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west side story

November 14, 2008

Backing her kid’s school, actress Cynthia Nixon joins UWS war

by Philissa Cramer, at 3:58 pm

A resolution to move an Upper West Side middle school passed on Wednesday night, but not before Cynthia Nixon — “Sex and the City” actress, Alliance for Quality Education spokeswoman, and parent at the school — was shouted down briefly during a heated public comment session.

Nixon was stepping into a fight that has been raging on the Upper West Side for months. The fight began as a discussion about how to deal with overcrowding at public schools but has spiraled into a raging debate about class and race and privilege in Upper Manhattan. Confrontations have gotten incredibly emotional — and personal: On this site, a commenter posing as Cynthia Nixon’s fictional son, Brady, from “Sex and the City” accused his “mom” of hypocrisy. And parents at Nixon’s school, called the Center School, have charged another school’s parents with racism and class prejudice, citing postings from last January on the Urban Baby Web site that called Center School students “thugs.”

At issue is a plan that would move the Center School from its current home inside a larger elementary school on West 70th Street, PS 199. Supporters of the plan tout it as an easy way to relieve crowding at the elementary school, which is growing so quickly that parents fear it will not have room to hold their younger children. Opponents, including Nixon, argue that moving the Center School exacerbates segregation by race and class. (PS 199, a zoned school, is two-thirds white, while the Center School, which draws its students from throughout the district, is half white and has a higher proportion of black and Hispanic students.)

If the plan becomes official, which it almost certainly will after Wednesday’s vote, the Center School will move to another school building several blocks away.

Nixon and other Center School parents have vehemently opposed the plan for months, making fliers and using the school’s Web site to organize protests. They also delivered passionate testimony at the meeting Wednesday, choosing Nixon and another mother to represent their cause. In her short remarks, which I captured in the video above, Nixon argued that there is a stark difference between the demographic of the Center School and the “increasingly white and increasingly affluent” elementary school it shares space with. Moving the Center School away, she said, would lead to a “de facto segregated building on 70th Street.”

The Upper West Side school war began in September, when the city Department of Education suggested two plans for how the Upper West Side could relieve crowding.

One would have moved 30 percent of students to new schools. But the local parent council that has final authority over zoning matters last week indicated that it would back a much tamer plan. That one would move only a handful of students, keep siblings in the same school, and, most controversially, relocate two schools. One of those schools, Anderson, a gifted school that pulls students from across the city, agreed to a move. The other, the Center School, where Cynthia Nixon is a parent, has spent weeks fighting tooth and nail against the plan.

The people booing Nixon were led by a growing group of parents who are zoned for PS 199 but fear that increasing crowding could make the school too packed to have room for their children. If the Center School moves out of their building, that will shore up space for their children at PS 199. These parents, who have maintained a Web site that some say contains misinformation, turned out in large numbers to the meeting on Wednesday. (Below the jump, view a video of their spokesman, Eric Shuffler, speaking out at the meeting; he, too, was booed.)

But Nixon’s contingent was by far the largest. It included not only by Center School parents but also parents from at least four neighborhood schools, who echoed Nixon’s argument about diversity. The group walked out in protest as the council prepared to vote. A number of PS 199 parents who said they supported the Center School joined them.

Also walking out — at times to shouts of “Yes, we can” — were parents from the Computer School, a middle school whose building will be Anderson’s new home, and PS 75, a diverse elementary school whose zone was trimmed in the resolution.

Council members said they had no authority to involve issues of diversity in the rezoning process. “The [Community Education Council] does value diversity. We’ve talked about it,” CEC 3 member Jennifer Freeman told me after the meeting. “We were working with the tools available to us so the main topic in this conversation had to be overcrowding. We would welcome the opportunity to talk about diversity more.”

During the meeting, one council member explained that she wanted to deal with issues of race and class segregation in the district but that now was not the right time to do so.

“If not now, when?” audience members shouted at her.

That council member, Danielle Moss Lee, ultimately abstained from voting. She was the only council member present who did not vote in favor of the resolution.

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  • judgejudy

    Great point Mandy. Talk about no win situation. Everyone can criticize few can do.

  • 199er

    PLEASE someone explain to me why we want another 200-250 kids at 199??? we can barely have drop off!!! Pick up is a disaster. Please someone explain!!!
    without yelling or being nasty. Just a simple explanation of why??

  • Superhifan

    Maybe the greater argument is why is a public school accepting applications? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Also, children should be able to attend schools in their neighborhood period. They should not have to be inconvenienced because those not living in the neighborhood want their children to attend the school. The sacrifice should be made by those that live outside the neighborhood. The issue of diversity should not be the benchmark here, however, if parents are demonizing children of color in this process by calling them thugs, shame on you. All people should want for others what they desire for themselves; in this case, a better education for all.

