GRAMERCY — A Gramercy private school submitted false testimony to the Landmarks Preservation Commission last year when it included eight fraudulent emails in a packet of letters supporting its bid to renovate in a historic district, according to a city councilwoman.
Friends Seminary, a $37,000-per-year Quaker day school at 222 E. 16th St. between Third Avenue and Rutherford Place, submitted eight identical emails printed out on paper bearing the school's logo to the Landmarks Preservation Commission last year, each signed by people claiming to live on the school's block.
Each asked the agency to greenlight the school’s plans to overhaul its campus, which is located in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District — But a search of public records found no one with the names of the people listed on the emails living on East 16th Street.
And at least five of the people who signed the eight letters appear to work or have worked in some capacity for Luigi Caiola, a wealthy real-estate heir and Broadway producer whose children attend Friends Seminary and who has previously taken an active role in fundraising for the school, according to public records and social media profiles.
LPC approved the project last May, but work has yet to begin.
DNAinfo New York revealed the existence of the eight allegedly fraudulent emails and the pending Department of Investigation action last week.
Some readers called the school's actions disrespectful to the neighborhood:
►“As a resident of this neighborhood, I'm increasingly disturbed by these developments. From day one, Friends was neither forthright, nor genuine about the expansion plans,” wrote one Neighborhood Square commenter.
►“We bought on this block too because it was a landmarked area and we had faith in the Landmark Preservation Commission and neighbors that it would stay so. Very upsetting to think how the Commission is not preserving the landmark nature of Stuyvesant Square and how Friend's is deceitfully manipulating the process and not respecting this very special area,” wrote another Neighborhood Square commenter.
It’s unclear if the letters from “residents” helped sway the LPC’s decision, but according to one commenter, that doesn’t really matter:
►“The fact is that the fraudulent behaviour of the school and affiliates is consistent with the disingenuous, manipulative, and condescending behaviour it has displayed in its dealings with the community during this and many other instances,” wrote a Neighborhood Square commenter.
Not everyone was upset by the revelations. Some readers took to task opponents of the school, whom they said were grasping at straws to stop the project:
►The opposition seems to be opposition to any change. Looking closely at the detailed architectural drawings, the work on the roofs of the buildings is barely noticeable from the street,” said one Neighborhood Square commenter.
After the story ran, Friends Seminary sent a letter to parents and posted the response on its website. In their response, the school claims to have notified the city as soon as it found out about the fraudulent emails, which a spokesman said the school discovered in January.
►"The school was unaware of any inaccuracies in the letters when they were provided to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in support of the project and would never ask anyone to misrepresent themselves in connection with this project or otherwise," spokesman John Galayda wrote.
Galayda also defended Luigi Caiola, the Friends Seminary parent who is connected to at least five of the eight letter writers:
►Finally, a word about Luigi Caiola, a beloved and respected member of our school community. We have and continue to appreciate deeply his dedication to our school and its academic mission," Galayda wrote.
