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Proposed Beacon School Move Blindsides Hell's Kitchen

By DNAinfo Staff on March 18, 2011 2:48pm  | Updated on March 18, 2011 2:47pm

By Tara Kyle and Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

HELL'S KITCHEN — School officials want to move a progressive Upper West Side high school into a coveted spot of West 43rd Street real estate.

More than 300 extra students currently crowd into the Beacon High School's current home on West 61st Steet, according to a site analysis prepared for Community School District 2.

For that reason, the Department of Education and School Construction Authority want to move the school into a six-story building owned by the New York Public Library between 10th and 11th Avenues.

That relocation could happen as early as September 2012, according to DOE spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld.

The proposal, and in particular the SCA's fast-approaching March 24 deadline for public comment, blindsided Community Board 4. At a meeting Thursday, member Joe Restuccia called the notification process "horribly coordinated."

But on the Upper West Side, Beacon PTA co-president Christine Cirker said the news came as no surprise — their principal first heard of the proposed school move in the fall.

Although the SCA cannot legally extend its deadline for comments, they can take community input into account at their own discretion, according to CB4 vice chair Corey Johnson.

School officials have agreed to attend CB4's next full board meeting, set for April 6, in order to receive comments and questions from neighborhood residents and the Board, Johnson said. 

Among the issues anticipated to arise are a lack of public transportation near the proposed site, impacts on neighbors including the Manhattan Plaza housing complex, and Hell's Kitchen's enduring need for a middle school.

At Beacon, Cirker said parents aren't too ruffled by the possibility of a 20-block move, because their kids already commute from all five boroughs.

Nonetheless, she said they aren't holding their breath for the bigger space.

"There are human years, there are dog years, and there are DOE years, in that order," Cirker said.

One group hoping school officials might hold off a few extra years are parents at P.S. 51, located just two blocks to the north on West 45th Street.

Some parents who send their kids to this elementary school, soon to be surrounded by a three-year-long, mammoth construction project, have long advocated for temporary school relocation. They believe the safety and education of their children will be compromised by factors including excess noise and dust.

Last month, the parents asked CB4 to explore a list of potential locations, including the 43rd Street public library site. At a Thursday night meeting, they expressed hope that the Beacon School move might be delayed until construction on their new school is complete.

P.S. 51 parents are also exploring the feasibility of a move into the Holy Cross School on W. 42nd Street, which is slated to merge with the Sacred Heart of Jesus School.

CB4's next full board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. inside the Fulton Center Auditorium at 119 Ninth Avenue.