  • InwoodWhiteChick

    W. 70th Street is not “Upper Manhattan.” Since Manhattan goes up into the 220′s, it most likely be called lower Manhattan. Upper Manhattan has tons of diversity, so we don’t have to fight about it around here.

  • another 199

    I agree — someone explain to me why we want another 200-250 kids at 199??? we can barely have drop off!!! Pick up is a disaster. all true. don’t get me started about the lack of a school play.
    a simple explanation of why??

  • Hypocrite Alert

    Those of you Center School parents who say the 199 community should be ashamed of itself for wanting the Center School to move — one question for you: Are you the same parents who casually throw around the words “racist” and “segregationist” when you see your position slipping away?

  • 199 parent and NOT a racist or segregationist

    LET THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!
    God, I am so tired of this issue. Cynthia Nixon tried hard to get her youngest child into 199, though she doesn’t live in the catchment. Why? For the convenience of dropping both kids off at one building. Truly, I know this firsthand.
    Making this about racism is a real red herring. Unfortunately, the 199 catchment has changed significantly in recent years and has become significantly less diverse. Prior to the overcrowing, there were more children coming from other catchments, which brought more diversity to the school. Now that the school is so overcrowded (And Cynthia’s wacky statement that it’s the the sixth most crowded in the district is simply incorrect, as John White, DOE official, pointed out after she stopped talking) there is no room for those outside the catchment. Still, 199 is 22 percent African American and Hispanic. Not perfectly diverse, but not lily-white.
    According to the DOE, there won’t be sufficient room for catchment children next year. The school is in crisis.
    Center is NOT a catchment school; it can be located anywhere in the district.
    Having diversity at Center School does not make 199 more diverse. The two school communities have almost nothing to do with each other.

    And I’m not even addressing Elaine Schwartz’s admissions tactics, which are highly questionable.

  • Center School parent

    I want a new space for the center school kids and let PS199 have the building to meet their space needs. I am tired of having classes that are taught in the stairways and closets. I find it disgusting for other center school parents claiming “RACISM” . That is absolute BULLSHIT and should stop. Let’s move on and let PS199 and their community have the best education for their kids and we will grow in a new space

  • I love ps199

    What the Center School parents do not want to accept is that PS 199 is going to get bigger – with the Center School or without them. WE DON’T WANT TO GET BIGGER – OBVIOUSLY- BUT WE HAVE NO CHOICE. You only need to look at the enormous buildings going up in our catchment to realize the magnitude of the upcoming explosion. Think about it -when you have 2 5th grade classes leaving and 7 kindergarten classes coming in these children have to get seats as they move their way up to 5th grade. Without the Center School leaving it is impossible to accomplish. I am sorry that Cynthia Nixon’s daughter will be upset that she has to move in her critical 8th grade year. But you would rather bus 5 YEAR OLD’s to another school so she won’t get teary to MOM? You can’t be serious.
    I am sure Center School will thrive in their new home and I wish them good luck.

  • Educators?

    Center School parents: You might not realize it, but your dialogue actually shows a lack of support for the quality of education at your school. Do you really have such low standards for your educators at the CS that you think the school will be destroyed if its four walls are different? I’m sure the CS is a great school, but do you think the physical space on West 70th Street is what makes it so, or the quality of the educators and directors? Or the support of the parents? Let’s back up and realize — all that will remain at another location. I would gladly send my soon-to-be Kindergartener to any location in the city if I knew the strong teachers and directors from PS 199 would be there as well. It’s about the quality of the educators, not the actual physical space.

  • maryann

    According to the PS 199 Executive Board, the reason they welcome another 200-250 kindergarteners to the school is the money they will bring. Big donations from eager new families is what makes 199 so cash-rich.

  • I love ps199

    Maryann- your logic is specious at best. Although you attempt to show your ‘inside’ knowledge you are totally off base with the facts. For example, last year we only had about a 40% participation in the pledge drive but yet we had to give money for 100% of the children. More children mean dilution of those funds. I really wish I could just encounter ONE Center School advocate who could focus on the issues – not fundrasing or racism or wealth BUT SPACE. But as you lose the argument it always comes back to those issues.

  • Sarah Palin

    Class warfare and culture wars didn’t work for me during the campaign – it won’t work for you. People are smarter than that. Stick to the issue at hand.

