We have been hearing quite a bit about the fight to stop the demolition of PS 199 on West 70th street as the city considers redeveloping the school building as a high-rise with a new school at the bottom. But PS 191 on West 61st is also potentially going to be torn down and redeveloped, and there didn’t appear to be an organized opposition movement there. Some community activists worried that 191 had less political power to fight the plans because the parents there live in the Amsterdam Houses projects and would be overlooked. (The idea of demolishing 191 is particularly strange because there’s another new school being built inside a luxury high-rise at Riverside Center literally one block away.)
But in the past few days, a new website and petition have gone up to fight the plans at 191. The opposition movement is being lead by teachers at the Museum Magnet School inside 191, according to David Saphier (who has been leading the fight on this issue).
The petition from the Museum Magnet group says:
“Building a high-rise will negatively affect the lives of the community residents, particularly in the Amsterdam Houses, as well as negatively affect the Museum Magnet School students and staff. We are strongly opposed to this development plan because we believe it will negatively affect the quality and cohesiveness of instruction at the Museum Magnet School, and will displace our school children. We are dismayed that there has been a lack of effort on the part of the DOE and the ECF to allow the community to be involved and educated in this process.”
You can sign the petition here. The blog about the efforts is here.
For background on the plan, read our initial story that broke the news, and the subsequent follow-ups. In short, the city says this is a good way to get new schools built without committing city funds, but opponents argue that the city is giving away land to developers, actively usurping the traditional development review process, and keeping parents and neighbors out of the planning process. Kids at 191 and 199 would be moved to other locations during the demolition, and then given spots in new schools that would be built within the high-rises. There’s no clear timeline of when developers will submit final plans to rebuild the schools, but demolition could start in 2015 if plans get approved.
We believe that 191 and not both schools were the real target of the DOE.
The DOE knew that the parents of 199 would organize on a grand scale and prevent the demolition of the school.
PS 191 was an easy target for the DOE. But no more.
EVERYONE should sign the petition and offer to help save the school.
West Siders united in a common cause.
The Coalition for a Livable West Side – email livablenewyork@erols.com. – opposes DOE’s plans for both schools.
Please let us know how we can help.
Thanks
Batya
Sorry but this area should be developed. Middle class people can barely afford Manhattan and especially the UWS because there aren’t enough market apartments. Why should we all pay more in rent because a group of subsidized renters don’t want “their” block to change? So long as there are good alternatives for the kids schooling during the process I’d welcome this…I work in education btw and am in no way affiliated with any developer.