DOE responds to complaints over new Union Square school

The Department of Education has agreed to decrease the capacity of a
proposed school in Chelsea to 730 students from 850, and will cap the size of
the building at eight stories, or 116 feet, in response to complaints
from residents in the nearby Victoria, DNAinfo
reported.

Initially, eight stories had been the minimum height of the proposed
building, to be located at 10 East 15th Street. Residents of the
Victoria, at 7 East 14th Street, said that the School Construction
Authority had not been informing them about the plans for the school.
(note: correction appended)

Residents had even submitted a Freedom of Information request to the
authority and contacted City Council member Rosie Mendez and Manhattan
Borough President Scott Stringer. The residents say they have not yet
seen any official plans for the school, which is to be completed in
2014. The new building is expected to house the Clinton School for
Writers and Artists, currently located on West 33rd Street, as well as
a new high school.

Members of Community Board 5 have been critical of the opposition to
the school because they say the neighborhood needs more options for
school-age children.

But the Victoria residents said that aside from property values and
lost view, the construction project could also cause traffic
congestion and impact the safety of other students in the area.
[DNAinfo]