 21,000 undergrad- uate students, and envisions eventually increasing this number to 60 percent, if there’s demand. Likewise, the university houses 14 percent of its 21,000 graduate students, and foresees boost- ing this fi gure to 24 percent. The university also needs transient housing for students and faculty visiting from its new Abu Dhabi

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The editing of a documentary film can be brutal, with hundreds of hours of carefully gathered interviews wind- ing up on the cutting room fl oor, never to be seen by the public.

“Project Rebirth,” Jim Whitaker’s new documentary chronicling the lives of 10 people affected by 9/11, was originally going to be no different — Whitaker could only fit a tiny percent- age of his footage into the 90-minute

But then, as Whitaker started show- ing early versions of his footage in 2006, doctors and professors told him that his interviews with grieving 9/11 survivors provided a useful in-depth look at the trauma and healing that follow a major disaster. It would be a shame for most of that footage to never leave a Los Angeles editing studio, they said.

“The opportunity to view people firsthand describing experiences like this is completely unique,” said Dr. M. Katherine Shear, psychiatry pro- fessor at Columbia’s School of Social Work. “It’s amazing…. You get to see longitudinally how the person changes — you learn about their story and how it unfolds.”

Former city comptroller Bill Thompson won’t make any money as chairperson of the Battery Park City Authority, so this week he started a new job as chief administrative officer at Siebert Brandford Shank and Co., a municipal bond underwriting firm.

“I’m excited, and I don’t use that word lightly,” Thompson told UnderCover Tuesday, his second day on the job (though we imagine he spent most of that day doing interviews). “It’s a group of talented people,” he continued, “and I look forward to being part of the team.”

A minority-owned firm, Seibert Brandford Shank was just ranked the eighth largest municipal under- writer in the country. The firm grew quickly over the past five years, picking up workers who were laid off by Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, The Bond Buyer reported.

Thompson said his experience as comptroller will come in handy at his new job — before Thompson chal- lenged Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s bid for a third term last year, the two politicians shared responsibility for the city’s debt issuance, Thompson said. In his new role, Thompson will not handle any work related to Battery Park City or the city as a whole.

We also asked Thompson how long he would be able to stay on the B.P.C.A. board, since he’s already plan- ning a run for mayor in 2013 and some of the city’s most wealthy donors live in Battery Park City. Thompson said he would keep his fundraising separate from his role on the B.P.C.A. board, so he could do both at once.

general agreement to develop the World Trade Center into an actual contract, but we’ve already noticed much better relations between the two formerly war- ring parties.

Back in the day — actually as recently as a few weeks ago — we sometimes felt that we along with other media outlets were the communication vehicles for the two sides. But last week, one side tipped the other side off about one of our W.T.C. inquiries even before we had the chance to make the call.

Pizzeria, has glitzified the formerly dingy southwest corner of the Bowery and East Houston St. On the exterior, McNally has spiffed up the block quite a bit, installing rustic-style brickwork and white globe lights along Houston St. On its Bowery side, the place boldly beams out its presence in bright neon red. Actually get- ting inside, however, is no easy feat, requiring a mini- mum 45-minute wait, we’re told.

Working the pizza ovens is Nate Appleman, of San Francisco by way of “Iron Chef.” According to a source, Pulino’s is “not as laid back” as McNally’s Schiller’s Liquor Bar, on Rivington St., where there’s no wait, and patrons are packed right in. One neighbor who is tak- ing a wait-and-see attitude on McNally’s latest isB i l l y

“When you’re a bigwig restaurateur who moves into a neighborhood that has this much history and ghosts, one would think, ‘Hey, let’s get to know the guys across the street,’” LeRoy said. “Well, me and my Bowery Boys are still waiting. Daniel Boulud, owner of DBGB, came over and introduced himself. John Varvatos came in and introduced himself. Pat Field, when she came to the ’hood, came in and introduced herself. It’s just neighborly. But maybe Keith McNally is worried that my Bowery Boys will ask for freebies. Tell him Parisi Bakery already does [give us freebies] — and the pizza is better.”

Less than a year after Newsweek moved into its plush new Hudson Square office, the magazine’s parent company is exiling Newsweek back Uptown.

With newsstand sales declining over 40 percent in the past year, Newsweek was not deemed profit- able enough to occupy the 165,000 square feet at 395 Hudson St., according to reports. So The Washington Post Company, which owns Newsweek, is making the magazine swap places with the company’s much more lucrative Kaplan Educational Services, now at 888 7th Ave. in Midtown.

Several blogs said the Newsweek staff was already demoralized by recent layoffs, so the announcement of the August move comes at a particularly bad time.

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The upcoming week’s schedule of Community Board 1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted, all committee meetings are held at the board office, located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.