  • Blossom

    maryann, how do you know that? I am not a 199 parent, but I am a member of the Executive Board in my son’s school, and our meetings aren’t public. Are 199 Executive Board meetings public? Or is this a rumor out there?

  • maryann

    I’m going to have to ask Sarah what specious means – probably special, right?

  • I love ps199

    Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious: a specious argument

  • I LOVE PS 199 ALSO

    SPECIOUS :apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments
    plausible but not true; based on pretense; sophistic

  • disgusted

    Once again, are personal attacks against families and staff helpful? And look again at class size. I don’t know the specific numbers at 199, but I’ve read people talking about 24 -30 kids in a class.

    NYC schools are capped at 25 for K, and 32 for grades 1-5 (not including CTT and self contained special ed classes) with exceptions to go over those caps.

    Yes, 24 kids in a 3rd grade is a good number. But with many other schools with 8-10 more students per class, how does that make 199 the overlooked, over crowded school?

    Please say what you mean: you enjoy sending your children to a good school with manageable class sizes. It is in no way the Center Schools fault that the city has planned and zoned the way it has.

  • Another 199 parent who is not racist or segregationist

    24 kids in third grade is a perfectly fine number. The first grades have 27, which is rather high and the upper grades (4,5) are 30 or more. I think one of the 5th grades is 34. That said, these numbers are significantly higher than the numbers promised by Bloomberg.
    And the big issue is what next year will bring. If there were 7 kindergartens this year, there’s the possibility of 8 next year (in the past 5 years, the school has gone from 4 Ks to 7–a rather quick and dramatic increase) and the school is literally out of rooms if K numbers hold steady or increase.
    No one blames the Center School for the DOE’s ridiculously poor planning. It’s largely the specious (that word again!) use of the emotionally charged terms racist and segregationist that has 199 parents so upset.

  • ex nyc kid

    wow. i was once the product of these social engineering programs and fights. the king will always need a boot maker, a jester, a bard, a queen, a soldier, an indoctrinator, and a guillotine. the king will always need a merchant and a money changer.

    in plain english. keep indoctrinating your children into the rat race. keep pressuring them into school and degrees of alleged knowledge. keep feeding the machine.

    who runs the show? who prints the money? we never know…keep segregating, keep this pagan cycle going under the auspices of human behavior, whether on purpose or not.

    keep fighting against each other. our great gotham is now a joke. a bleeding giant. be sure to dust off those bachelors and masters degrees when the economy tanks even more and a college education finally becomes irrelevant (with the exception of those in the medical, high science and engineering fields).

    keep filling the city with stupid, silver spoon, racist, idiots who always tilt the table to even the field out.

    keep joining secret clubs, attend secret meetings and perpetuate the miserable human condition.

    keep worshipping false idols, fake ancient stories and keep putting elitist sociopaths in power.

    bush is a saint compared to the hierarchy that runs NYC Education, Finance, and Human Resources.

    You treasonous idiots fail to see that all our faits are intertwined. Keep feeding the machine, one day, it will eat you too!

  • ex nyc kid

    oops, i meant Fates!

  • ex nyc kid

    i guess its that lauded nyc edumacation…

  • another 199

    It isn’t about the race it’s about the SPACE!! If that is true according to our own stats we will be filled up again next year. What is our long term plan? NONE.
    NO ONE answers the question: WHY does 199 want 200 – 250 more kids in a school that already has lines on the swings? No school play. When will lunch be? Can someone answer the question, when every school in the nation wants to get SMALLER we are lobbying to get bigger.

  • Me

    Walking is not the issue, the issue is over-crowding along with diversity. The Center school will be removed from it’s home into another school which already contains three other middle schools, IS 245 The Computer School, MS 244 Columbus Middle School, and MS/IS 44 The Middle School for Science, Technology, and the Arts. The Computer School just recently left the gloomy basement of this same building to receive their own floor just to have to share their space with another school. And when this school gets over crowded what will happen then? When does the cycle end? I also believe in diversity and District 3 as a whole rallied for the right to make their schools more diverse [to end majority white schools] to take this right away by circumventing this choice would be ignorant.

  • inside out

    another 199 There is no logical answer to that unless it is the money brought up above or the race thing… I guess in these situations you “follow the money.”

  • Diversity Numbers

    Explain to me how PS 199 will no longer be diverse if Center School leaves? If you look at insideschools.org, you’ll see that while CS is more diverse in terms of black students, it’s not very different otherwise (almost the same % of Hispanic students, even fewer % of Asians at the CS). And that is the composition of the catchment. If the DOE wants to change diversity levels at all city schools, that’s fine, but then the entire system needs to change, not just PS 199. That is why this is a red herring. CS is just using race as a distraction from their point, which is that they just don’t want to move.

