By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
UPPER EAST SIDE — One father claimed he'd lost sleep and several pounds over the past few months thinking his building at 170 E. 87th St. would no longer be zoned for P.S. 290. Another worried that his move into 115 E. 87th St. five months ago so his six-week-old could attend P.S. 6. would end up a mistake.
Residents at both these buildings — which have seen their homes volleyed into several different school zones over the last six weeks — breathed a sigh of relief when the Department of Education released its fourth and latest iteration of new school zones this weekend.
The DOE, working with the Community Education Council, heeded these parents’ concerns and went back to the drawing board. Instead of having to send their kids to P.S. 198, those at 170 E. 87th would remain in P.S. 290's zone, and those at 115 E. 87th would remain with P.S. 6, where the building's kids have been walking the five blocks since the building opened in 1973.
Marc Newman, a father of a three-year-old and resident of 170 E. 87th St., explained to parents at a Community Board 8 education committee meeting Monday night just how strong the appeal of the P.S. 290 community was for him: "That’s one of the reasons I didn’t take a job in Chicago."
Many of these parents have been voicing their gripes at meeting after meeting.
Other families, however, may not even realize their homes have been rezoned under the DOE's efforts to address the waitlists and overcrowding at the top Upper East Side public schools — the unintended consequence of the city's real estate boom.
The DOE's latest plan added more buildings previously zoned for P.S. 183 into the P.S. 267 zone.
It may result in confused parents heading to P.S. 183 for registration in February.
"It just goes to show you can’t leave it to someone else. You have to show up. You have to speak out," Judy Schneider, Co-Chair of CB8’s education committee, told parents.
"You always have to watch what’s going on. They can only make their decisions based on who’s showing up."
A mother of a five year-old and a one-year-old who lives at 401 E. 60th St. — who only learned about the changes recently — was disappointed her building's school district was slated to be changed to a year-old school, P.S. 267, rather than P.S. 183.
"Our children play, live and ride their scooters and bikes with their peers at P.S. 183," said Kalpana Gupta. "It appears that other blocks that are closer to P.S. 267 have been retained in the P.S. 183 school district in the rezoning proposal while our children will be subject to a significantly longer and inconvenient walk."
Another wrench with the rezoning set to take effect for the 2011 school year is that i will not guarantee that the waitlists at some of these schools will disappear, Schneider noted.
The public is invited to comment on the plan at a hearing Tuesday night at Robert Wagner Middle School, 220 East 76th St, starting at 7 p.m.
Based on the testimony and information they receive from the DOE, the Community Education Council is scheduled to meet on Dec. 22 to vote on the plan.
