UPPER WEST SIDE — Any families living in newly constructed residential buildings in the southernmost part of the neighborhood would not be zoned to attend the popular P.S. 199 elementary school under a proposal devised by education leaders this week.
Community Education Council 3 members believe the root of the overcrowding problem at P.S. 199 on West 70th Street stems from the residential building boom in the area, with families moving in to new developments and to gain access to a school that won a National Blue Ribbon award, among other accolades.
There have been long waitlists at P.S. 199 over the past few years, with the school boasting the longest waitlist in the city last year. This fall, the school's PTA said P.S. 199 was so crowded that students were delayed in evacuating during a fire drill.
"The city needs to be held accountable... they’ve got to hold developers' feet to the fire," said CEC 3 president Joe Fiordaliso at a meeting Monday.
CEC member Theresa Hammonds suggested that developers be required to make a presentation to the council before getting approval for their buildings to be included in any given school zone in the neighborhood.
But the buildings in Lincoln Square, which aren't included in the Central Park Historic District and don't have the same zoning limits as areas further north, are built "as of right" and don't require city approval, CEC member Noah Gotbaum pointed out.
By not allowing new development to be zoned for overcrowded schools, "it attempts to close the as-of-right loophole," Fiordaliso added.
"It sends a strong message to the city... residential construction should not be zoned to schools that are over capacity," said a local parent who testified in support of the plan.
CEC 3 approved the plan, which it will fashion into a resolution to vote on at an upcoming meeting.
Community Education Councils have the power to determine and redraw zoning lines, but their roles in pushing policy initiatives, like the one on new construction, is only advisory.
CEC 3 agreed that it didn't like the DOE's initial zoning plan, which shrunk the P.S. 199 zone by moving blocks out of that zone and into zones for P.S. 191 and P.S. 452.
While the council hasn't yet agreed on a new zoning plan, it agreed on some interim measures members believe will ease overcrowding at P.S. 199.
The motions they passed at their meeting this week also included:
► Capping the number of kindergarten classes at P.S. 199 at five.
► Revoking the right for people on the P.S. 199 waitlist who end up having to go elsewhere for kindergarten to return to the scool for first grade, a policy called the "right of return."
