Local libraries supportive of midtown renovations, speak out against budget cuts

The New York Public Library system is facing major changes and not everyone is happy about it.

The Committee to Save the New York Public Library (NYPL) has been rallying to stop the Central Library Plan, a plan to consolidate the Mid-Manhattan and the Science, Industry and Business Library into one building. The consolidating, they say would not only cost exorbitant taxpayer money, but would “threaten the 42nd Street Library’s status as one of the world’s great research libraries” and “endanger the architectural integrity of the landmarked building.”

“You don’t update a masterpiece,” wrote Ada Louise Huxtable of the proposed renovations in the Wall Street Journal this past winter.

Angela Montefinise, an NYPL spokesperson, disagrees. Montefinise says, among other pluses, renovations would be a boon to public library branches on the Upper West and Upper East Sides, some of which would greatly benefit from circulating funds.

“One of the benefits of the renovation of 42nd Street is that it would generate $15 million a year annually which can be put right back in the system, including the UWS and UES branches,” explains Montefinise.

Montefinise concedes many of the branches throughout the City are old and in need of repairs, which would be made possible through the plan as well as approximately $260 million of capital work going on around the system.

“While the renovations themselves are happening in midtown, they will benefit the whole system,” she says.

“I think there’s a perception that [the plan] is being done at the expense of other work – that’s incorrect. The funding for that plan is generated from the plan itself — such as real estate sales — and earmarked city money specifically for this project.”

Still, uptown, the consolidation plan is far from many’s minds as they consider more pressing concerns.

Sumie Ota, the network manager in charge of uptown libraries, says while the campaign to oppose major budget cuts is a main issue among library branches, local concerns have more to do with the day-to-day issues of keeping patrons happy.

“As far as allocating funds, the more money the better,” says Ota, “but our biggest concern is keeping the branches open and making our services available. The Central Library Plan is not on our minds.”

“Everyday I see people waiting for us to open our doors or waiting in line for computers,” she adds. “That’s what’s on our minds.”

The budget cuts Ota refers to amount to $47 million, or the largest proposed cut in the library’s history, according to Montefinise.

Montefinise says, in addition to an advocacy campaign to fight the budget cut, there will need to be increased strategic thinking — such as the Central Library Plan itself — as funds are slashed.

Currently, branches across the City are focusing on this effort to reach out to elected officials including sending letters to City Council members to fight the budget cut. The 67th Street library on the Upper East Side, for instance, has already sent over 400 letters to oppose the budget cuts.

The group Citizens Defending Libraries agrees the proposed budget cuts are a major issue currently facing the City’s public library branches.

“Mayor Bloomberg is defunding New York libraries at a time of increasing public use, population growth and increased city wealth, shrinking our library system to create real estate deals for wealthy real estate developers at a time of cutbacks in education and escalating disparities in opportunity,” notes the group.

Ota says there are major projects underway in her network including renovations and restorations, particularly to the Washington Heights and 96th Street branches.

Branch libraries, notes Ota, are also increasing their e-book presence in addition to circulating physical materials, while research libraries are increasingly digitizing their collections.

As far as the future of the consolidation plan, Montefinise maintains it’s never going to be of concern to libraries uptown.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there, and that’s a shame. I think internally employees certainly understand the benefits, and generally support initiatives that generate resources to help them serve the public.”

By Joanna Fantozzi & Allison Volpe

Recently, the City Council addressed the issue of raising the smoking age from 18 to 21. New York State is following suit with Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal’s bill that would make it illegal for those under 21 to buy cigarettes. The bill bans suppliers and stores from selling any tobacco products to under-age youths. Each year in New York, according to the Assembly Member, 53,000 people under the age of 18 become regular smokers. As a former smoker herself, Rosenthal wants to try and nip young nicotine habits in the bud.

