Interim Principal Appointed At East Harlem's Central Park East I

EAST HARLEM, NY — An interim principal was appointed at East Harlem elementary school Central Park East I, filling the void left by the recent ousting of a former principal recently removed after a long feud with a group of school parents.

Gabriel Feldberg — an educator with 25 years experience in the New York City schools system as a teacher, network leader and administrator — began duties as interim principal on Thursday, a Department of Education spokeswoman told Patch. Feldberg joins Central Park East I after a three-year stint as assistant principal at Brooklyn's PS 10.

"I am eager to join the CPE1 community and look forward to adding to its long tradition of progressive education principles, rigorous practices, and social emotional growth," Feldberg told Patch in a statement. "While I’m excited to start at CPE1, I treasure the time I spent at PS 10 and it is bittersweet to leave all the students, families and staff."

Dolores Esposito will continue to serve as acting superintendent at Central Park East I until the end of the school year, a DOE spokeswoman told Patch.

Central Park East I's former principal Monika Garg was removed from her role at the school in May. Garg will remain an employee at the DOE, a department spokeswoman told Patch.

Garg had fallen out of favor with many Central Park East parents in the recent year, with tensions escalating when a group of parents occupied the school auditorium on the night of April 6 to call for her firing. This vocal group of parents — not representative of the whole school population — rebuked Garg for attempting to change the school's culture. Central Park East had long been regarded as a liberal, progressive environment. These parents accused Garg of retaliating against teachers who resisted her changes, denying the school's bullying problem and lying to and manipulating families.

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