NYU’s hotly debated plan to add nearly 2 million square feet to its Greenwich Village campus was approved by a 44-1 vote in the City Council yesterday — but not before two dozen protesters staged a demonstration and were escorted out of City Hall.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn noted that modifications had reduced the density of the ambitious expansion by 26 percent.

“NYU has broken a lot of promises in the past. And there’s a deficit of trust in this community. This plan is a way to start over,” said Councilmember Margaret Chin, who represents the Village, but who had withheld support until the plan was recently scaled back.