“From a personal standpoint I started smoking when I was 17 and I smoked for almost 20 years,” said Rosenthal. “I went through the whole get addicted when you’re younger thing. You also don’t realize how badly you feel until you stop smoking for awhile, its so hard to quit.”

We took to the streets on the Upper
West Side to find out what local residents think of the push to keep cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers.

Neal Bloom, 42, Tribeca
“I’m completely for it. I have two kids of my own, and I’d be really disappointed if either of them became smokers. It is just so terrible for your health, and I don’t think young people fully understand that. So I think raising the age would be very helpful.”

Robert Ferrara, 20, Upper West Side
“I think it’s ridiculous. I have every right to be able to smoke a pack of cigarettes. It’s ridiculous enough that the drinking age is 21. People my age are allowed to get married and fight in wars, yet we can’t drink and shouldn’t be able to smoke? It doesn’t make sense.”

Erin Earey, 28, East Village
“I mean, if kids really want to smoke, they’re going to find a way to get their hands on cigarettes regardless. I’d be for it though. My brother has been smoking since he was 14, and I really wish he didn’t. It does worry me.”

Jenny Son, 24, Lower East Side
“I’m all for it. Too many young people smoke and are destroying their health so early. I don’t think 18 year olds realize what a serious decision they’re making when smoking. Three years may not seem like a lot of time, but I think a college freshman is more susceptible to start smoking than someone who is about to graduate.”

Joseph Awgul, 35, Upper East Side
“I honestly don’t care either way. I think most kids smoke when they’re a teenager in high school or in college, and then just stop when they get older. I don’t see it as a pressing issue.”

By Amy Eley

Kyrie Vickers, 25, spends weekday afternoons playing with the 1-year-old boy she cares for in an Upper West Side apartment. Vickers and the boy play only blocks away from the apartment where a nanny allegedly killed two children last year.

“I think it’s affected me more than my employers, to be honest,” Vickers said. “To know that I’m in the same position that woman was in. I cannot imagine having that state of mind.”

Since nanny Yoselyn Ortega allegedly stabbed her two young charges to death on the Upper West Side last fall, parents throughout the city have been more anxious about childcare.

“The world is watching,” said Valerie Gerstein, a mother of two who runs a blog for families on the Upper West Side. “If something’s going to happen, it should be in this community.”

Ortega worked for Kevin and Marina Krim for two and a half years as a nanny, watching their three children, Lucia, Nessie and Leo. On Oct, 25, Marina came home to the family’s apartment at 57 W. 75th St. with Nessie to find her other two children dead and Ortega allegedly trying to commit suicide. Ortega survived and has since been charged with murdering the two children. She is awaiting her court hearing, scheduled for May 6.

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) is putting together a series of nanny support programs to help nannies with stresses related to the murders, their jobs and personal lives.

“As a community center, we realized we needed to create support programs for the caregivers,” Erica Werber said, the senior director of public relations at the JCC. “And make sure they know that they have access to resources if they ever needed help.”
The first class is a “Caregiver Chat” with Jean Schreiber, an early childhood educational consultant. The class is open for any nanny and is meant to serve as a support group where caregivers can discuss various aspects of the job, including ways to communicate with employers, positive discipline for children and more.

Schreiber oversees several programs at the JCC for parents, but after the Krim murders she recognized the need for nanny support.

“Caregivers are a huge part of the community here,” she said. “We are focused on them as people.”
For nannies like Kyrie Vickers, these programs come as a welcome relief. In the months since the murders, Vickers feels like parents have been scrutinizing nannies.

Jenna Crandall, a mother of three, agrees that nannies have been watched more closely. Crandall encourages other mothers to use hidden nanny cameras in the home and has asked friends to watch how her nanny interacts with Crandall’s kids at the park.

“She didn’t know they were my friends but they would look out and watch,” Crandall said. “It makes you second guess your own nanny and what could happen.”

