Park Slope Snyder School to be Demo'd by NYC School Construction Authority
The School Construction Authority (SCA) recently announced its plans to demolish historic PS 133 in Park Slope (375 Butler Street at 4th Avenue) to make way for a new, much larger school structure. This remarkable gothic school, a recognized historic resource designed by renowned educational architect CBJ Snyder, is a beloved community anchor.
It has been determined eligible for the State and National Register of Historic Places, and a number of other Snyder schools throughout the city are already designated local landmarks, including Morris High School in The Bronx and the former Stuyvesant High School on East 15th Street in Manhattan.
Local residents are devastated by the notion of losing PS 133 and have developed alternative plans that would allow for the building to be preserved with an annex constructed to accommodate the additional seats. The SCA has expressed no interest in considering these alternatives and has neglected to include local stakeholders in any of the discussions surrounding the proposal.
The plan calls for facilities improvements, as well as the creation of an additional 600 seats for new students. And while the nearby residents enthusiastically support improved educational facilities, they are concerned that local seat demand does not match up to the SCA’s emphasis on the 600 figure. The current enrollment at PS 133 is under-capacity and the same goes for the four nearest neighboring schools, which begs the question: in these tough financial times, why is the city spending public funds to support student communities that don’t exist? Perhaps the large-scale residences promised by the 2003 upzoning of 4th Avenue and the nearby proposed Atlantic Yards project (note response to CB2 request) have something to do with an anticipated increase in demand.
Though the SCA is moving through the approval process at an extreme rate and hopes to complete demolition this summer, the local councilmember, CM David Yassky, has not yet weighed in on the issue. Though there are many obstacles to tackle before PS 133 can be saved, the councilmember’s support is an essential first step to guaranteeing that the community’s opinions are given fair and equal consideration. The schools districts involved also reside within the district boundaries of Councilmembers DeBlasio, Gonzalez and James.
Please contact these councilmembers TODAY and urge them to support the preservation of PS 133!
CM Yassky Email: [email protected]
District office phone: 718-875-5200
District office fax: 718-643-6620
CM DeBlasio Email: [email protected]
District office phone: 718-854-9791
District office fax: 718-854-1146
CM Gonzalez Email: [email protected]
District office phone: 718-439-9012
District office fax: 718-439-9042
CM James Email: [email protected]
District office Phone: 718-260-9191
District office fax: 718-260-9099
And as always, please CC your support letters to HDC at [email protected].
There are many inaccuracies in this posting. many nearby schools in district 15 are bursting at the seams, have had to eliminate pre-K due to lack of space, and so on. the ones that are under-enrolled are mostly under-performing. PS 133 is currently serving a population that is 89% at poverty level according to current DOE figures. The story above was fed to this source by a tenant’s group that is very vocal and that does not represent the entire neighborhood by any means.
There are many inaccuracies in this posting. many nearby schools in district 15 are bursting at the seams, have had to eliminate pre-K due to lack of space, and so on. the ones that are under-enrolled are mostly under-performing. PS 133 is currently serving a population that is 89% at poverty level according to current DOE figures. The story above was fed to this source by a tenant’s group that is very vocal and that does not represent the entire neighborhood by any means.