Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Clinton School Gets Approval for Chelsea Street Playground

By DNAinfo Staff on October 7, 2010 3:22pm

By Tara Kyle

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

CHELSEA — After a bumpy start, the makeshift playground created on a Chelsea street by the Clinton School for Writers and Artists now has the unanimous support of the local community board.

The school, which shuts down a half block of 33rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues during lunch hour Monday through Thursdays, riled the neighbors last month because the play street was noisy and blocked access for pick-ups and deliveries on the street.

But at Wednesday night's CB4 meeting, several people, including  transportation committee chair Christine Berthet, a representative of the 34th Street Partnership, and one of the owners of the commercial tower across the street, spoke in favor of a newly revised version of the play street.

Students cheer their principal on during the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Clinton School for Writers and Artists.
Students cheer their principal on during the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Clinton School for Writers and Artists.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Tara Kyle

Now, the Clinton School will operate the full play street only until its cafeteria construction is completed at the end of next month. After that, they will use only one parking lane, while the rest of the street will remain open to accommodate deliveries. They also agreed to expedite plans to convert the rooftop into a play space, setting a goal of raising $300,000 by December.

The resolution came on the eve of another celebration for the school — on Thursday morning, State Assemblymember Dick Gottfried and Education Department Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm visited for the school's official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Both city representatives praised the parents and Clinton School community for their determination and hard work through the year-long process of finding a suitable temporary home for the school, which was formerly located at 320 W. 21st Street and will move to 10 E. 15th Street in 2015.

"This really has to be a teaching moment for all of us," said Gottfried. "There is a lesson here that New Yorkers have to learn again and again, about the power of persistent advocacy by the people of New York."

Parents attending the ceremony said they appreciated the spaciousness and sunlight at the new facility, located at the old St. Michael's Academy near an entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

"We were kind of iffy with the new location," said Financial District resident Josie Ye, whose daughter is in the seventh grade. "Now that we're here, we love it."

State Assembly Dick Gottfried praised Clinton School parents who
State Assembly Dick Gottfried praised Clinton School parents who "got organized, got involved and never quit."
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Tara Kyle

For his part, Anderson thanked parents for enduring a year of "uncertainty, frustration and anger" and praised faculty members who helped the school earn an "A" grade from the Department of Education. As only a second-year principal, he said he felt privileged to hold a post at the school.

"I'm living a dream, and I'll be the first to say I don't deserve it," Anderson said. "But this community deserves it."