The local paper for the Upper er East Side WEEK OF MARCH
13
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MEETS OPERA CITYARTS, P. 13 >
2014
NYPRESS.COM
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
WHERE COULD SUCCESS ACADEMY GO? CHARTER SCHOOLS
In Brief
In the wake of de Blasio’s move, the charter school powerhouse could be in the market for real estate.
MANHATTAN STREETS ARE SUBPAR
BLACKOUT
BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
After Mayor Bill de Blasio blocked the co-location and expansion of three Success Academies, the charter school empire headed by former city councilmember Eva Moskowitz, the question remains as to where her displaced schools could find a home in the city’s current real estate market. Success’ needs are massive. For instance, one of the schools scuttled by de Blasio, in lower Manhattan, planned on phasing in anywhere from 450-600 kindergarten to eighth-grade students at Murry Bergtraum through the 2017-18 school year. Typically, the DOE calls for 20 square feet of space per pupil, putting the space allocation for such a school at roughly 9,000-12,000-square-feet, plus room for things like a library, auditorium and gymnasium. Up until now, of course, Success Academy has functioned rent-free. But now, with tensions with de Blasio rising, Moskowitz could find herself in the market for real estate. Given its unique needs, where in Manhattan could and should she
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
A three-block stretch of the U.E.S. along Second Avenue has gone dark, prompting some residents to fear for their safety. Who turned off the lights?
A new report published Tuesday by the Center for an Urban Future reveals that Manhattan has the highest share of substandard streets of all the boroughs. According to the report, 42.7 percent of Manhattan roads were rated “poor” or “fair.” The Upper East Side’s Community Board 8 showed that 46.4 percent of streetsare in fair to poor condition. The findings are part of a report published by the Center for an Urban Future which concludes that a significant portion of NYC bridges, water mains, sewer pipes, school buildings and other essential infrastructure is more than 50 years old and badly in need of repair.
BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
UPPER EAST SIDE For more than a month now, sidewalks along a three-block stretch of 2nd Avenue, from 68th to 71st streets, have been dangerously dark, without a single streetlight. “I come home frequently on the 68th Street crosstown bus and walking on that street at night is terrible,” said an Our Town reader, who alerted us to the blackout. “It’s so dark. Once you get onto the block there’s no way of getting out.” That stretch of 2nd Avenue is home to a cluster of construction com-
When it’s time to retire, will you be ready?
mand posts for the 2nd Avenue subway project. Temporary trailers and shipping containers line the east side of the street and create a long corridor on the sidewalk that pedestrians have no choice but to walk through. When reached by Our Town, a spokesman for the authority said that Judlau, the current contractor, is in the process of installing additional lighting on 68th and 69th streets on the east side of Second Avenue. The 69th to 70th Street work zone is also having additional lighting installed by the MTA. Repeated calls to the 19th Precinct
last Friday went unanswered. Nick Viest, chair of Community Board 8, told Our Town that he’s looking into the matter.
GOT A BEEF? LET US KNOW Are there unlit sidewalks or other dangerous conditions in your neighborhood? Email us newsreporter@strausnews.com or call 212-868-0190 ext. 411.
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TAXI UNION SUPPORTS DE BLASIO’S TLC PICK The New York Taxi Workers Alliance released a statement in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s appointment of Meera Joshi as chairperson of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, calling her the “first woman of color and the first South Asian” to hold the position. Joshi is a former lawyer with the TLC and sat on the NYPD Civilian Complaint Review Board.
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