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Headlines
September 30, 2009
Rise & Shine: Better food on the menu for some city schools
- A leaked e-mail shows dissent within the SCA about a controversial DUMBO school project. (Daily News)
- City schools have to entice student diners with food produced under difficult constraints. (Times)
- Bill de Blasio and John Liu are the Democratic nominees for public advocate and comptroller. (Times)
- Duncan, Sharpton, and Gingrich started their national tour in Philadelphia. (Wall Street Journal, AP)
- D.C. has fired the group contracted to build an ARIS-like data system for its schools. (Washington Post)
- The contractor who handles security at D.C. schools is also in trouble. (Washington Post)
- Sen. Dick Durbin suggested there is hope for D.C.’s school voucher program. (Wall Street Journal)
- A Senate finance panel voted to restore money for abstinence sex education that Obama cut. (AP)
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September 30th, 2009 10:47 am
Re Item No 1, Dissent Within the SCA:
This story is big, or should be.
Bruce Barrett, author of the leaked email, is not just any SCA architect and engineer. She is the SCA’s VICE PRESIDENT for Architecture and Engineering, and a professional of clear integrity.
Perhaps it is time for one of the OTHER six non-executive VP’s, namely the SCA Inspector General, or one of the top three executives, including the President and the General Counsel, to put out a report on the apparent meddling by City Hall and/or Tweed in area of responsibility and expertise of the School Construction Authority. Or perhaps this is a job for the next Public Advocate.
And I’d be saying the same even if there was NOT a private developer drooling over the site and angling behind the back of SCA to get the most favorable outcome for a for-profit CONDO project. Did it need zoning exemptions to boot? Why didn’t any concesions include additional seats?
WHO pressured SCA to over-rule its ranking architect? And in exchange for WHAT by those inside government? It’s clear what those outside government got — approval of a project that was opposed by SCA (on numerous STILL-valid technical grounds: size, location, safety, noise), AND the local city council member.
Last, despite the outcome of yesterday’s Comptroller primary, I encourage Councilman David Yassky to pursue this matter to its conclusion. It’s not just about this one school and project.
Heading into the Mayoral election, the citizens of New York deserve to know how such deals have been getting made. This DUMBO story is no Disney fable. We need more sunlight on the circus.
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