One Upper East Side mother, who asked her name be withheld, decided to put her child in daycare rather and leave her alone at home with a nanny. “I interviewed nannies but never felt comfortable,” she said.
Nanny agencies throughout the city have been helping soothe parents’ anxieties since the Krim murders. Joan Friedman, co-owner of A Choice Nanny, remembers one mother in particular who expressed nervousness over the decision to hire a nanny.

“She said, “I know this is a silly question, but in light of the tragedy, I just want to hear again what you do,”” said Friedman.

Vanessa Wauchope, founder and president of nanny agency Sensible Sitters, oversees one family that makes home visits to their nanny routinely to maintain a pulse on her personal life.

“They really want to know what’s going on,” said Wauchope. “In a situation where someone is being brought into your home, parents want to go that extra mile.”

For Blake Levine, this meant running her own background checks on nanny applicants for her two-year-old daughter.

“Some people do hire background investigators,” she said. “There’s no way to prevent what happened to the Krim family other than trying to find the best people. You hope that will suffice.”

The National Endowment for the Arts recently released their grants for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, and several major cultural institutions on the Upper West Side, Upper East Side and downtown Manhattan reaped the benefits of the extra funds. Many organizations saw an increase in funds this year, like the Metropolitan Opera, which received $265,000 this year (a $70,000 increase from 2012), and the Guggenheim Museum, whose NEA funds almost doubled from 2012-2013.

Over the past few years the NEA, the government agency that financially supports cultural institutions nationwide, has been going through several changes. This year, the agency saw a reduction in fund availability by over $3 million, but they made up for it by using carry-over funds. In addition, 2011 saw the addition of a new category for modern arts organizations: the “arts in media” category (includingsmartphone apps, podcasts and video games) which flooded the NEA with triple the amount of grant applications.
“After the initial excitement, the number of applications for fiscal year 2013 have normalized,” said Liz Auclair, the public affairs specialist for the NEA.
This may explain the increase in funds from last year to this year, but Leah Maddrie, a representative from Symphony Space, a performing arts center on the Upper West Side, whose organization saw a decrease in funds this year, believed that the pool still remains fairly competitive.
“I would imagine in the last couple of years, the amount of money available to distribute has gone down and the pool is much more competitive,” said Maddrie. “They’re trying to keep up with the times by recognizing different art forms, but that also means they will get many more people applying than before.”
But as a result of the change in looking at new forms of media, Symphony Space was able to talk about new forms of media, like the podcast, when asking for federal fund. This year, Symphony Space received $25,000 for Selected Shorts, a radio and podcast show featuring stories performed by well-known stage and screen stars – a program that the NEA has supported in years past.
The New York Philharmonic was also happy with their NEA grants, worth $170,000, this year. Most of the funds went toward their school partnership program, which brings classical music education and concerts to students all over the city, including neighborhood schools like P.S. 199 and P.S. 165. This year, for the first time they received the maximum grant of $100,000.
“The school partnership program really gets us out into neighborhood schools in all five boroughs,” said Ted Wiprud, a representative from the New York Philharmonic education program. “We’re always aiming to expand the program, both within the schools and by adding schools, the NEA support makes me optimistic that we can see growth for the coming years. We always have a bunch of schools on a waiting list, so we’ll hopefully be able to include more schools now.”
Lincoln Center, the home of the New York Philharmonic, received $190,000 for their education program, the Lincoln Center festival and the production of artist profiles. The Metropolitan Opera, also housed in Lincoln Center, saw a $70,000 increase in funds from last year. Most of the $265,000 will be going toward a new production of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare.”
On the Upper East Side, the Guggenheim Museum received $80,000 for the exhibit “Gutai: Splendid Playground.” The Whitney Museum received $50,000 for an exhibit on Edward Hopper.
Downtown, Tribeca Film Institute received $100,000 for a professional development program and their reframe collection website. The Children’s Museum of the Arts received $30,000 to support Multicultural Explorations: Artistic Traditions and Contemporary Interpretations.

