LOWER MANHATTAN — After months of debate over a Department of Education plan to zone a highly anticipated new public West Village middle school, a final zone map has been proposed by the DOE — and it's good news for Lower Manhattan parents.
Elementary schools P.S. 89 and P.S. 276 in Battery Park City, and P.S. 234 in TriBeCa are included in the final zone proposal, something Downtown parents had been advocating for.
The DOE had initially presented two zone scenarios for 75 Morton, the new school on its way to Manhattan's largest school district.
One version of the zone map included the Lower Manhattan schools, and the other did not, cutting off the zone at Canal Street. Lower Manhattan parents had been pushing to get their schools in the zone — and their calls for inclusion were answered.
On Wednesday, at a District 2 Community Education Council, the DOE presented its final zone map, which had been called "Proposal B" — the plan that includes south of Canal Street, on the West Side.
At the CEC meeting Wednesday, all the parents who spoke were in support of the zone, saying the stress of finding a middle school for their children is tremendous. The majority of the parents lived in Hell's Kitchen, in a swath of Manhattan that has long been without a zoned middle school.
"I really hope 75 Morton will be our zoned school," said Hell's Kitchen parent Megan Kelly at the meeting. "There is so much anxiety about middle school — being a part of 75 Morton Street would be fabulous."
Parents in TriBeCa and Battery Park City wanted to be included in the zone, because Baruch Middle School, their current zoned school, while well-liked by parents, is on First Avenue and East 21 Street — too far a journey for most families on the west side Downtown, they said.
The Community Education Council will vote on the proposal on May 3. There will be a public comment session before the vote. Comments will also be accepted via email — CEC2@schools.nyc.gov — before the meeting.
