It looks like us coming together as a community might be paying off: The Brooklyn Paper reported that BFS might be moving away from the location that has caused so much discontent in our area and is now looking at three other sites, as per the head of the school, Michael Nill.
Here is the article in the Brooklyn Paper:
“The Downtown Brooklyn private school is moving away from a controversial plan to build a new educational center on State Street in nearby Boerum Hill, and is now looking at three other sites that do not require a tough-to-get rezoning, said Michael Nill, the head of school.
“Acquiring [the State Street] site for the school is not impossible, but it would take an effort to get community approval,” Nill said.
Angry neighbors on the block between Hoyt and Bond streets met with school representatives in early October to protest the Quaker school’s proposal for a five-story, 400-student elementary school that would replace the existing facility on Pearl Street. Neighbors complained that heavy traffic and noise would result if the project was approved. That protest irked other neighbors who support the expansion because it would bring a high-quality school to their block.
Nill would not say where the new locations are, but said that they are already zoned for high rises, unlike the low-rise zoning at the State Street location, which would also need approval from the Empire State Development Corporation because the lot is actually state-owned.
The announcement was hailed by some residents of State Street.
“Sure, we’re relieved it may not happen in this location, though we still think Brooklyn Friends would be an asset to our community,” said Alex Guillot, who opposed the State Street proposal, but suggested an empty lot at the corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn streets in hopes that the school would build there. “There are plenty of places around where everyone would have benefitted, without putting strain on our blocks.”
Nill promised an official announcement on the new site in spring.”
While this seems to be good news for all of us, we need to remain vigilant and continue to raise support against the proposed location until this is confirmed.
Thanks to all of you that have joined us since we launched our group. It shows that at the end of the day, we can come together and decide what is right for our community.
Stay tuned.