  • disgusted

    Another 199 parent wrote above that the classroom numbers are higher the Bloomberg promised. Really, a politician promised something he couldn’t do? Remember Bloomberg got the referendum on requiring smaller class sizes removed from the ballot a few years ago. But maybe instead of spending his billions to run again, he could build some more schools.

  • diversity lies

    If you move the CS out the diversity of the building goes down because the spots left empty by the CS will be filled by white student. I imagine CS would move if you recombined 191 and 199 together as they originally were built. THEN you would have two integrated buildings. You would improve 2 schools! 191 by way of adding wealthy parents and 199 by making it diverse. If you combine 191 & 199 you have 2 schools that are representative of the neighborhood from 59th to 70th! Instead of 199PTA having raised $450,000. in one year. They would have $225,000. and 191 would have that as well. this is a win win. Except for Center school that would move anyway but would not be able to play the race”card”. IF This is not about RACE? then why don’t 199 parents want to go to 191? Because it is sooooo far away? Please.

  • don’t get it

    Please someone answer the question – WHY do we want 200 – 250 more kids in a school that already has lines on the swings? No school play. When will lunch be? Can someone answer the question, when every school in the nation wants to get SMALLER we are lobbying to get bigger. If you can’t answer this maybe the reason is race… I hope not.

  • Uncle Matt

    PS 199 parents don’t want to go to PS191 because it is an inferior school. Most PS199 parents have made very important life decisions, i.e. whether to stay in the city and where to live, cecntered around their access to PS199. That they would be asked to move simply because they do not want to is absurd.
    And I should point out that 85 or so comments into this blog, still not one Center School parent can present an valid or cogent argument as to why they should not have to move. So in the 11th hour when things are not going their way, Center School decides to use scorched earth, shock and awe tactics screaming “Diversity”.
    Fact: Center School was not founded to promote diversity district wide or at all, and indeed the word diversity doesn’t appear anywhere in their mission statement.
    For you Center School folk, here is your mission statement:
    “Learning is likely to be more effective if it grows out of what interests the learner.” This sign hangs in a prominent position in a jumbled office that bustles with activity and serves as the heart of the school. All indicators point to the main philosophy of the school—that we want all students to feel that they are in control of their education. The Center School starts with the needs of children and is constantly focused on the means to meet these needs. We provide a rich academic life with good literature to read, opportunity to think and express your thoughts, and a myriad of ways to express yourself through art, drama, and writing. Recognizing the special needs of the adolescent and their struggle with puberty and emotions, the staff tries to help them develop a sense of their own value system.
    I rest my case.

  • This is a recording

    This has been answered several times – please read above and stop trying to bait people by throwing charged terms that are, frankly, insulting to those that have actually experienced racism in their lives.

  • Uncle Matt

    Amen. See you Wednesday.

  • I love ps199

    in response to “diversity lies”IF This is not about RACE? then why don’t 199 parents want to go to 191? Because it is sooooo far away? Please.

    —I don’t want to go to 191 because i live across the street from 199. Lets be honest here – 199 is a better school RIGHT NOW. maybe it won’t be in a few years >>but RIGHT NOW when my kid will be in school it is not as good. So what is it about that that you or anyone who reads these posts don’t understand? This is my childs future and I will not jeopardize it to be politically correct. I have gotten the point where I don’t even care if you call me a racist. Rightnow this is the makeup of the catchment. If it is too white for you I am sorry but it is what it is. I worked hard to make the money to buy my apartment and live there and I am sick and tired of apologizing for it. So call me a racist..it won’t change a thing.

  • Academic

    QUESTION: IF This is not about race then why don’t 199 parents want to go to 191? Because it is sooooo far away? ANSWER: Because PS 199 received an “A” from the DOE, while PS 191 received a “C”. Enough said.

  • flummoxed

    Does someone want to explain to me why Cynthia Nixon sends her kid to the LEAST diverse middle school in District 3 if she is so concerned about diversity?

  • more diversity lies

    Center School is the least diverse middle school in District 3. So,why are they suddenly climbing all over the diversity issue?

  • Horace B

    I love ps199

    thank you for being honest, unlike uncle matt.

  • Future 199 Parent

    Again, many of us would be fine with combining 199 and 191, as long as the two were entirely combined, and the new folks weren’t just shunted off to 191 without any of the resources of 191. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on of the options the DOE provided for the CEC to vote on. And I daresay the current 199 parents who are bemoaning an increase in the size of the school wouldn’t be doing so if the alterative were for THEIR kids to attend 191.

