When the Department of Education proposed this move, they said the new Washington Heights location would provide Innovation students with their own space and would be a shorter commute for many of them.

But the idea sparked outrage among the Brandeis community, which consists of three other high schools and a charter elementary school, and within Community Board 7. Opponents argued that moving the high school would make the already disadvantaged students lose access to facilities in and around Brandeis like internships, extracurricular activities, a gym and child care for the school’s many teenaged parents. Apparently, their arguments were heard.

“We actively engage with and respond to the needs of the community,” said Department of Education representative David Pena. “Based on additional input from students, parents and community leaders, Innovation Diploma Plus High School will remain at the Brandeis Campus.”
Noah Gotbaum, a former president of the Community Education Council district that includes the Upper West Side schools, said the Department of Education had no justification for the proposal in the first place. He had organized a rally to protest it right before the hearing on Dec. 4, attended by over half of the student body, parents, elected officials and community members.

“They were basically destroying this incredible program,” Gotbaum said. “And that’s why you had 100 students come out to the rally and hearing.”

At the hearing, students presented a video explaining why they want to stay at Brandeis. It was an educational experience for them.

“I actually spoke at the hearing, and the Department of Education people weren’t even paying attention,” said Maria Henriquez, 18, a senior at Innovation Diploma Plus, whose daughter attends the Brandeis daycare. “If we had moved to Washington Heights, everyone would have dropped out. If you take away my education, you take away my child’s future!”

Among her concerns, she said, were issues of safety. “It’s dangerous because there are gangs in that area,” Henriquez said.

Gotbaum said he thought the Department of Education probably decided to drop the proposal because of pressure from the community, not the testimony of Innovation students.

“I am still unhappy that our community and school had to take to the streets to prevent something so egregious,” he said.

IDP’s move apparently did not really suit the Washington Heights community either, said Community Board 7 Chair Mark Diller, who said the neighborhood had wanted a science and technical high school in the space.

When the proposal to relocate IDP was first floated, many members of the community assumed the program was getting the boot to make room for the Upper West Success Academy Charter School to expand from early elementary to include a middle school. Upper West Success Academy refused to comment.

But the idea did not come from nowhere. During the October Community Education Council District 3 meeting, Yael Kalban, a representative with the Department of Education, said that they were planning on making room in Brandeis for an Upper West Success Middle School after IDP moved to Washington Heights.

“I don’t think IDP is given much priority at all,” Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal said. “It’s like a sick child. I don’t think they anticipated so much community outcry.”

Rosenthal did say that it is in the Success Academy contract to expand after a certain number of years, and that the community does need another middle school. Gotbaum said that the most likely option would be to open up a middle school when Beacon High School on West on 61st Street moves in two years’ time.

SCHOOL MOVE TO BE DECIDED JAN. 16
The Department of Education (DOE) has moved its Panel for Educational Policy vote on the relocation of Innovation Diploma Plus (IDP) from Dec. 20 to Jan. 16. The controversial vote will decide whether the high school will remain co-located with four other schools in the Brandeis Education Complex at 145 W. 84th St. or move to a soon-to-be-vacated building in Washington Heights.

The move was condemned by education administrators and local elected officials when it was proposed in October because they believed that the DOE was isolating IDP’s students, who are transferred to the high school because of poor performance elsewhere, to favor Success Academy, the education complex’s one charter school that hopes to expand in the building. DOE maintains that the move would be advantageous to students because they would have shorter commutes and be closer to the school’s partner nonprofit community development organization.

EXPRESS TRAIN DERAILS
Passengers on the A express train recently were stranded near 81st Street Station when the train’s last car derailed. According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, an undetected broken section of the rail caused one wheel assembly of the southbound train to jump the tracks around 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22, leaving over 400 straphangers waiting underground as a second train came to their rescue. The accident caused subway delays from uptown Manhattan to Brooklyn throughout the day by forcing the A and D lines to run on the local track. No injuries were reported, and service returned to normal in the evening.

CHRISTMAS TREE CLEAN-UP
The Department of Sanitation (DOS) is currently running a Christmas tree collection for mulching and recycling. Through Saturday, Jan. 19, the department is encouraging residents to leave their trees by the curb in front of their homes for pick-up. Tree stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments should be removed, and the trees should not be placed in plastic bags.

According to DOS, the trees will be chipped into mulch that will be distributed to parks, playing fields and community gardens throughout the city.

The Department of Parks and Recreation is also holding a “Mulchfest” next weekend, Jan. 12 and 13, at designated sites around the city. Residents can bring their trees to be chipped into mulch that will be used as ground cover for the city’s plants, and free mulch will be given to anyone who brings a bag to transport it.

THINKING OF SUICIDE? FREE COUNSELING AVAILABLE
In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings, the Samaritans of New York reminds the New Yorkers that it operates a free, confidential, 24-hour suicide prevention hotline in the city at 212-673-3000.

“The focus on the details of the tragedy, the memorials and the politics of gun control must also be accompanied by the need for greater access to mental health services for those who are depressed, experiencing trauma and/or experiencing some form of mental illness,” Samaritans said in an e-mail, noting that their service alleviates the intensity of the feelings that those in crisis experience and reduces their risk factors for suicide.

Samaritans of New York, part of the international suicide prevention organization that has centers in 42 countries, is the longest-running suicide prevention program in the city. They have answered over 1 million calls from people in crisis, and provide suicide prevention education programs for health providers and support groups.