Regarding the part of your observation where you say “Let’s not forget the the hearing held at PS 11/Clinton was not accessible to any of the PS 138 students in wheelchairs.”

All I can say is Holy Sh*t that is messed up.

I learned from this article that DOE spokesperson Kanner said, “the city decided to hold a question-and-answer session on the new proposal rather than cancel the hearing altogether.” At the session last night DOE said that it was no longer a hearing but just a meeting. I guess it was a meeting about the EIS which was issued by Joel Klein at 5:11 pm before our 6:30 pm meeting. I imagine that we were supposed to have read and examined this EIS and come up with questions regarding it. This is a joke, right? There was no Q & A session, just a lot of concerned and angry parents asking the DOE questions as they sat there mute. They made no comments, gave no answers, gave no information. DOE couldn’t get their act together to just cancel the whole thing and not waste our families’ time and energy.

DOE is supposed to hold hearings at all affected schools, hence the two meetings for PS 138@33, one of which was canceled but never rescheduled. Let’s not forget the the hearing held at PS 11/Clinton was not accessible to any of the PS 138 students in wheelchairs. Now DOE’s Elizabeth Rose is saying that they don’t need to hold hearings at the new locations they’re proposing to move the PS 138 students to because they’re not really affected in any significant way! One more excuse to quash anyone speaking out. And the PEP vote is being held on Staten Island–not exactly convenient for families with students who have serious mobility issues. It boggles the mind.

The EIS is still full of holes. You would think that the Bloomberg admin. would at least know how to put together what is essentially a business plan, but this is shameful and disrespectful to all.

This administration is getting away with murder in more ways than one.

Not exactly.

At the CEC2 Calendar Meeting held on Wednesday, January 27, coincidentally at PS33, at least two PS138 (at the PS33 site) parent leaders speaking on behalf of their school’s community provided quite eloquent and compelling “oral comments” strongly opposing the proposed move from PS33 to M047, The American Sign Language and English Secondary School, as described in the original EIS dated January 8.

As I recall, there were DOE officials present at that meeting.

Further, I believe more PS138 parents would have spoken on the topic, as well as more Clinton Middle School, PS11, and PS33 parents, but the evening’s agenda was packed and not designed to be a full hearing, and unfortunately, public — and CEC — comment on ALL topics, including Lower Manhattan rezoning, had to be limited.

As to the official hearings, there was to be a PS138 hearing on Wed Feb 10 at M047 (after the Clinton hearings on Feb 8 and 9), but that was rescheduled due to the Great Blizzard. It was, for a time anyway, rescheduled for tonite, Monday Feb 22, the very same night as the other PS138 hearing… at PS33. Two hearings, same school move, same nite, opposite sides of town. Eek. At least now, there will be one consolidated PS138 hearing, on March 11.

For my money, the Clinton hearing at PS33, and the PS138 hearing at PS33 could have been and should have been combined from the get-go, as these moves are totally inter-related; no one would be talking about relocating PS138 out of PS33 were it not to make room at PS33 for Clinton.

Please note that in the above EIS statement paste-in, there are actually TWO revised EIS’s strung together. The one for the Clinton Middle School move starts with:
“Re-siting of Clinton School for Writers and Artists (02M260) and Co-location with Existing Schools in School Building M033.”

Michael D. Markowitz, P.E.
Member, CECD2

A PEP hearing? Is that what these families get? They may as well stay home.