By Nora Bosworth

Nobody asked Martin Rosenblatt to protect the schoolchildren at the Upper West Side’s P.S. 163, but he may have done just that. The story begins with a nursing home, one very informed citizen, and a lot of paperwork.

Since 2008, the elder care company Jewish Home Lifecare (JHL) has been planning to erect a 20-story nursing home alongside a public elementary school on the Upper West Side. The tower would be built on West 97th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, on a parking lot that is now part of the Park West Village apartment complex, which borders P.S. 163.

Over the last several years, community members have organized to resist the development project for a wide array of reasons: fear of sending children to study amid a noisy, long-term construction zone, objections to the noise, dust and debris of such a project, increased traffic the nursing home would bring, and the loss of an above-ground parking lot.

Residents listen to Rosenblatt explain the lead findings.

Jewish Home Lifecare says their planned facility will transform the hospital-like feel and architecture of many nursing homes to a place that will make elderly residents feel at home. They hope their construction will provide “dignity and privacy” to clients.

Up until April of last year, all of the opposition facing the nursing home plan has been relatively standard backlash for a development project of this scale– with, granted, the added concern of the school’s welfare. And, if all had gone as planned, JHL would probably be beginning construction in Spring of 2014.

Enter Martin Rosenblatt, a resident who lives across the street from the proposed development site and a retired investigator, experienced with the hazardous effects of lead dust.

After going to meetings about the nursing home’s plans, Rosenblatt decided to test the parking lot for lead, just in case the future demolition site was home to hazardous chemicals. It wasn’t a random suspicion. Until the Clean Air Act of 1996, lead was a legal component of gasoline. Thus, in the past, when cars turned on, their tailpipes would sometimes emit combustion dust that was contaminated by lead. Rosenblatt figured that because the parking lot had been around for over fifty years, it was worth assessing.
Rosenblatt hired Laurence Molloy, an authority on lead to analyze soil samples throughout the grounds, along with 11 other New York City Housing Authority lots. Despite the two men’s hunches, what they found still took them by surprise.

On Wednesday evening, around 150 West Siders gathered in the auditorium of the Holy Name School on 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, to hear Rosenblatt discuss his discovery of toxic levels of lead beneath the proposed site for the high-rise nursing home.

Out of 100 samples of soil, the highest lead level of all was found in a hotspot at the West 97th Street location. The level of lead was at 1,044 ppm (parts per million); to put this number in context, the Environmental Protection Agency’s limit for acceptable lead levels in soil areas on which children play is 400 ppm.

The health effects of lead exposure in children include behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Lead becomes dangerous once unearthed, thus the proposed construction is a scare to many people.

“The soil definitely contains lead and is certainly a potential hazard to school children if blown onto the adjacent school grounds,” writes Molloy, in his letter testifying to his results from the Park West Village samples.

Rosenblatt also took it upon himself to send the lab results from West 97th Street to eleven different medical professionals, four of whom wrote back with their findings.

“According to the National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, dispersion locally of these lead contaminated dusts, into academic and residential buildings nearby, can cause adverse health effects in children under 72 months of age, such as developmental-cognitive impairments, neurobehavioral disturbances, loss in IQ points and ADHD,” wrote John Rosen, a pediatrician and the Head of Environmental Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In his letter to Rosenblatt, he adds that pregnant women are also at risk, as lead can damage the developing fetus.

Avery Brandon, whose asthmatic 5-year-old daughter currently attends P.S. 163, called the results “terrifying.”

“If there’s lead in the soil and they break ground, we have to move,” she said.

Brandon is grateful to Rosenblatt for his research.

“Without Mr. Rosenblatt, I’m not exactly sure where we would be right now,” she said. Molloy voiced a similar opinion.

“The average citizen doesn’t know about lead in a parking lot,” Molloy said in a telephone interview. “Wouldn’t even suspect it.”

