Giant Rat at the new Sunset Park High School

photo from crumpk1n's Twitter stream

This is old news, but the topic is still fresh. Thanks to Emily for providing the following text from the flyer handed out last week:

The members of Operating Engineers Union, Local 94 have served and protected the students and faculty of every large New York City school building for more than 60 years.

Qualified and licensed Local 94 engineers operate and maintain the mechanical systems in every large school in the NYC Dept of Ed system except this school, Sunset Park H.S.

The Sunset Park HS Maintenance Contractor, Temco Service Industries and the NYC Dept of Ed have decided to jeopardize the health and safety of the students, facutly and support staff by hiring unqualified workers to maintain the school's mechanical systems— all in order to circumvent paying prevailing wage rates to qualified Local 94 engineers as mandated by the NYC Comptroller's Office.

Mayor Bloomberg talks about school safety and sustainability, but refuses to mandate that Temco and the Dept of Ed hire qualified and licenses Local 94 engineers to operate and maintain SP HS's mechanical systems safely and efficiently.

The first employee hired by Temco and the Dept of Ed was demoted and reassigned after less than a week on the job. You can only imagine what is to come. Please contact your City Council member in this district and the Mayor's office to express your concerns.

Mayor Bloomberg: 311 or fax (212) 312-0700 or www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Sara Gonzalez: (718) 439-9012 or 311

Temco CEO Henrik Thomassian: hthomassian@temcoservices.com or (212) 889-6353

Community Board Meeting Location CHANGE

Tonight's CB 7 meeting will be held at the new Sunset Park High School, in the cafeteria. So, if you want to re-live some high school memories (albeit in a new building), just want to check out the new school, have some kudos or complaints to share with the community board, or just want to fill your Wednesday evening with local entertainment, be there!

Sunset Park High School - 153 35th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues
6:30 PM on Wednesday, September 16th.

Sunset Park High School Task Force Meeting TONIGHT!

Interested in what's going on with the new Sunset Park High School? Wondering if everything will be finished on time for opening? Want to volunteer to help the opening and orientation be successful? Here's your chance:

from the informational email:

The meeting for the Sunset Park High School Task Force will be held tonight at 6 PM. CB 7 offices will host the meeting at 4201 4th Avenue (enter on 43rd Street).

The meeting will include updates on Sunset Park High School programs and funding.
We will be organizing work groups for the Student Orientation barbecue on Tuesday, August 18 and the SPHS ribbon-cutting event on Wednesday, September 16!

We also hope to have a presentation by Mauricio Trenard, the Sunset Park artist who designed the Public Art for Public Schools project in the SPHS lobby.

Sorry about the last minute notice. I thought I had pre-scheduled this...

Sunset Park is Just One Community Disgruntled with Charter Takeover

From the New York Daily News.

The SP High School situation is different because the building will not be full for the two years the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School is scheduled to be there. However, what happens if two years go by and there is no where else to house the Prospect Charter School? The section referencing Sunset Park is close to the bottom of the article.

Facilities Hearing About Brooklyn Prospect Charter School's Two Year Stay in Sunset Park High School

What's the issue with allowing the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School to hang out in the new Sunset Park High School building for a few years? Doesn't it make sense for a mostly empty building to be used in a closer version of its normal capacity instead of standing lonely? In as succinct an explanation as I'm able, here's what I think about the concerns I've heard floated around.

First, why would the building be mostly empty? The usual process of beginning a totally new school is to start with one (sometimes two) grades and build it up from there. It's the reverse process for phasing out a school. So the first year, the SPHS will have 9th Graders, the second year it will have 9th and 10th, and so on. That means that the new building on 4th Avenue will be at least half empty for the first two years. Seems wasteful in a time of overcrowding and energy consciousness.

Second, sounds like giving another school the space for a couple of years makes sense. What's the issue? In a perfect world of unbroken agreements and well-planned facilities and programs, there wouldn't be an issue. This is not a perfect world. It's probably not even the best of all possible worlds. And, in a community that had to fight for 30 years to get its own high school, suspicions are high when a brand new charter school gets plopped into the building that represents the hopes and hard work of the neighborhood. Sure, you (meaning the Department of Education and the City) say it's only for two years...but times are uncertain right now. What happens if 18 months go by and it doesn't look like there's another viable space? How would that affect the high school and its growth? Once the charter school is in the space, it will be a lot harder to remove it when the time comes. Other communities have these concerns as well.

Any other issues? Off the top of my head (and unsubstantiated by official information), there is also the issue of a facility being used by two entirely separate entities. The ages of the students differ, the philosophies governing the schools differ, and the enthusiasm for the location of the new Sunset Park High School is probably much different from the feelings the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School has for where it will spend (at least) two years.

Anyway, the hearing during which many of these concerns will be aired is coming up. Parents and concerned community members in District 15 will have a chance to speak up with their questions, worries, and support.