  • disgusted

    Hopefully rezoning will put an underused 191 to good use, and then some of these parents will actually have a shorter walk with their kids. If they use even half the energy to boost up 191 as they have used to force out CS, it will be another good public school for NY’s children.

  • PS 199 parent too

    While it wasn’t an option offered by the DOE/CEC officially – many 199 parents urged our politicians and DOE/CEC officials to consider combining 199 and 191′s populations, and split the grades – lower at 199, upper at 191 to benefit both schools. We asked John White to work on the option he mentioned at one of the most recent meetings to start up a new school at the PS 9 building (rumor had it that it would be run by PS 87′s current principal) that would handle overflow from the entire catchement. The charges that the DOE/CEC are offering one solution for one school is based on the fact that moving Center School disrupts a thriving school FOR A ONE YEAR FIX FOR 199 only. Then we have an overcrowding issue again. And no cluster rooms again. The high rises that are now under construction will soon be filled up with new young families, and our school will be truly over-crowded. You can try to argue that 199 is diverse – but that’s past history. The kindergarten class this year is 4% african american (that’s less than 1 child in each of the 7 classes). The school will have to accept all incoming admissions next year – so whether those buildings are completed by Sept or May – there will be an influx of new kids beyond the incoming kindergarteners. This was a rare opportunity to relieve the problem. And it will be gone. All of it will only get amplified from here – more new families, no funds for new school buildings (read the news lately???) no diversity (something that was once prized if you were a west sider). We should all be fighting this fight together – ask the PAC committee this issue. Middle schools admissions are difficult – whether based on test, or based on an interview -there are few slots, and more and more kids. Think beyond your current walk across the street – and you may realize that this is all of our problem.

  • disgusted

    agreed

  • Future 199 Parent

    PS 199 parent too:

    Did you get a sense for why DOE/CEC wouldn’t consider combining the zones? It really is the best alternative. Then again, there’s no reason it can’t happen next year, or the year after. Why do you think the possibility has disappeared?

  • 199 parent

    I have noticed that all of this diversity talk is talk. If you care so much about diversity, like the parents applying to Center this year, why didn’t you go to a more diverse school-I am sure there is room in several of them, like 191, and open up some spots for more diversity at 199. No, you didn’t offer that as an option. You wanted k thru 2 at 191, so your kids weren’t affected. So face it, you are just trying to get into center school. Why don’t you just be honest. You’d get a lot more respect that way.

  • Horace B

    199 parent

    got you last

  • enough is enough

    Combining these 2 zones wouldn’t actually work; there still isn’t enough room. If you truly want a diverse school, unzone the entire district. But most parents wouldn’t want that. For whatever it’s worth, there are plenty of schools that are less diverse than 199- ps290, 41, 6, 234 to name a few. And I don’t hear anyone running around calling them racists.

  • Future 199 Parent

    >If you care so much about diversity, like the parents applying to Center this year, why didn’t you go to a more diverse school-I am sure there is room in several of them, like 191, and open up some spots for more diversity at 199. No, you didn’t offer that as an option. You wanted k thru 2 at 191, so your kids weren’t affected.

    ??? Was this to me? I don’t want to send my kid to 191 because it’s a bad school. My hope would be that if the 2 schools were combined, that would change. And really, it doesn’t matter which school the kids started out at. K-2 at 191 and 3-5 at 199 would be fine, if the Administration and PTA of 199 were involved at both levels.

  • Uncle Matt

    Hey Horace B and all you diversity-baiting fools, I only write the truth, you know it, and you still haven’t offered one good reason why Center School should not move to a more ample facility with less crowding.
    Oh, wait, I think I remember something about Elaine saying it would be “Disruptive”. Funny, my wafe says it is “disruptive” when I leave the toilet seat up, but somehow dispite this disruption our marriage flourishes.
    Anyway, you guys have no intelligent answers to the real question so I’ll leave this where I left it last time I posted. See you Wednesday.

  • ohmygod

    We all understand why pre-k parents want to send their kids to 199 next year. BUT Please someone answer the question – WHY do we want 200 – 250 more kids in a school that already has lines on the swings? No school play. When will lunch be? Can someone answer the question, when every school in the nation wants to get SMALLER we are lobbying to get bigger. If you can’t answer this maybe the reason is race… I hope not.

  • Center School parent

    I really don’t want to move. It would be very inconvenient.

  • OMFGG

    Are you going to keep repeating the same post – VERBATIM – but under a different name each time, ohmygod? Come on, get more creative.

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