Upper West Side Residents, Electeds Protest Planned School Rezoning

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Residents of the Upper West Side's Lincoln Towers apartment complex were joined by their elected officials Saturday to protest a proposed school district rezoning that would divide their community.

The rally took place just outside the Lincoln Towers complex, located on West End Avenue between West 66th and West 70th streets. State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal and State Sen. Brad Hoylman joined the protesters.

This summer the Department of Education presented two draft rezoning proposals, both of which would split Lincoln Towers families between two schools. Most children from Lincoln Towers buildings would attend the coveted P.S. 199, but children from two buildings — 165 West End Avenue and 185 West End Avenue — would attend the troubled P.S. 191, according to the proposals.

The school rezoning is being proposed to alleviate overcrowding and promote diversity at public elementary schools on the Upper West Side, Kimberly Watkins, a member of the district's Community Eduction Council, told Patch in July. But Lincoln Towers residents have said the goals can be accomplished without breaking up the community.

"All the available research makes clear that diversity improves educational and social outcomes for all students," Rosenthal said in a press release. "This is a rezoning goal shared among all members of the community, and greater integration can be achieved without bifurcating the Lincoln Towers community."

Currently Lincoln Towers' eight buildings are zoned for P.S. 199, which is high-functioning in spite of overcrowding. The school enrolls 903 students, but the building was designed for 640 students, according to a press release.

"After all of these years it is inconceivable that the Lincoln Towers community could be torn apart by this rezoning process. I sincerely hope that the Department of Education works with us to keep this community together,” said Elyse Reilly, a 185 West End Avenue resident, in a press release.

The protest took place just days before the district's community education council is set to release specific details about a third draft rezoning proposal. The council's zoning committee will convene for a special calendar meeting on Wednesday at P.S. 166.

The Lincoln Towers community is not the only group on the Upper West Side that has problems with the rezoning proposals. During a July meeting to discuss the rezoning drafts several parents from P.S. 452 were upset by a proposal to move the school to the soon-to-be vacated P.S. 191 building more than 10 blocks away. In addition, several parents believed that rezoning isn't doing enough to solve problems of diversity and overcrowding.

"Listening to the plan and slideshow I do see that the two different plans promote diversity to some extent," said P.S. 75 parent Chris Parkman said in July. "But they don't create real racial and economic equity across the whole district and that is a big problem. Shifting around zones here and there is not going to do the trick."

While it seems everyone agrees overcrowding and a lack of diversity are problems, many groups seem unwilling to make concessions to achieve a neighborhood-wide solution. Going forward, the Department of Education and Community Education Council will have to make tough decisions and it looks like no matter what they do it will be hard to alleviate everyone's concerns.

The Community Education Council will vote on a proposal to send to the Department of Education in November.

For more information on the draft rezoning proposals, see previous coverage from Patch.

Photo: Courtesy of Linda B. Rosenthal