Following classes on Friday, third graders at the Children's Workshop School on 12th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C planned to hold a protest to encourage the Department of Buildings to inspect an adjacent building that has forced the closure of the schoolyard since Jan. 9.
As EVG first reported, part of the façade of a single-level building at 638 E. 12th St. next door crumbled, and pieces of concrete from the exterior landed in the playground, also used by students in the P94M program within District 75.
The playground has been closed while the new-ish landlords of the 638 property made the necessary repairs, which were completed nearly four weeks ago. Despite all this, the DOB had yet to visit the site, forcing the students to stay inside and forego any outdoor activities in the schoolyard. (The playground is also open for neighborhood use on weekends.)
However, according to school sources, when the Department of Buildings heard about the planned protest (presumably from media inquiries), they suddenly built a fence on Thursday evening to protect the yard from the neighboring one-level building, then inspected the work on Friday morning. The schoolyard was deemed accessible to the students, albeit with a section closed off.
So, after school on Friday, the protest turned into a celebration as the students paraded from the building to the playground with the signs they had created...
As one school source told us: "This was an easy workaround that could have been done as soon as the repairs had been made, which, by the way, were done rather promptly after the complaint was reported to the DOB about façade condition, adding insult to the wait."
A parent with two children at the school told us last month that the closed outdoor space was "negatively impacting classroom behavior and depriving kids of much-needed fresh air, exercise, and time to socialize."
As we understand, the fence is a temporary fix, and the building still needs to be inspected.
The 8,900-square-foot structure, which has a long history (dating to 1989) of façade issues, had been on the sales market. Per the listing: "Ideal for a luxury residential condominium in a well-established Downtown Manhattan neighborhood" with "Four sides of light and air." (Campos Community Garden is on the building's east side.)
The structure behind 432 E. 11th St., sold last summer for $2.8 million. Public records show the buyer is affiliated with an LLC in Brooklyn that "provides development services for residential and commercial properties."
On Feb. 14, plans were filed for a 6-story residential building at the address. The plans show one residential unit per floor, likely meaning there will be condos as pitched in the sales sheet.
Demolition plans have yet to be filed, per DOB records.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Thanks EV Grieve! The playground is open!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Activists!! Teach 'em young, EV!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Grieve and the whole staff for putting focus on this issue. It clearly got the job done!
It is pretty sad that these young children had to give up a day of school to protest in order to get media attention and the beginnings of action to this ongoing problem. With that being said, good for them!
ReplyDeleteThe kids were the ones really fed up after coming back from February break to find the playground still closed. They wanted to do something and asked if they could protest. The protest was planned for dismissal time on Friday. In some ways it was the best lesson for them and very much in keeping with Children’s Workshop School philosophy: “CWS strives for students to be open-minded and compassionate; to gain a sense of themselves and others; and to understand and appreciate the diversity of the community. Children are guided and supported to fulfill their creative, physical, emotional, social, and intellectual potential. Our goal is for our children to recognize that they have the power and resources to effect change. It is our hope that children will grow to be responsible, critical, and caring members of a pluralistic society.“
ReplyDeleteRight on, kiddos!
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