Save Our School by Danny McL on Flickr.
The Julia Richman Educational Complex on East 67th Street in Manhattan will be put on the chopping block if schools Chancellor Joel Klein has his way. Julia Richman houses four specialized high schools, a middle school for children with autism, and an elementary school within its 82-year-old walls and has achieved a reputation for high standards and good management. The City has also poured over $30 million for renovation and modernization into the school over the past ten years.
However two years ago, in a tentative deal struck between the chancellor and CUNY, the Julia Richman site would be razed, and in its place Hunter College would build a high-rise science building. In return for this site close to its current campus, Hunter agreed to sell buildings that it owns on East 25th Street to a private developer and promise that the developer would incorporate a replacement for the Julia Richman school in the new building.
Not surprisingly, parents and local elected officials were not informed about the plan and have been mounting a campaign to save the school since the plans were made public. The school has just won a national design award from the American Architectural Foundation, which advocates hope will help their continuing cause. The ceremony will take place at the school on Monday at 5:30 P.M.
The Department of Education ordered the banner pictured above removed from the school building last summer.
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