Notice of Facilities Hearing
Date: Tuesday May 12, 2009
Time: Speaker Registration: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Presentation & Comments: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: I.S. 136 Charles O. Dewey 4004 4th Avenue

Event : Public Hearing - Proposed facilities hearing regarding Brooklyn Prospect Charter School

Details: The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has proposed that beginning in September 2009 Brooklyn Prospect Charter School , a new charter school, be temporarily incubated in the Sunset Park High School building for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. Brooklyn Prospect Charter School will start with grade 6 in September 2009 and add a grade each year to eventually seeks to serve grades 6-12 by 2015, only grades 6 & 7 are proposed to be located in the Sunset Park High School, grade 6 in September 2009 & grades 6 & 7 in September 2010. At the end of the 2010-11 school year Brooklyn Prospect would move out of the Sunset Park High School building.

Brooklyn Prospect Charter School is authorized by the State University of New York (SUNY). SUNY & the NYCDOE will facilitate the hearing and solicit public comment.

About Brooklyn Prospect Charter School :
The mission of Brooklyn Prospect Charter School is to provide a rigorous academic environment in which all students achieve excellence. Brooklyn Prospect Charter School will ensure that its students gain the critical skills and knowledge to enter and excel in college and the competitive world beyond Speaker comment is welcomed, speakers must register. Written comments will also be collected on the day of the hearing and can be submitted via email to: charterschools@schools.nyc.gov.

Pursuant to Education Law 2857(1), the authorizer of a charter school shall hold a public hearing to solicit comment from the community in connection with any proposal for the siting of a charter school in a public school building.

Office of Charter Schools +1 212 374 5419 CharterSchools@schools.nyc.gov

Various Tidbits: Schools, Gardens, Stop Signs

* Mayor Bloomberg showed up to Sunset Park to talk up the 42 new schools created by his administration. He didn't mention the schools he has shut down, and they are many. While smaller schools make sense in many ways, the closing of the large high schools (some for good reason, others because they've been allowed to/encouraged to fail) has also caused confusion and irritation for staff, students, and parents. Not the least of which is issues about traveling to schools farther away from home. But I digress. Here's the link to the NY Daily News article about Bloomberg's visit. Here is the section dedicated to SP's new high school:

Julie Stein-Brockway, who leads a task force that pressed for the new Sunset Park High SchoolBrooklyn, praised the "perserverance of a community and a community board." in

"This struggle for a public high school began more than 38 years ago and no one has given up," she said. "It is truly a thrill, and more important has been not only getting the physical building that we wanted so desperately, but getting a quality institution inside this building."

* The Culver Community Garden weblog has excellent renditions of what they hope will happen very soon. The rally is this Saturday at Noon.

* CB 7 has sent in its supportive missive for a stop sign on 6th Ave and 23rd Street. (from Gowanus Lounge) Let's hope it's more successful than when the same process was used to try to install stop signs on 6th Avenue at 41st and 44th Streets. You can still sign the petition for the 41st/44th signs here. It's almost a year old, and we've been working on it for two years now!

Bloomberg in Sunset on Sunday

Mayor Bloomberg will be attending services at St. Michael's on 4th Avenue and 42nd at 10 AM. What would bring him out to Sunset Park for a Catholic service? Education, of course! (And perhaps an impending election.)

Following the service, Bloomberg will work his way (walking or taking the bus?) to the site of the new Sunset Park High School at 4th Avenue and 34th Street for a press conference about the new schools opening in September 2009.

More SP High School Updates

This recent article updates the progress (and there is progress!) concerning the new Sunset Park High School that's set to open in the fall.

Despite a pretty grievous typo (The school is on 35th, NOT 53rd!), the article is solid. It gives a lot of credit to the community that has tried, for decades, to get this high school going.

According to the article, registration has already been a huge success. Check out the article for more detail.

More Coverage of the New Sunset Park High School

The Brooklyn Eagle has a comprehensive article about the community education forum held a few weeks ago. It's funny how now it seems that it's being called "long overdue" and "much needed" - if that's been true all along, why did it take 30 years of struggle to get a high school for this area? Between Telecommunication, Fort Hamilton, and John Jay - there's an awful lot of space to fill. That's nothing new. Anyway, the article is pretty informative. Here's the lead from The Brooklyn Eagle:

The excitement is fast growing for the up-and-coming Sunset Park High School with its opening date of September 2009 drawing closer. Graphic evidence of that enthusiasm was the crowd of hundreds of people who packed a town hall educational resource meeting called by Community Board Seven last week at M.S. 136, a few blocks north of Sunset Park’s first public high school under construction.

Sunset Park Town Hall Meeting About Education on September 24th

This September 24th at 6 PM MS 136 will host a Town Hall meeting for Sunset Park residents who are interested in educational opportunities for their children. It's a time to learn about the new Sunset Park High School that's set to open in Fall 2009, the plans for a new 6th through 12th grade school, and the plans for a new Pre-K through 2nd grade school.

The Town Hall meeting is sponsored by Community Board 7 and the Center for Family Life. For more information, call 718-788-3500.

MS 136 is at 4004 4th Avenue.

Sunset Park High School Update and Feature

Both IMBY (a year ago) and Brownstoner (today) have featured bits about the new Sunset Park High School that is due to open in September of 2009. The construction seems like it has gone quickly, but the year ago photos show that it has been a while already. Slow and steady wins the race in this case.