Rosenblatt believes that if an environmental impact study is conducted and lead is found, the costs of removing the lead would be enormous. He says it is unclear which party would cover what he estimates would be an operation in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Moreover, according to Molloy, there is water beneath the lot, and if the water is also contaminated, then pumping it out would add greatly to the cost of cleanup.

As of now, it is unclear how the state and Jewish Home Lifecare want to proceed.

“JHL has adhered to all government regulations regarding site review and will continue to do so,” said Ethan Geto, a public affairs representative for JHL, in an email.

“Not having seen the analysis of lead contamination claimed in the study – or having it reviewed by an expert not associated with advocates for blocking the project – it is not possible to know at this juncture if any further environmental review is warranted.”

At the meeting, Rosenblatt and the director of the Park West Village Association, Maggi Peyton, urged attendees to sign a petition that demands an environmental impact study. Residents at the meeting expressed hope that these latest findings will make a difference, along with a determination to be heard.

“In terms of politicians,” said Patricia Loftman, a resident of Park West Village for the last forty years, “I don’t think we will ever forgive them if they don’t do the right thing on this issue.”

Volunteers from HSBC Bank USA re-paint a tunnel at Riverside Park during New York Cares Day Spring, an annual event that took place Saturday, April 20, where 4,000 volunteers revitalized 70 parks and gardens citywide.

By Nora Bosworth

“Ken told me that he has not seen a room this crowded since the anti-war debates of the sixties,” announced Jason Haber, Chair of Community Free Democrats, who co-sponsored the democratic mayoral debate on Thursday night.
Ken Sherrill, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Hunter College, moderated the panel of five candidates: Sal Albanese, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and former Comptroller Bill Thompson.

Photo by Steven Barall

The event filled the Goddard Side Community Center to its capacity, with an estimated 300 to 350 people, according to Joan Paylo, District Leader of the 69th Assembly District, Part B.
There were “huge numbers of people turned away,” she added. Many attributed the debate’s great turnout to the Upper West Side’s history of passionate advocacy and political awareness.

“The Upper West Side has a long and proud tradition of progressive activism,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. “This district more than any other, I believe, is the embodiment of democratic values.”
Rosenthal added that her district always votes “in droves.”
Excitement reverberated throughout the Community Center as hundreds of local New Yorkers waited to hear the mayoral candidates address issues close to the residents’ hearts. Topics ranged from proper budgeting, to which Bloomberg policies the candidates would change first, to which borough the potential mayors know best. (Albanese, de Blasio, and Thompson said Brooklyn; Liu said Queens and Quinn said Manhattan).

After a series of playful questions, (when was the last time the candidates paid rent, and how much did they pay?), shouted an audience member: “Let’s ask some real questions!”

Quickly, the conversation turned to housing.

“Can you represent the interests of tenants when you take money from developers?” came the next question.

Applause erupted throughout the room.

Liu reminded everyone that the question did not apply to him, saying, “Sal and I are the only ones who do not accept contributions from people who do business with city.”

Albanese came out more aggressively, per usual, against his opponents.

“If you think [accepting contributions] has no influence, I can sell you the Brooklyn Bridge,” he growled. He added that he alone would not be “wearing handcuffs” if elected mayor.

Thompson said his actions spoke louder than any accepted donations. He spoke to his years as comptroller, in which time he brought a spotlight to the failings of the Mitchell-Lama programs, which provides affordable middle-income housing.

“We worked to make sure people weren’t pushed out of Mitchell-Lama,” he said.

Quinn touted her record as Council Speaker, saying, “I can tell tenants I can deliver as mayor, because I’ve delivered as speaker.”

She cited her passing of the Safe Housing Act, which gives the city power to repair New York’s worst buildings, and then bill the landlords for the work. She also praised the Tenant Protection Act that she passed, the first law the city has seen that grants tenants the right to sue landlords over harassment.

