November 16, 2017

Chancellor Carmen Faria

New York City Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

President Lorraine Grillo

New York City School Construction Authority
30-30 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101

Dear Chancellor Faria and President Grillo:

We write regarding the construction of a school at Essex Crossing, at the site known as the
Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) on the Lower East Side.

As part of the SPURA negotiations, the City of New York came to an agreement requiring the
developer to reserve a lot for the construction of a school. Given the close proximity of families
moving into Essex Crossing, and the Lower East Sides need for school seats, we request that
your agencies amend the current 2015-2019 DOE capital plan to include the construction of this
school.

In previous correspondence on the SPURA school (see attached), DOE recognized that existing
schools may not be able to meet the demand created by new families moving into Essex
Crossing. According to construction timelines, Essex Crossing is expected to bring dozens of
families to the Lower East Side in a few months, with units coming live by summer 2018. It is
critical that your agencies act to prevent overcrowding in our local schools, as weve seen in
other areas of lower Manhattan.

We request a meeting with your agencies, the Essex Crossing developers and Community Board
3 to discuss the construction of the SPURA school. To schedule this meeting, please contact
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou at 212-312-1420 or niouy@nyassembly.gov.

Sincerely,

Yuh-Line Niou
Assemblymember
Nydia Velazquez Carolyn Maloney
Congressmember Congressmember

Gale Brewer Brian Kavanagh

Manhattan Borough President Assemblymember and State Senator-elect

Margaret Chin Carlina Rivera

Councilmember Councilmember-elect

CC: Community Board 3

Essex Crossing, Delancey Street Associates
November 27, 2013

Dennis Walcott
Chancellor
New York City Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Lorraine Grillo
President
New York City School Construction Authority
30-30 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101

Dear Chancellor Walcott and President Grillo,

We write regarding the Department of Educations (DOE) proposed Capital Plan for Fiscal
Years 2015 through 2019 and the need for a public school at the Seward Park Urban Renewal
Area (SPURA) site.

After sitting vacant for more than four decades, SPURA is now moving forward because of
unprecedented collaboration with community stakeholders. Unfortunately, though the School
Construction Authority included reference to the site in the DOE Capital Plan, it did not include
a commitment to build a public school at the SPURA site. This is particularly disappointing
given that the City included plans for a school in the project.

The SPURA project will attract hundreds of new families to the Community Board 3 area. It is
imperative that adequate infrastructure, including school seats, be developed ahead of this
population influx. The City recognized this need raised throughout the community
consultation process and a parcel of land is reserved for the construction of a public school at
the SPURA site.

It is important that the City take the opportunity to develop new school seats now, rather than
facing the consequences of school overcrowding once it is already too late as has happened
in other parts of Lower Manhattan. We urge the DOE to amend its Capital Plan to include
construction of a school at the SPURA site. Should you have any questions, feel free to reach out
to our offices, or contact Senator Squadrons office directly at 212-298-5565.

Sincerely,

Daniel Squadron Sheldon Silver

State Senator Assembly Member

Scott Stringer Margaret Chin

Manhattan Borough President Council Member

Rosie Mendez
Council Member
January 28, 2014

Kathleen Grimm
Deputy Chancellor
New York City Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Lorraine Grillo
President
New York City School Construction Authority
30-30 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101

Dear Deputy Chancellor Grimm and President Grillo:

We are writing to follow up on our letter dated November 27th, 2013 (see attached), regarding
the Department of Educations (DOE) proposed Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2015-2019 and the
need for a public school at the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) site.

In its December 17th response to our letter, DOE acknowledges the need for a school in the
SPURA site (see attached), writing that "we recognize that the existing capacity of schools in the
area may not be able to accommodate the demand generated by the new housing planned at
SPURA.

However, DOEs understanding of SPURAs construction timeline seems to be inaccurate.

Based on construction plans presented by the City and the development team working on
SPURA, hundreds of housing units, many of which will house families, are projected to begin
construction in 2015 and be completed by 2018 a date well within the current 2015-2019
Capital Plan.

It is concerning that DOE is basing its decision on a mistaken understanding of SPURAs

timeline. Therefore, we request that DOE review the SPURA construction plans and amend the
2015-2019 Capital Plan and add a public school to the SPURA site.
Thank for your attention to this matter and we look forward to hearing from you on this issue.
Should you have any questions, you may contact any of us or Senator Squadron directly at 212-
298-5565.

Sincerely,

Daniel Squadron Sheldon Silver

State Senator Assembly Member

Gale A. Brewer Margaret Chin

Manhattan Borough President Council Member

Rosie Mendez
Council Member