If you missed it, below is an excerpt from a June post about the CB7 meeting. Julie Stein-Brockway presented information about the new high school. I can tell you now that the new principal's name is Corinne Vinal. She comes from the DOE's Aspiring Principals Program, where I believe she served as a mentor. Before that she served as the principal of Manhattan's Center for Science and Mathematics.

The first report was from Julie Stein-Brockway, the co-director of the Center for Family Life. But tonight she was reporting on the new Sunset Park High School. SPHS has been granted the right to have just one principal with three small learning environments. This constitutes a huge savings in administration costs, and it will allow for a more cohesive community in the school. The new school will be associated with the Institute for Student Achievement. She reported that construction is on schedule, and that the school will open in the fall of 2009. The Sunset Park High School is NOT included in the "big book of schools" that all the current 7th graders took home this week, so spread the word: Sunset Park High School is an option! There will be three groups of 100 9th graders accepted. In addition, 75-100 10th graders will be admitted. A principal has been selected from a large pool, although Ms. Stein-Brockway could not give out HER name. We do know that she is a former principal who now works with the NYC Leadership Academy. Sunset Park has waited a long, long time to have its own school. Hopefully the enthusiasm and hard work of the development team will come to fruition intact.

Community Board 7 Meeting (partial rundown)

Sadly, I had to leave at 8 PM, so if anyone heard the public comments, and if there was anything of interest, please send the information along to bestviewinbrooklyn (at) yahoo.com.

While waiting for a quorum (attained at 6:50 PM), Randy Peers called up all interested residents to streamline the process. My concerns (stop signs for around the park and the recent gunpoint muggings) were referred to Jeremy Laufer, the district manager, and since he wasn't there, he'll be getting some emails/calls some time today or tomorrow.

Peers then had a couple of presenters give announcements (still pre-quorum). Here's what they had to say:

From the DOT: The Hamilton Avenue Bridge repairs will cause new lane configurations on June 28th, and the construction will (hopefully) be finished by August 31st.

From the GreenMarket people: The Sunset Park GreenMarket will begin on July 12 and continue through most of November. It will open at 8 AM and continue through 3 PM. The GreenMarket is located at the same place as last year: 4th Avenue and 59th Street. They will accept food stamps, and some of the stands will accept WIC. All of the farmers will be local (500 miles), from NYS and NJ. Call 212 788 7476 or visit www.cenyc.org for more information.

From CB7: There are six new board members. Three new members were present: A lifelong SP resident, Glorisbel Garcia. She is a co-founder of Voices in Power New York, Inc., and she is attending law school; John Carollo, the Commerce Bank manager for the 4th Avenue and 39th Street branch; John Fontillas, a SP resident, an architect, and an adjunct professor at NYU. Not bad: Law, Money, and Development. And there are three more new members to contribute their expertise.

Once quorum was reached, the agenda began. The first report was from Julie Stein-Brockway, the co-director of the Center for Family Life. But tonight she was reporting on the new Sunset Park High School. SPHS has been granted the right to have just one principal with three small learning environments. This constitutes a huge savings in administration costs, and it will allow for a more cohesive community in the school. The new school will be associated with the Institute for Student Achievement. She reported that construction is on schedule, and that the school will open in the fall of 2009. The Sunset Park High School is NOT included in the "big book of schools" that all the current 7th graders took home this week, so spread the word: Sunset Park High School is an option! There will be three groups of 100 9th graders accepted. In addition, 75-100 10th graders will be admitted. A principal has been selected from a large pool, although Ms. Stein-Brockway could not give out HER name. We do know that she is a former principal who now works with the NYC Leadership Academy. Sunset Park has waited a long, long time to have its own school. Hopefully the enthusiasm and hard work of the development team will come to fruition intact.

The Buildings Committee reported on several sites, including 325 20th Street, which has an on-going investigation by the DOB, 562 62nd Street, 1216 Prospect Avenue, and 162 16th Street, where residents of the new condominiums have complained of water damage and black mold - already! Attendees brought up issues regarding 318 52nd Street, which has had a stop work order for months, and youngsters are using the wide open lot as a playpen. Another woman bemoaned the destroyed 6th Avenue brownstones.

The Education Committee just wanted to remind everyone that the Brooklyn Prospect Charter school, set to open in fall 2009 with sixth graders, is open to ALL of district 15 - including Sunset Park! Students and families can find out more and apply here. A location has not yet been set, but since a partner is BAM, chances are it will be up near that area.

The Health and Mental Health Committee is putting together a resource directory for caregivers to the mentally challenged. It will include a listing of services like in-home hair care (and at least two attendees offered to help out with that) and podiatry. This committee has decided to work and meet through the summer, so kudos to them!

The Land Use Committee voted to support the application of a voting machine storage company at 5112 2nd Avenue. There will be no parking lost on the street due to this company; in addition, all loading will take place on their property, not on the street.

And then it was 8 PM. Can anyone give more details regarding the later developments? Any corrections/additions can be sent to bestviewinbrooklyn (at) yahoo (dot) com. Thanks.