“The law was so good it was sued by the landlord lobby,” she said, half-joking.

De Basio came out strongest against private developers.

“The real estate industry thinks it has tremendous power in the election and has played favorites over the years,” he said. He lauded one of his creations as Public Advocate, The Worst Landlords Watchlist, an online tool that reports and allows one to research the landlords with the most violations in the city. De Blasio said the webpage has helped “thousands and thousands of tenants,” and gotten some buildings “out of private hands and into non-profit hands.”

“That’s the kind of leadership I believe in,” he declared.

But perhaps the most fiery housing issue discussed was the New York City Housing Authority’s plans for building market-price condominiums on public housing project land. The Upper West Side’s Frederick Douglass housing would be particularly affected if the plans are realized; the Authority intends to erect four new buildings in that area alone.

The Housing Authority states that by leasing such prized land to private developers, some fourteen parcels in eight different public housing units, they could pay for the thousands of repairs needed throughout the various projects. The deal would grant the private developers access to the land for 99 years.

Among the many concerns voiced by the community and their mayoral candidates was a pervasive skepticism that the Authority is hurting as badly financially as they claim. Adding to this doubt was last year’s discovery that the organization was sitting on almost one billion dollars while petitioning the government for more funding.

In light of this scandal, their upcoming project, widely known as the “infill plan”, has encountered harsh criticism.

“NYCHA was sitting on a billion dollars of capital funds,” said Liu. “Now they’re claiming poverty, that they need a revenue stream; they shouldn’t keep piles of money lying around under the proverbial mattress while they go out and ask citizens to pay more.”

De Blasio, on the other hand, does not doubt that NYCHA is suffering economically. (In his testimony to the New York State Assembly this month, NYCHA Chairman John B. Rhea announced that the organization is currently stuck with “6 billion dollars in unmet capital needs.”)

Nonetheless, De Blasio stated that the proposal “can’t be trusted,” and that “people worried about losing housing have every reason to be worried.”

“Let’s call this for what it is,” said Thompson, echoing his opponents’ views. “A sham.”

Quinn also voiced her agreement, calling the auctioning off of Housing Authority property to the highest bidder “a terrible idea.”

“Stop this proposal and stop it right now,” Quinn exclaimed, “because we will never get that land back!”

The agency plans to sign with developers by November 2014, according to a recently released report.

Based on the Upper West Side’s history of activism, however, it’s safe to say there is more resistance to come.

Chinese and Spanish may not even have an alphabet in common, but these two cultures will be coming together for the Upper West Side’s first annual Bilingual Fest, a charity event featuring music and dance acts in both Chinese and Spanish. The family-friendly festival, which will take place on April 20th at the West 83rd Ministry Center, was put together by Toni Wang of the children’s bilingual music organization, “A Little Mandarin,” and Bilingual Buds School- one of the few elementary schools in the city that teaches both Mandarin and Spanish.

Bilingual Fest is part of NYC Heritage Week, and has been endorsed by City Council Member Gale Brewer. The afternoon’s events will be emceed by broadcast journalist Pei-Sze Cheng. Kids can enjoy performances across the cultural spectrum, from a Chinese Lion Dance and songs played on traditional Chinese instruments, to salsa dancing and Spanish-language sing-alongs.

But the real highlight of the evening is when the Latino and  Chinese cultures will collide, for the musical collaboration between Toni Wang, and Bernardo Palombo of “El Taller,” a Spanish cultural community organization, who has written songs for Sesame Street’s Spanish language program.

“They may be different languages, but it is all still music for children and families. We don’t aim to put those two together, you can have a song go from English to Spanish to Chinese and its all enjoyable,” said Wang.

The collaboration will feature a Puerto Rican song with some verses translated into Chinese entitled “Le Lo Lai” (the Puerto Rican version of singing la-la-la) Palombo and Wang will trade off verses, and will be performing with children. Another subtle colliding of the cultures according to Wang is the performance by a Chinese dancer who will be dancing with a Hispanic partner.

