Greenwich Village High School Set to Close

February 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Legacy School for Integrated StudiesDespite words of protest from students and parents, the Department of Education has voted to phase out the Legacy School for Integrated Studies on 14th Street, according to a DNAInfo report. The decision came after a 9-4 vote from a panel that included Schools Chancellor Denis Walcott.

Legacy had been in the DOE’s crosshairs for some time after receiving a “C” grade on its 2009-2010 DOE progress report and an “F” for the 2010-2011 school. Teachers had told the website InsideSchools.org that many of the students of the Greenwich Village high school were reading below their age level.

The decision to close the Greenwich Village high school comes after a concerted effort from students to save it. That effort drew attention citywide when Legacy students marched to Union Square and held a demonstration in support of saving the school on February 1st.

The closing is part of a program undertaken by the DOE to close underperforming schools as according to the new accountability ratings instituted by the DOE under Mayor Bloomberg. The program has encountered resistance citywide from parents who feel that little is being done to help these schools to improve.

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Greenwich Village Schools Unaffected by Zoning Changes

December 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Greenwich Village Schools - P.S. 41

This year, the Department of Education had started the process of re-zoning public schools in lower Manhattan, and the idea of splitting up Greenwich Village’s district, which contains P.S. 3 and P.S. 41, was seriously considered. Parents whose children attend these Greenwich Village schools were unhappy as they enjoyed the choice provided by the district’s unique borders, and they joined parents in TriBeCa in protesting the DOE’s plans.

The protests from Greenwich Village appear to have been heard. DNAInfo reports that the final zoning changes have left Greenwich Village schools untouched. The approved plan rezones part of Battery Park City, but leaves Greenwich Village, SoHo, TriBeCa, and Chelsea’s school zones untouched. TriBeCa parents were warned that their current zoning situation could result in a waitlist for P.S. 234, which has become overcrowded. However, parents in the neighborhood balked at any re-zoning that would re-zone them for Chinatown or Greenwich Village schools.

Similarly, parents in Greenwich Village and the West Village were unhappy with the original plan to split their district in half, thereby eliminating the choice currently provided for them. The south part of the West Village would be forced to send their children to P.S. 3 only, while north Village residents could only use P.S. 41. Most Village parents were unhappy with that possibility, but after the recent vote, that proposal remains hypothetical.

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Former P.S. 64 to become Community Center?

November 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
P.S. 64

P.S. 64

Since it closed, the building that housed P.S. 64 on Avenue B and East 9th Street in the East Village, has been home to various tenants, notably the CHARAS/El Bohio community center. However, the building’s owner, Gregg Singer, has had different plans for the former P.S. 64 over the years, including the construction of a 19-story dormitory (which failed) and outright selling the building. Last week, community members started meeting to discuss the possibility of taking the run-down former school and transform it into a community space similar to what it once was.

Now, the Local reports that Singer has been putting out flyers in the neighborhood advertising his plans to renovate the building (which has been in a state of disrepair since the planned dormitory didn’t come to fruition) as “a modern community facility” for use as “a  new school, medical, hospital or health-related use, college or school dormitory, museum, non-profit organization with or without sleeping accommodations or any other use as defined as a ‘Community Facility Use.’” Singer has also issued a series of renderings of the former P.S. 64 with a restored façade, re-done hallways, and an outdoor café area.

No word yet on what Singer exactly intends for the space or how the community will react to his new announcement.

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City Rethinks Re-Zoning of Village Schools, PS 41 and PS 3

November 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment
PS 41 and PS 3

City Rethinks Re-Zoning of Village Schools, PS 41 and PS 3

We had previously reported on a proposal by the city’s Department of Education that would change the public school zoning structure in the Village. The plan would have eliminated the choice of public schools that residents have enjoyed for years. Currently, residents of the West Village, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District had the option to send their children to P.S. 3 at 490 Hudson Street or P.S. 41 at 116 West 11th Street. Under the proposal, the district would be broken up, consigning West Village students to P.S. 3 and Greenwich Village students to P.S. 41.

Now, it looks as if the Department of Education is having second thoughts about these changes. The Tribeca Trib is reporting that the DOE is re-considering the plan after hearing grievances from TriBeCa residents, who would be forced to send their kids to P.S. 3 as a result of the re-zoning.

This comes as a result of the DOE’s attempt to remedy the overcrowding situation at TriBeCa’s P.S. 234 by dividing TriBeCa into north and south zones. Residents of the north zone would have to take their kids to school in the West Village, a distance that did not sit well with parents in TriBeCa.

Members of the district’s Community Education Council and Community Board 1 have spoken out against the proposal, which has proven vehemently unpopular with TriBeCa residents, and even the principal of P.S. 234 said that she doesn’t support the proposal wholeheartedly, though she still warned that waitlists for the school’s kindergarten could begin as early as next year unless the overcrowding situation is resolved.

The next zoning proposal is set to be issued at another CEC meeting this month. The date and location have yet to be determined.

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Village Parents May Lose Choice Between P.S. 41 and P.S. 3

October 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
P.S. 41 in the West Village

P.S. 41 in the West Village

The Department of Education is thinking of undertaking a rezoning project that could drastically affect which West Village school parents send their children to. For years, parents in the neighborhood who chose to send their children to public school had the choice of two schools: P.S. 3 at 490 Hudson Street and P.S. 41 at 116 West 11th Street. This became a unique situation for West Village parents as they were in the only part of Manhattan zoned for two public schools.

