City plans new Downtown elementary school

The city’s Department of Education has announced plans for a new elementary school inside its Tweed Courthouse headquarters in Lower Manhattan, a step towards reducing overcrowding in the fast-growing neighborhood, according to the New York Times. Tweed is currently home to the Spruce Street School, which occupies the basement but will move into its new Frank Gehry-designed home in September and subsequently expand. A charter middle school, Innovate Manhattan, is slated to take over Spruce’s space for one year after it vacates. The new elementary school will also open next year at Tweed with 50 spots for kindergarteners, and will have a three-year stay there before a permanent home is found. That location could well be the four-story Peck Slip Post Office building nearby, if the city’s negotiations to buy the property come through. The location would accommodate as many as 476 seats for the as-yet-unnamed school, but the sale hasn’t been finalized and construction plans have already been delayed by a year due to budget cuts. [NYT]

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