District 3 rezoning update: Anderson officials are open to relocation

On Wednesday, the Community Education Council for District 3 held a special meeting to hear comments from community members about the rezoning proposal the DOE unveiled last week. CEC 3 space committee chair Jennifer Freeman had this to say:

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the DOE presentation last week was the suggestion that the citywide Anderson Program could relocate to empty space in the building currently occupied by MS44 and the Computer School. [On Wednesday] I learned that Anderson’s leadership — both the principal and the PTA board — think that a relocation could work. This was probably the most productive part of the meeting. While there are still many concerns, not least parent worries about safety in the MS 44 building, the proposal does allow Anderson and PS 9 crucial room to grow. PS 9 parents also say they would welcome the Center School as a good fit, in terms of both size and philosophy. Most Center School parents remain adamantly opposed to any move. Regarding the rezoning proposal itself, perhaps the best I can say is that it’s at too early a stage for comment.

According to Freeman, representatives from nearly every elementary school on the Upper West Side attended Wednesday’s meeting, although no one from PS 84, 145, or 191 spoke. In addition, she said, no one attended from MS 44, the West 70th Street middle school where the DOE has proposed moving the ultra-selective Anderson School.