Now, the Department of Education is looking over a plan that could eliminate that choice for West Village parents. Under the new zoning, West Village children would only be zoned for P.S. 3, while P.S. 41 would be zoned for Greenwich Village residents. Residents of the Meatpacking District would be zoned for P.S. 11 on 320 West 21st Street in Chelsea.

The Department of Education has stated that its purpose behind the rezoning is for space reasons. Both P.S. 3 and P.S. 11 have recently eliminated middle school expansions, which the DOE feels would allow more space for new students.

Residents, on the other hand, are less than receptive to this proposal. Community Board 2 chairperson Brad Hoylman issued a statement in support of the current state of affairs, arguing that any rezoning would be “traumatic” since “communities are built around schools.” He also argued that the DOE should take future schools, like Trinity Real Estate’s proposed school in Hudson Square or the school in the NYU superblock project, into consideration when making a final decision.

Community Board 2’s zoning committee will be hearing the rezoning proposal this Tuesday, October 11th. Residents with feedback can e-mail the Community Board at d2zoning@gmail.com.

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4th St. Youth B-ball Sponsorships Available

June 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

West Fourth Street Youth Basketball League, The Cage basketball courts, Greenwich Village Youth Council, GVYCIf you have ever walked by the Cage basketball courts at West 3rd and Sixth Avenue on a summer afternoon, you’ve seen them in action:  young men and women swishing the ball, braving the summer heat, playing their hearts out under the gaze of thousands of passersby.

These kids come from all over the city.  Most are low-income, at-risk youth who have found their way to the Greenwich Village Youth Council’s free West Fourth Street Summer Basketball League tournament.

The generosity of local sponsors is what allows GVYC to make this league accessible to all youth, regardless of means – and a few sponsorship opportunities are still available for summer 2011.  Each sponsor names a team and sees his chosen name on the team shirts as his players battle their way to the championships as well as on a banner hung above the court – and knows that his donation is supporting a worthy cause.

Every summer since 1975, up to 200 at-risk youth have found refuge, mentorship, fun, and a taste of fame at the GVYC’s tournament at the Cage. The league, which at heart is a drug abuse prevention program, gives low-income youth a chance to participate in an exciting and positive activity with adult mentors during the idle summer months – a time when many young people are at high risk for getting into trouble, especially during this time when good summer jobs are so hard to come by.

In addition to the West Fourth Street Basketball League, the Greenwich Village Youth Council (or GVYC) has been empowering youth since 1969 through several programs reaching 750 at-risk youth each year.  Our mission is to engage at-risk young people in activities, mentoring, and counseling in a warm and supportive community in order to help them avoid substance abuse, delinquency, and other risky behaviors.

Interested in sponsoring a team?  Please fill out the form here or here.  Or for more information, please contact GVYC Development Director Laura Siegel at laura.siegel@gvyc.net or 646-755-9752.

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West Village Kids Become Foodies Early

April 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Foodies at 41, P.S. 41 West Village

We all knew that kids growing up in the West Village have certain advantages, but even many adults would be envious of the perks involved with being a member of Foodies at 41. Members get to hang out in the kitchen at Per Se with Thomas Keller, make ice cream at Grom Gelato, toss thin crust pizzas at Keste Pizza & Vino, and take cheese education courses at Murray’s Cheese.  All for $15 – $20 per event.  There’s only requirement – you have to be enrolled in elementary school at P.S. 41 to join.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the club was founded my Marc Spero after his daughters, Sophia and Hudson, who were both adventurous eaters that toured the West Village dining scene with their parents since they were babies.  Mr. Spero sought the participation of local restaurants who were more than happy to oblige.  Today the club has 20-30 student members and they meet bi-monthly with parent chaperones who we are sure are willing recruits.

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What Will $1.5mil Get You in P.S. 41’s Zone in the West Village?

March 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

P.S. 41 in the West Village

P.S. 41 is a public elementary school that serves the West Village community.  It has approximately 757 students in grades kindergarten through 5th and according GreatSchools.org, “it is one of the few public elementary schools to receive in New York a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 10 out of 10.”  The facility is located at 116 West 11th Street between Sixth and Seventh Ave. a few blocks from the 1, 2, and 3 trains.  Its zone map includes all of the West Village, and some of southern Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Hudson Square, and SoHo.

So what will a budget of $1,500,000 get you if you are searching for an apartment in the

P.S. 41 Zone Map

P.S. 41 area?  Let’s have a look:

There is currently a two bedroom, two bath co-op on the market at 165 Christopher Street for $1.285mil.  It’s in a doorman building with central laundry, it has been meticulously renovated, and it boasts city views.  The monthly maintenance is $1,437 (which includes your property taxes).

Next, we have a gorgeous two bedroom loft with one bath listed for $1.345mil at 380 West 12th Street.  It’s in a doorman co-op building with monthly maintenance of $1,685.  The apartment has 11’ ceilings, a washer and dryer, and a 220 square foot covered terrace.

Lastly, there is a two bedroom, two bath condo available at 222 West 14th Street for $1.35mil.  The apartment is in a doorman building with laundry and a gym and has monthly common charges and property tax totaling $1,855.  The eleventh floor apartment has been tastefully renovated and has a private terrace.

There are currently 200 listings on the market in the West Village with a median price of $995,000 and a median price per square foot of $1,325.  The three listings discussed above are the only two bedrooms currently available for less than $1.5mil in the neighborhood.

For more information about P.S. 41, start by checking out the Parent Teacher Association’s blog.

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