Bernardo Palombo performing at a Spanish cultural center.

The Bilingual Fest started as Wang’s idea to do a concert with the Bilingual Buds School. As the school also teaches Spanish, Wang began looking for Hispanic acts to join the cultural effort, and found Palombo. They then decided to turn the concert into a charity event. Proceeds will benefit The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, an organization that mainly works with families in the Bronx, and APEX, an Asian-American youth outreach group based in Chinatown.

While collaborating together, both Palombo and Wang noticed that the two cultures have more in common than the originally thought – a love of family and family time for instance, as well as cooking with a lot of rice. Palombo thinks that the experience will be educational for all ages.
“Two completely different languages on the same stage is very positive for the child,” said Palombo. “To not only be exposed to the differences but also the understanding and respecting that which isn’t your own culture is very important.”

The event will take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday on West 83rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. The cost is $10 for a child and $15 for an adult. It is expected to sell out, so Palombo suggested getting tickets ahead of time.

“I hope this will be an annual event because the timing is right,” said Wang. “People want their children to become more globally aware.”

A joint town hall meeting got heated last week as parents, educators and the District 3 Community Education Council (CEC 3) demanded answers from Chancellor Dennis Walcott and his team regarding a variety of issues facing schools in the district.

Frederick Douglass Academy II Secondary School located at 215 West 114th Street.

The principals of both the Frederick Douglass and Wadleigh schools were present and said their schools have made radical comebacks in recent years. The suspension rate at Wadleigh has dropped by 80 percent and changes have focused on college and career readiness, while Frederick Douglass, which recently faced closure, has seen a turnaround with the support of parents and the CEC.

Walcott said he hoped to continue to emphasize college and career readiness in the district schools and do away with the notion that low income students and those with housing issues present extra difficulties for the schools or “don’t belong” as some believe.

“I do not allow anyone to talk ill of our students,” said Walcott. “They all have the ability to learn at a high level with the proper support.”

In response to the issue of admissions to middle and high schools and the fact that several district 2 schools have district 2 admissions priority while being some of the highest rated and highest applicant rate schools, Walcott said the high school admissions process has improved significantly over the years.

“We have made more options throughout the city with the creation of small schools and new schools,” he said. “There are more schools to choose from, 85 percent of selections are in students’ top five choices.”

Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts located at 215 West 114th Street.

“We have been able to encourage choices and give more quality choices,” he added.

Still Walcott maintained it’s difficult to go back on outdated processes of grandfathering which tend to give unfair priority.

Carl Pressley, a district 3 parent, asked the chancellor and his team why some of the same successful practices used in charter schools cannot be used in district schools. Walcott assured community members the same practices are being used in district schools, many of which are performing well and are “very creative.”

Walcott also addressed the recent PCB leaks in schools across the City and plans to remediate all schools.

“Two years ago we set aside 800 million dollars to address the PCB issue throughout the City, we are the only city that has done something along that line,” said Walcott. He added the two year plan is no longer viable, however, particularly with the current court case on the issue pending.

“This has been a priority for several years and we are working with the EPA,” said Walcott.

Other issues discussed included student privacy and concerns over data-mining and publicizing students’ information, school redevelopment and demolition, class size and overcrowding, general space concerns, the common core curriculum, standardized testing and gifted and talented programs.

The chancellor’s partners assured parents potential redevelopment and demolition processes are still in their infancy in the district and community members’ concerns will be addressed and input solicited before any plans move forward and before the issuance of an RFP.

Anthony, a teacher at Whadleigh, expressed his frustration with remodeling in district 3 schools and its impact on the students.

“We’re having to do more with less space,” he said.

CEC member Joe Fiordaliso agreed overcrowding is a serious issue in the district in addition to a general loss of space due to construction.

