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Back in the wild days of New York City in 1974, as the city fell into debt and Phillipe Petit strung his tightrope between the Twin Towers, students at Greenwich Village’s PS 41 got a surprise visit from a giant celebrity.

Muhammad Ali, then heavyweight champion of the world, made an appearance at the school to film a segment of the proto-Punk’d practical joke television show Candid Camera. In the segment, several students are asked what they would say to Ali if given the chance. As they answer, Ali appears, clothed in boxing attire. The students’ expressions are priceless.

Now, producers from a British television network that’s putting together a Candid Camera special in honor of the show’s 50th birthday are looking for those students. I heard today from producer Catherine Crowe, who has narrowed down her search to 1973′s Class 3-313, taught by Mrs. Edgerly, and Class 4-306 from the 1974-1975 school year. Class pictures are below. If you can identify any of the students from the video, let us know.

Unfortunately, the producer could provide only a French-dubbed version of the segment, so if you know what’s being said, please translate in the comments. (more…)

A line of parents and students stretches down the street. At right, Comptroller William Thompson greets a parent. (Michael Markowitz)

The line to get into PS 41 in Greenwich Village yesterday wrapped around the block, giving parents and students time to meet the politicians who made the school a campaign stop yesterday. Comptroller William Thompson, who is running for mayor, appeared at PS 41, where enrollment has swelled, just hours before releasing an audit taking aim at the city’s spending on class size reduction efforts. Also on hand were City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who represent the neighborhood.

PS 41 parent and District 2 parent council member Michael Markowitz sent us these pictures. Send yours to tips@gothamschools.org.

75 Morton Street, the subject of a rally last summer, could still become a school. (GothamSchools)

A meeting about overcrowding in Manhattan schools last night ended in surprising fashion: with the Department of Education being lauded for listening to parents.

Parents from one local school, the Clinton School for Writers and Artists, showed up to the meeting of the Community Education Council for District 2 in red, as planned, to protest the idea of their school moving. Hundreds of other parents arrived armed with protest signs and talking points about the need for more school seats in the district, which covers most of Manhattan below 59th Street and the Upper East Side. Advocates have criticized the DOE for understating the extent of crowding in the area.

But the mood relaxed after John White, the DOE official on hand, dispatched with the idea that Clinton would be asked to move. White said the DOE instead would try to ease crowding by finding a new space for Greenwich Village Middle School. That school is eager to move out of its current location on the top floor of the already overcrowded PS 3 building.

One potential site for the school, according to White: part of the state-owned office building at 75 Morton Street that parents and elected officials lobbied mightily last summer for the DOE to obtain. (more…)