Padma Lakshmi joins crusade to safeguard NYC's 'green spaces'

'Top Chef' host Padma Lakshmi has lent her support to the legal fight against NYU's controversial expansion plan.

The 42-year-old slipped into one of the last available seats in a Manhattan courtroom packed with activists who claim the school's blueprints will illegally eliminate vital green space in Greenwich Village, the New York Post reported.

She revealed the reason for supporting the cause saying that being a mother, she was concerned that there's not a lot of places to play downtown.

Nearly a dozen community groups are suing the city for approving NYU's 6-billion-dollar, 20-year plan to erect four massive buildings, adding 1.9 million square feet of new classrooms, dorms and a gym.