Fiordaliso said 1,300 parents signed a petition to create new middle schools in the district, to which the chancellor replied he has committed to developing more middle schools throughout the entire city.

“I set a goal to create 50 middle schools; we’re at 61,” said Walcott. “We are open to new middle schools in D3 and we are starting our portfolio process. Beacon will become available in 2015.”

With regard to the implementation of common core curriculum, parents expressed concern their children were being penalized emotionally by not understanding the new curriculum. There was also general agreement less emphasis should be placed on high stakes standardized testing.

“How can standardized testing determine a kid’s entire future?” asked Elizabeth Rivera, a parent and teacher in district 3.

Walcott said, “We have a responsibility as a system to make sure [our students] are getting a higher course of learning so while I understand the anxiety and pressure, it’s a pressure as a result of making sure students are getting a higher style of learning in schools and are being prepared to take tests.”

“We have a responsibility to teach them why we use the core curriculum and lower their anxiety,” he added.

With regard to high stakes standardized testing, Walcott described a balancing act.

“Our students will do better and better and better but we have to put [the new test] in place and we’re doing that this year,” he said.

While parents worried also about gifted and talented programs and inadequate space for qualified students at schools for accelerated education, Walcott responded that schools are best served by a blend of students.

“I always struggled with this,” he said. “Quite frankly with seat matching and gifted and talented, we need to look at the possibility of a separate system.”

During major storms like hurricane Sandy, New York City is an easy target for flooding, because the area of impermeable surfaces, like concrete and asphalt, outweigh permeable surfaces, like grass, throughout the city. As a result, after a large storm, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation, raw sewage runs off into the Hudson River. To prevent that, a bill, authored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, is currently in the New York Senate for a green space tax abatement for building owners. In the agreement, the owners will receive $4.50 per square foot of concrete that is converted into green space.

​The new bill, currently in the New York Senate, was started on the Upper West Side, and was approved by Upper West Side community members like City Council candidate Mel Wymore and the West End Preservation Society. On the Upper West Side, old brownstones are known for their “doughnut” backyards. According to Rosenthal, this bill would be an incentive for building owners to stop paving over backyards. In fact the bill was unanimously supported by Community Board 7.
​
“If I walk around the back of my building, everything is concrete. It would smell nicer and ​be more aesthetically pleasing, at the very least if it were green,” said Linda Rosenthal.

​But this issue would not just be helpful for the Upper West Side, according to the bill’s supporters.

​“One of the interesting things about New York is that these rowhouse backyards are all over the place in different areas in the city,” said Evan Mason of Sustainable Yards NYC, an initiative trying to claim back urban green spaces. “If people were to remove these concrete spaces, there could be real change.”

​According to Mason, there are 53,000 acres of open space in New York City. There are multiple ways that more greenery could affect the city. One, she said would be the immediate impact on sewage runoff during major storms. Mason said that this would save the city money by burdening the water treatment center less. During a large storm with mostly rain like Tropical Storm Irene, rain can seep into the permeable ground causing less runoff. However, storms like Hurricane Sandy with more flooding from storm surge than rain, would probably not affect the storm run-off.

​But in addition to helping the city out during a rainstorm, Sustainable Yards argues that more green space can also improve quality of life. Evan Mason explained that it is a no-brainer: when more trees and vegetation are planted, the air becomes cleaner, and an urban setting becomes more livable.

​“People like the idea of turning the hands of time and reducing the ‘concrete creep’ and this isn’t as difficult to manage as other sustainability measures,” said Mason.
​This tax abatement is also very similar to the fairly new tax abatement which offers incentive for green roofs.

​“It seems like there’s not a lot of emphasis on trying to greenify backyards. We are trying to encourage people to plant trees, and use small flagstones as their concrete space,” said Jay Adolf, a Community Board 7 member.

​Linda Rosenthal said that the bill has to go through a committee first, before it can go to the floor, and it will hopefully be passed later this year.