75 Morton Street

Two new public middle schools and a special needs program will likely be built in the West Village, according to a statement from the New York School Construction authority, DNAinfo reported. In order to reduce the burden on area schools, city officials are considering a 900-student facility within a seven-story, 177,000-square-foot building at 75 Morton Street, which is currently owned by the state and is used for the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. “The real need is going to be middle school seats, over time,” said SCA President Lorraine Grillo at a planning meeting Thursday…. [more]

Lower Manhattan

As New York City families pour into what were once almost exclusively commercial areas, the education sector has become a major player in Manhattan’s office-leasing market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Since 2005, the leasing footprint of the schools, universities and other educational services has increased 47 percent to 8.1 million square feet from just 5.5 million square feet as of November, according to CBRE data cited by the Journal. [more]

The Archive at 666 Greenwich St

The Mandell School, a private school long situated on the Upper West Side, is planning a new West Village preschool location, The Real Deal has learned. Mandell had previously proposed opening a new preschool in Tribeca or Battery Park City, but instead decided to plant its new nursery school in some of the commercial space at the historic Archive Building, a Rockrose property at 633 Washington Street. The school is expected to open its doors in time for the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year…. [more]

Nightingale-Bamford SchoolThe Nightingale-Bamford school, an elite all-girls preparatory school thought to be an inspiration for the “Gossip Girl” series, has purchased an adjacent building from entities associated with the Hakim brothers for $21.9 million, city records show. Located at 30 East 92nd Street in Carnegie Hill, the five-story, 6,018-square-foot structure includes 1,000 square feet of retail space. The sellers of the century-old property were listed as Golden Pillow LLC., a subsidiary of Carnegie Hill Properties; Shemiran Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Salon Realty; and KH 753 9th Ave Associates. All three companies are associated with the Hakim brothers…. [more]

The New York City School Construction Authority has purchased the first five stories of New York by Gehry for a shade over $76 million, according to public records filed today. The 100,000-square-foot space will continue to house PS 397 Spruce Street School, an early childhood and elementary school that has leased the site at 12 Spruce Street since the 76-story tower opened in 2011. The SCA’s purchase comes just over a week after developer Forest City Ratner sold a 49 percent stake in the tower for roughly $250 million to mammoth pension fund TIAA-CREF…. [more]

The potential Gowanus school site (credit: Brownstoner)

To ease overcrowding in Park Slope’s public elementary schools, the city is currently scoping out a space for a new Brooklyn public school. But the vacant lot being considered may be a historic graveyard, Brownstoner reported.

Located between 8th and 9th streets, off Third Avenue, in Gowanus, the site is thought by some to be the burial site for First Maryland Regiment soldiers who died in the Battle of Brooklyn during the Revolutionary War. [more]

P.S. 321 in Park Slope

A city-wide rule that allows New York City schoolchildren to remain at a public school even if their family has since moved from the district is under renewed scrutiny, amid a Department of Education plan to rezone Park Slope public schools, the New York Times reported.

The redistricting is reportedly an attempt to ease the overcrowding at the popular and well-regarded P.S. 321 and  P.S. 107. Under the DOE plan, the zones for those schools — thought to be a big neighborhood draw for young families — would be reduced by about 10 city blocks and five city blocks, respectively. [more]

The new proposed boundaries that determine which public schools brownstone Brooklyn children will attend going forward were unveiled yesterday — and it has some neighbors worried for their kids, and their property values.

The area that sends kids to Public School 321 in Park Slope, which has long drawn families to the neighborhood, would shrink by about 10 blocks, the the York Times reported. The border for the P.S. 321 zone would move north to First Street, and east to Fifth Avenue from Third Avenue — a choice that left many parents devastated, the Times said. [more]

Related CEO Jeff Blau and 205 East 92nd Street (credit: PropertyShark)

After losing out on a proton cancer center to a site further uptown, Related Companies will bring a school for children with learning disabilities to the first five floors of its forthcoming residential development at 205 East 92nd Street, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The White Plains, N.Y.-based Windward School had for years been searching for a location, but settled on the site of a 35-story tower Related plans to build between Second and Third avenues. The school caters mostly to students with dyslexia and is expects to open the 60,000-square-foot facility by 2015. [more]

Fashion designer James Fairchild with his two children at the store he recently opened in Southampton. The family moved to the East End from New York City in 2008.

From the September issue: At this time of year, many Hamptons homeowners regretfully close up their summer houses and head back to New York City. But for a growing number of people, that’s no longer the case.

With more school options, an expanding Hamptons economy and technological improvements that allow for telecommuting in many industries, Long Island’s East End has increasingly become a sought-after place to live year-round, real estate experts say. [more]