GREENWICH VILLAGE — Village parents and community organizers will finally see the result of years of negotiations with the city to create at middle school in the neighborhood.
An official from the Department of Education's School Construction Authority, Melanie La Rocca, will present drawings and plans at a public meeting on May 11 for the school coming to 75 Morton St., according to an email received by P.S. 41 parents.
"It's been years in the making — but we're getting closer," the email said. "Come see the fruits of your labor!"
The school will open in fall of 2017, according to the email. It will accept 1,000 students, according to the DOE, though parents are pushing to decrease the number of seats to 800, as the city originally promised.
"Following the presentation next steps and opportunities for parents to continue involvement on how what this school becomes will be outlined," the email read.
The city has long promised an unprecedented amount of community involvement in the school's design. But advocates for the school became concerned in October of last year when SCA representatives showed up at a public meeting with little more than a sketch, and seemed only interested in parent input on exterior colors, they said.
Consternation grew in January when SCA officials didn't show up at all to a School District 2 Community Education Council meeting where organizers thought they would be presented with more information.
The upcoming May 11 meeting, organized jointly by Community Board 2 and CEC D2, will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Assembly room at the LGBT Center at 208 West. 13th St., according to the email and CB 2's public schedule.
"We are committed to engaging with parents and other community partners in an effort to provide a high quality education to all our students," Jason Fink, spokesman for the DOE said.
