A recent rally protesting school overcrowding at City Hall.

Editor’s Note: This is a monthly column by Rebecca Levey about raising children on the Upper West Side.

By Rebecca Levey
Of all the crazy and neurotic exploits that New York City parents go through, none is more fraught with insecurity, fear and downright competitiveness than the school process. For a few years now nursery school admissions captured the imagination of the media. Then everyone’s gaze turned to the ridiculous private school admissions with the test prep for four year-olds and parents duking it out on internet message boards dividing schools into imaginary “tiers” and deciphering college exmissions statistics as if they were tarot cards wielding clues to a four year-old’s future. This year the hurricane of hysteria has settled firmly on the public schools – and the Upper West Side is the eye of the storm.

Every person living on the Upper West Side could’ve told you this was coming. There are more strollers hogging the sidewalks, more high chairs in even the fanciest restaurants and probably more scooters per person than cars. But, most of all it stands to reason that a crush of nursery school admissions a few years ago would lead to surge of kindergartners (and yes that will lead to a huge middle school problem just a few years from now.) The year my daughters entered kindergarten there was a lottery at all of these coveted schools for out-of-zone students. Only three years later there is a waitlist at my daughters’ school that is over 100 children long – and it’s all for in-zone kids. It seems unbelievable that children living across the street from a school could be number 102 on a waitlist for that same school.

But this is the situation now facing Upper West Side parents. Even if your child lands a spot at your school, or places into a Gifted and Talented program – or even if you don’t have a child at all – this school situation affects you. Good schools are a draw for families, they keep neighborhoods (and real estate prices) stable, they are a centerpiece of a community and when people start to leave because they cannot find a place for their children to go to school then an entire neighborhood can start to unravel.

Right now Helen Rosenthal and Community Board 7 are leading a charge to demand that Extell build a school on the site of the development of Riverside Center (off of West End Avenue between 59th and 61st Streets) where they are planning to put up 5 new buildings. FIVE! We saw what the Trump Buildings did to the school situation in the lower part of the Upper West Side; imagine five more buildings worth of kids. What does Community Board 7 want? They want Extell to build the school before building the residential buildings, and build it bigger.

Of course this new school will only alleviate some of the problem – after all there are going to be five new buildings. So what is the solution for the overcrowding and surge in demand in the rest of the district? What can be done now? I’m going to get on my virtual soapbox for a second and say – get involved. Go to Community Board 7 meetings. Contact Scott Stringer’s office and Gale Brewer’s office, and don’t forget about your State Assembly Members too. If you’ve got ideas let us know, and let your local politicians know too.

After all, we Upper West Siders have a long history of good old-fashioned political activism to live up to. It’s time to put all of this stereotyped pushy parenting to good use and push for the schools our kids, and our neighborhood, deserves.

Read all about the overcrowding problem here, and the proposed Extell development here.

Rebecca Levey is a freelance writer and mother of twin girls. She lives, works, parents and tries to maintain her sense of humor on the Upper West Side.  You can follow her travels and adventures at  www.beccarama.com. Read all of her columns for the Westside Independent here.

(flickr photo by Gotham Schools)

Most Upper West Siders probably don’t know much about their local community board. But the all-volunteer cast of 50 (half picked by the local City Council person, half picked by the Borough President) helps determine what buildings are built, what businesses can serve alcohol or set up outdoor cafes, and who gets to hold street fairs.

When something controversial happens — like when local nursing home Jewish Home and Hospital decided to swap land with a developer — people tend to converge on Community Board 7 and demand action. For the first 30 minutes or so of what can be 5-hour monthly meetings, chairwoman Helen Rosenthal and her peers got to hear the complaints and concerns of Upper West Siders. And all for no pay.

Rosenthal, 49, has been on the board for more than 10 years, and was the chairwoman for the last two.  She relinquished the top spot on the board to Mel Wymore last week. Rosenthal was planning to run for City Council this year, and had even raised more than $50,000, but then Gale Brewer decided to run for her third term and Rosenthal bowed out. Be forewarned: she still has most of the donations, and in four years she’ll probably be asking for your vote. We recently asked her some questions via email.

Westside Independent: Do you think most Upper West Siders know what the community board does? How would you describe the board’s role in one sentence.

Helen Rosenthal: Too few residents know about their local community boards and it is part of our mission to let people know about and use their community board as a resource.  The Community Board District Office responds to daily quality of life concerns: pot holes, street lights, construction issues, and 311-type of concerns.  The Community Board (50 volunteers) address public policy concerns: land use, sidewalk cafes, district needs, and preservation.

WI: What are the most important issues the community board is dealing with right now?

HR: Preparing to advise the city about a proposed development at 59th and Riverside Boulevard.  The developer wants to build five tall residential and commercial-use buildings. We are reviewing the corresponding impact on public infrastructure: the demand for an additional school, open space, public transportation, affordable housing, and sanitation.  We are also looking at ways to decrease the proposed height and density.

WI: What have been the board’s biggest accomplishments during your term as chair? What was your biggest disappointment?

HR: 1.   More Detailed Analysis:  for example, we now know that since 2000 over 2,500 new 2+ bedroom apartments have already been added to the southern part of district, helping to document the demand for a new K-5 public school for Riverside South Center negotiations.

2.   More Transparency and Outreach: The website is more accessible and we have increased public participation in multiple Riverside South Center public meetings.

3.   Creative Thinking.  Helped to identify location and create new homes at the Jewish Home Lifecare Kaufman office building [on 106th Street] for Stern tenants. We went from disbelief to identifying a solution and by the Summer of 2009 the tenants had moved into their new homes.

(What, no disappointments? “I tend to look at the bright side of things,” she wrote.)

WI: Do you think there will be protected bike lanes on Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues in the near future?

HR: DOT and CB7 will study the pros and cons of protected bike lanes.  The findings from this study will put us in a better position to move forward.

WI: Is new condo/rental development out of control, or is it helping modernize the neighborhood?

HR: Condo/rental development is great for our neighborhood when it includes affordable housing and the infrastructure necessary to support additional residents — for example, schools, public transportation, open space, and sanitation.

WI: Is there any way to stop the disappearance of small businesses on the Upper West Side?

HR: The Department of City Planning (DCP) should zone Amsterdam Avenue in ways that encourage small businesses, for example by not allowing commercial space to exceed a certain square footage. Furthermore, DCP and the Department of Buildings (DOB) should require all new buildings to set aside 30% of its commercial space for independent owners.