<< Back
Budget, Education & City Services
New middle school at 75 Morton Street (between Hudson & Greenwich Streets)
At the monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, April 11, 2013, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 40 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining; 2 present but not entitled to vote:
WHEREAS, A new middle school is proposed at 75 Morton Street, serving children of School District 2, in a 7–story ADA compliant building by Fall 2015; and
WHEREAS, This 177,000 square foot building will include a gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, art/music/science rooms, and parking lot on Barrow Street, which could be transformed into a playground; and
WHEREAS, 75 Morton could potentially be one large school (700 –900 seats) or multiple smaller schools, including but not limited to, 3 separate middle schools of 300 seats each, an elementary and middle school with 600-700 seats, or a middle school and high school using 600 -1000 seats; and
WHEREAS, Speaker Christine Quinn has proposed the idea of "community schools" meaning that any space deemed unusable for classes, be used to hold a service office, such as a doctor's office, to be used by students only; and
WHEREAS, We support Manhattan Community Board Two in their efforts to shape this new school and advocate for it to include the community school aspect; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five recognizes that the overcrowding in District 2 is at its worst in middle schools and that the need for new seats to serve these children is dire; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five would like to see 75 Morton as one large middle school, which will bring one cohesive structure and programming, and will give relief to the neighborhood School District 2 Middle Schools, most of which are over 100% capacity; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five realizes that this is a unique opportunity to create a school that could supplement the educational system with certain programming that it has historically been lacking; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five recognizes that the DOE rarely puts an emphasis on foreign language fluency and that it is an increasingly important skill in today's global community; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five would like an emphasis on foreign language learning be part of the programming of 75 Morton, yet it is not meant to detract from the rest of the curriculum programmed at that school; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five is in favor of a new middle school in District 2.