WHY WE NEED MORE SCHOOLS

Capital One should be proud of that headline.

NOW WILL SOMEONE BELIEVE ME?

I apologize if this post sounds a little snarky but right now I'm brimming with a healthy dose of "I told you so."

Back in January I wrote about the over-development of Bay Ridge and what, if anything, was being done about the infrastructure - and in particular - our overcrowded school system.

It feels as if developers are coming in here with no regard for the community, for the aesthetics of the community, or for the community's infrastructure. We're being lied to and trampled on. I think the Green Church is a culmination of a lot of issues.

If The Ridge adds -- or what it feels like to me -- if The Ridge has thrust upon them fifty condos in place of the Church and a seven-story condo complex in place of a funeral home, who's going to come in and build new schools? Our schools are already overcrowded -

P.S. 170 Lexington School - overcrowded, so four classes are housed in trailers

P.S. 104 Fort Hamilton School - Unfortunately, the school grapples with overcrowding. Kindergarten classes, unable to fit into the main school, take place in a district building five blocks away. And middle school classrooms are too cramped to hold comfortably the 30 or so kids in each class.

P.S. 185 Walter Kassenbrock School - The school is overcrowded, with more than 700 children in a building designed for 500.

I repeated part of that article again in March when there was chatter about our schools.

I even brought it to the attention of one of our local preservationists, suggesting that information be used as leverage for why the Green Church should not be torn down and turned into condos. But I was told by the preservationist that our school system was not overcrowded.

Well lo and behold, look what Comptroller William C. Thompson has dragged in.

In a 114-page report to be issued on Friday, William C. Thompson Jr., the city comptroller, derided the school system’s capital planning process as “broken,” concluding, “There are far too many neighborhoods with overcrowded schools and no hope of relief for at least several more years.”

Mr. Thompson said in the report that the city’s School Construction Authority did not sufficiently account for new residential construction projects when it estimated how many seats would be needed in which school districts.

Brooklyn 12 News reported tonight that Bay Ridge schools are at 103% capacity and it's projected that in seven years, enrollment will increase by 20%!

123%!?

Do we really want to send our kids to schools that will be at 123% capacity?

This battle with developers is not just about preserving old buildings. It is about the quality of life in our town and about who is going to be held accountable for providing the much needed infrastructure if we continue to let developers come in here and have their way.

GETTING MIGHTY CROWDED

Since there have been a few comments here about the schools in Bay Ridge, I thought I'd post part of a post from January.


It feels as if developers are coming in here with no regard for the community, for the aesthetics of the community, or for the community's infrastructure. We're being lied to and trampled on. I think the Green Church is a culmination of a lot of issues.
There have been a few comments posted here about the schools in Bay Ridge, so I thought I'd post part of an earlier post from January.


If The Ridge adds -- or what it feels like to me -- if The Ridge has thrust upon them fifty condos in place of the Church and a seven-story condo complex in place of a funeral home, who's going to come in and build new schools? Our schools are already overcrowded -

P.S. 170 Lexington School - overcrowded, so four classes are housed in trailers

P.S. 104 Fort Hamilton School - Unfortunately, the school grapples with overcrowding. Kindergarten classes, unable to fit into the main school, take place in a district building five blocks away. And middle school classrooms are too cramped to hold comfortably the 30 or so kids in each class.

P.S. 185 Walter Kassenbrock School - The school is overcrowded, with more than 700 children in a building designed for 500.

Who's going to come in and alleviate the new traffic problems? The new parking problems?

The list goes on and on.

TO PRESERVE OR NOT TO PRESERVE

Rover has posted quite the rant about preservationists, civic activists, and the infamous Green Church. And I think he hits the nail on the head when he writes -

Serious people who can find de jure solutions that put our community's shared truths (aesthetic, historical and infrastructural) on an equal administrative footing with those of developers'.
While, more importantly, recognizing a pragmatic and elemental truth in a compromise somewhere between an outright rejection of change, and unbridled development - with a watchful eye to beauty and utility.

Yes, the "activists" and politicians are up in arms about the fate of the Church and I think they should be rankled. I can't speak for anyone else but there are several issues that have me riled:

1. The Green Church comes right on the heels of the loss of three Victorians. The community was told by the Basile Builders Group that they were going to restore the Victorians and then they sneaked in under cover of night and tore them down.

2. Nearly three years ago, Congressman Vito Fossella created an “Over-Development Task Force” and even created a sub-task force to specifically study the Green Church, yet nothing has been heard from either - um - force.

3. The Preservationists and the Methodists have not come to the table since March to discuss options (and I thought the writer's strike was bad).

4. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has completely ignored the situation.

5. The possibility that a funeral home on 4th Ave. will be replaced with a seven-story condo complex.

Yeah, okay, number five seems a little out of place here but it has me riled and it comes back around soon.

6. The Methodists rejected a proposal from Gentile and the Con Edison Renaissance Housing Program yet I haven't seen what the details were of the proposal.

7. What seems like complete disregard of the community by Pastor Robert Emerick. (I hear he's a nice guy. Righty told me. But the Pastor hasn't come off too well in the press)

8. That freak chick from American Idol who's now getting more air time than she deserves.

Yeah, okay, number eight proves I need a life.

9. Where the hell has Marty Golden been during all of this?

It feels as if developers are coming in here with no regard for the community, for the aesthetics of the community, or for the community's infrastructure. We're being lied to and trampled on. I think the Green Church is a culmination of a lot of issues.

If The Ridge adds -- or what it feels like to me -- if The Ridge has thrust upon them fifty condos in place of the Church and a seven-story condo complex in place of a funeral home, who's going to come in and build new schools? Our schools are already overcrowded -

P.S. 170 Lexington School - overcrowded, so four classes are housed in trailers

P.S. 104 Fort Hamilton School - Unfortunately, the school grapples with overcrowding. Kindergarten classes, unable to fit into the main school, take place in a district building five blocks away. And middle school classrooms are too cramped to hold comfortably the 30 or so kids in each class.

P.S. 185 Walter Kassenbrock School - The school is overcrowded, with more than 700 children in a building designed for 500.

Who's going to come in and alleviate the new traffic problems? The new parking problems?

So, yes, Rover, we need a "compromise somewhere between an outright rejection of change and unbridled development."