Department of Education Reveals Third Upper West Side School Rezoning Proposal

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The third time was not the charm for the Department of Education's efforts to rezone school lines on the Upper West Side. City officials unveiled a third-draft rezoning proposal Wednesday night in an attempt to alleviate community concerns but were met with familiar criticism.

The third proposal, named "draft scenario C," combined aspects of two draft proposals revealed in July. The new proposal would alter zoning lines for 11 existing elementary schools, relocate P.S. 191 to a new building in the Riverside Center by the 2017 school year and create a new elementary school to fill the building vacated by P.S. 191.

The Department of Education wants to redraw the school lines on the Upper West Side to reduce overcrowding and increase diversity in neighborhood schools, said Sarah Turchin, the director of planning in Manhattan for the Department of Education.

The Department of Education's presentation immediately got off to a rocky start. The map for scenario C lacked street numbers, leaving the many neighborhood residents who showed up to the meeting confused.

Things didn't get much better from there.

Despite the brand-new proposal, the Department of Education was criticized by members of the school district's Community Education Council, elected officials and neighborhood residents for a lack of transparency and for perceived mistakes in redrawing rezoning lines.

Community Education Council members questioned the Department of Education for not releasing the data used by the department to calculate projected school attendance numbers and draw new zoning lines. Members accused the department of a "total lack of transparency" and said they felt like they were "flying blind" while trying to make a decision that would have a significant effect on neighborhood schools.

The same sentiment was backed by City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, who said the Department of Education did not adequately research current school capacity and demand.

"The problem this time is we don't even know anything," Rosenthal said. "We don't know how man sections are expected for each school. That's what we mean when we say 'we need the data.' We need to understand by building how many kids are contributing to the overcrowding or the capacity, that would be incredibly helpful. We don't have that."

Rosenthal said she could not support any of the three draft rezoning proposals because there's no way to be confident the plans would reduce school overcrowding.

The most vocal group at Wednesday night's meeting was a contingent of parents from the Lincoln Towers apartment complex — an eight-building residential community on West End Avenue. A rally was held days before the meeting to protest the rezoning initiative, which would rezone two of the community's buildings from P.S. 199 to P.S 191.

Lincoln Towers parents and the area's elected representatives were not happy when they found out scenario C still plans on zoning 165 West End Ave. and 185 West End Ave. for P.S. 191.

A "livid" State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal let the Department of Education know she was not pleased with the new plan.

"This community is not going to rest, this community will not accept this scenario without street names, with no explanation with no justification," Linda Rosenthal said. "You know what DOE, you work for them."

State Senator Brad Hoylman also spoke in support of keeping the entirety of Lincoln Towers zoned for P.S. 199, saying the community is "better than the sum of its parts."

The Department of Education will submit a final rezoning proposal in November to be voted on by the Community Education Council. No matter what the council decides, children currently enrolled in neighborhood schools will not be forced to change schools.

Photos: Patch