Regulations Subcommittee will meet at 5:30 p.m. at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709, and the Tribeca Committee will meet.

Committee will meet, and the Joint Planning and Seaport Committees will meet at P.S. 130, 143 Baxter St. at Hester St., at 6 p.m.

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Director Stephen Burdman introduced his new production of “Hamlet” Thursday night with some friendly advice to his audi- ence.

“You gotta stay on your toes,” Burdman told the crowd of people gathered in the World Financial Center for the play’s open- ing night. “The actors will be in front of you, behind you, to the side of you and right in the middle.”

In addition to staying on their toes, the theatergoers also spent much of the perfor- mance on their feet — following the actors as they roved around the offi ce complex’s hallways and courtyards. Hamlet stabbed Polonius in a little-used lobby leading to West St.; the Winter Garden’s grand staircase became Denmark’s royal court; and the fi nal scene, which left nearly everyone stabbed or poisoned, took place in the shadowy basin of 1 W.F.C., beneath the escalator.

The audience gamely followed along, rising every 10 minutes or so at the instruc- tions of Hamlet (Justin Blanchard) and a distraught Ophelia (Ginny Myers Lee), who at one point screeched, “Come you with me! Quickly!”

The New York Classical Theatre has been staging free, wandering productions in Battery Park and Central Park since 2000. “Hamlet” marks the first time Burdman, the company’s artistic director, has presented a play indoors.

“I want the audience to literally follow the characters through the play,” Burdman said after the fi rst show last Thursday, pre- sented through a partnership with the World Financial Center arts program. “By asking the audience to join in the play and not be pure spectators, they get more involved.”

“You can’t get bored,” agreed Jillian Lindig, who attended opening night to sup- port her husband, Claudius (a k a John Michalski). “And you don’t get sleepy, because you’re constantly moving.”

The Shakespearean tragedy started Thursday evening in a busy hallway overlook- ing restaurants on one side and the North Cove on the other. Offi ce workers rushed past, some so absorbed in their BlackBerries that they unwittingly walked onto the stage and looked up, startled, to find costumed

actors and 150 people watching their every move. When the action moved to the bus- tling Winter Garden, a couple dozen work- ers and families joined the audience, which swelled to more than 200.

It was difficult to find a bad seat — those who positioned themselves in the back often found themselves in the front as actors burst in from all directions and strode through the crowd.

One of the youngest and most attentive listeners was 2½-year-old Marco Ortiz. He grabbed his parents by the hand and pulled them toward the action, sitting transfi xed through one scene after another.

“He’s very curious — always looking for art and music,” said Marco’s mother, Tatiana Borjas, who lives in Battery Park City.

Leonardo Anzures, from Brooklyn, said he was amazed that he and his 3 and 9-year-old daughters could follow the plot. Watching live Shakespeare, Anzures said, is “much better than staying home and watch- ing TV.”

Some of the passersby, though, were less enamored of the soliloquies and semantic games.

“It’s a bit ridiculous that it’s in the middle of a walkway,” said a suit-wearing Royal Bank of Canada worker who did not give his name. He said he had seen more than enough of the play during the past month of open rehearsals, and the intrusion was get- ting annoying.

The only other critique Thursday night came from Jonathan Schoenfelder, 21, who noted that Burdman had taken many liber- ties with the classic text — rearranging the scenes and cutting out more than half of the fi ve-hour play.

“It’s a radical intervention,” said Schoenfelder, who was visiting from Boise, Idaho. “I want to see if it pays off.”

Burdman’s version maintained the moments of levity that dot Hamlet’s path to demise, and the visual gags and potent insults frequently got the audience laughing. But as the evening wore on and the World Financial Center emptied, the characters’ descent into madness gave the scene changes a feeling of frenetic desperation. By the end of the night, when Hamlet and nearly every- one else lay dead on the marble fl oor, the grand office building felt desolate and eerie.

Burdman said he planned the timing of the play to coincide with the quieting of the building, the drama growing as the distrac- tions diminish.

“It’s a transformation of the space,” Burdman said. “It’s a way to experience the World Financial Center in a way you’ve never seen it before.”

“Hamlet” (artsworldfi nancialcenter.com) is free and will be performed April 8-11 and 13-18 starting at 7 p.m. Meet in the World Financial Center courtyard near Starbucks (enter at 220 Vesey St.). Burdman recom- mends comfortable walking shoes and a pil- low to sit on; the staff will assist those with physical disabilities.

Hamlet played by Justin Blanchard, above, gives a soliloquy for the World Financial Center audience as well as passersby on opening night last week. The free, edited, roaming version of “Hamlet” will be performed in and near the Winter Garden most nights through April 18.