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December 28, 2006
Techies are of two minds
Elite HS' alums divided on plan for new building
By Tanyanika Samuels
This is rich — United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten trades her support for Atlantic Yards for a new building for Brooklyn Tech, built by Ratner. Only there are no details about the deal (like who's paying) and renovations at the school are already underway.
The tentative plans for one of the city's top high schools stem from the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project, which was greenlighted last week by a key state panel.
As the controversial project faced a vote in Albany, developer Forest City Ratner hammered out a deal to "work with the city, state and the United Federation of Teachers on the creation of a new 21st century Brooklyn Tech High School."
A spokeswoman for Ratner said last week that the plans were in the "formative stages." Key details, such as costs, a construction timeline or even a location, remain hazy.
The news still rattled some alumni who questioned the move in light of the $10 million fund-raising goal the school reached last year.
"If the school was in decay, then fine, but it's not," said Melvin Band, Class of '59. "They took our money to build up that school, and now they're doing away with it. It's a disgrace."
NoLandGrab: Should Randi Weingarten have let Bruce Ratner off so easily? This plan does nothing to address near-capacity conditions at local public schools and the impact of 15-18K new residents in the district.
Posted by lumi at December 28, 2006 7:30 AM