BUILD SCHOOLS NOW
DOWNTOWN OVERCROWDING CRISIS
April __, 2014
Mayor De Blasio
City Hall
Chamber Street
New York, NY 10007
Dear Mayor De Blasio,
We are in an overcrowding crisis in Lower Manhattan
and we desperately need your help. I have __
children, two attend P.S.__ and one in preschool.
Public school will make/makes the difference between
our being able to stay in our beloved city or having to
move out. This is exactly this situation you have
sought to address in your campaign tale of two cities.
On your daily trip to City Hall, you must get at least a
glimpse of the tremendous number of construction
projects taking place in our neighborhood. It really is
a source of pride for everyone in the Lower
Manhattan that this area has had such a strong
recovery and has become a magnet for families who
want to raise children here.
Unfortunately, school capacity has not kept pace with
the growth of our school age population. Each year,
the waitlist for kindergarten seats grows. Two years
ago it was 100 students, last year it was 140 students
and this year the list may exceed 200. Two schools,
PS276 and PS343 have actually had to drop their prek programs in order to make room for more
kindergarten sections.
We are in a crisis. We need your help your help to
make sure that the 456 seat school that has been
approved for Lower Manhattan is sited and built. We
need your assistance to reinstate the commitment
made by the DOE last summer to build 1,000 seats in
our area. Lastly, there is a real opportunity to create
a planning structure that would better anticipate
school capacity needs in the future.
My wife and I and other families downtown are ready
to partner with you to find solutions. I appreciate your
attention to this matter and would be happy to provide
any assistance I can.
Sincerely,
NAME
ADDRESS
NEW YORK, NY ZIP