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NYC Students Stay Home Tuesday: 23 New School Buildings Open Wednesday

By Mitchell J Hall

Real Estate Agent

September 07, 2009 12:57 AM

Though controversial on "cable news" and "talk radio" how school districts and parents in parts of the country will handle the mass-viewing of the president’s speech, it's not an issue in New York City. That’s because NYC public schools will open their doors on Wednesday, not Tuesday as a result of a deal between the city and the teachers union.

Some charter schools have opened already. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will watch President Obama's back-to-school speech from a seat in Manhattan Charter School.

NYC has been building new schools. 23 new school buildings with more than 13,000 seats will open at the start of the 2009-10 school year Sept. 9th. This new construction, along with the 18 new buildings opened last year, represents the most-ever new classroom seats to come on line in a two-year period since the School Construction Authority was created in 1988.

Between 2002 and 2012, the Department of Education is on track to construct more than 110,000 new school seats across the City, with more than 82,000 seats already completed. These seats will reduce pockets of overcrowding, and will ensure that students have the opportunity to learn in modern facilities fully equipped to prepare them for success.

The School Construction Authority’s implementation of the City’s largest-ever Capital Plan earned the agency the title of New York Construction magazine’s “Owner of the Year” for 2009, a prestigious designation awarded to the region’s best builder.

Since 2002, the City has:

Reduced pockets of overcrowding in every borough
Constructed more than 82,000 new school seats
Reduced the price per square foot for construction by the equivalent of 28 percent (adjusted for inflation)
Implemented aggressive “green” building standards to ensure new school buildings are environmentally-sound
Conducted renovations in 85 percent of school buildings
Funded the construction of 280 science labs

Enjoy Labor Day!

http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm

Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group

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Kent Anderson

Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, Sandpoint, Idaho - Sandpoint, ID

from Schweitzer to the Lake

Mitchell - Great info for potential buyers. Schools are, obviously, a paramount issue.

Sep 07, 2009 11:51 AM

Mitchell J Hall

Manhattan, NY

Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn

Lenn, In NYC Mayor Bloomberg deserves credit. He is the first mayor to have won mayoral control of the schools. The old system was local control overseen by a central state board.

William, Our schools here have improved. The mayor has opponents and critics but most agree they've improved over the old system.

Carole, I didn't know that about Long Island. There have been budget cuts but I think NYC is always recruiting good teachers.

Sep 07, 2009 12:10 PM

Coleen DeGroff

Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors - Gainesville, FL

Haile Plantation Real Estate - Gainesville FL

Mitchell -

Personally I think this whole "should the President be able to address schoolchildren?" issue is shameful. And I would sincerely hope that the reason schools are opening on Wednesday or Thursday is not because of some sort of dodging-the-media-firestorm game plan.

In case anybody is interested, here is a link to the speech the President will be giving tomorrow to the schoolchildren lucky enough to hear him.

I sincerely hope that the generation we are currently raising up will be less prone to "silly season" antics.

Sep 07, 2009 12:27 PM

Chris Olsen

Olsen Ziegler Realty - Cleveland, OH

Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate

Hi Mitchell -- I am always glad to hear when large school districts do more for children (our future) and I think it's never enough as it relates to very large school districts.

Sep 07, 2009 01:03 PM

Elizabeth Bolton

RE/MAX Destiny Real Estate Cambridge, MA - Cambridge, MA

Cambridge MA Realtor

I second Coleen's comment wholeheartedly. To even refer to it as a "controversy" is to give credence to the hate mongerers. Great to hear that NYC is getting so many new schools built.

Liz

Sep 07, 2009 02:00 PM

Steve Shatsky

Dallas, TX

Hi Mitchell... The NYC Public Schools sound like they are making great strides to ensure a top quality education for the city's youth.

Sep 07, 2009 02:03 PM

John Elwell

CENTURY 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc. - Zephyrhills, FL

You Deserve a Full-Time Agent, Not Reduced Results

God forbid the children might hear the President speak. Boy, that problem sure is at the top of the important issues we are facing in this world of ours at the moment. Thank goodness in the US we have our priorities properly lined up, unlike all of those other horrid places. Not!

Sep 07, 2009 02:41 PM

Mitchell J Hall

Manhattan, NY

Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn

Philip, No issue when the schools are not open. lol I'm back to work in the morning and looking forward to a good fall selling season.

Kent, Thanks, schools are an important issue for many buyers.

Collen, I agree. It is disturbing to read posts and comments from people who don't respect the President or the office he was elected to. I will always remember being in third grade when the principal announced President Kennedy was assassinated.

Chris, I agree, it's never enough, education is too important.

Liz, You're right. I shouldn't have referred to it as a controversy. There is nothing controversial about the President telling students to do their homework and work hard.

Steve, Quality education is so important for current and future generations.

Sep 07, 2009 02:55 PM

Bryan Fagan

Law Office of Bryan Fagan - Houston, TX

I sincerely hope that the generation we are currently raising up will be less prone to "silly season" antics.

Sep 07, 2009 03:48 PM

Trish Giassa, Crested Butte, Colorado. RSPS

Homes In Crested Butte - Crested Butte, CO

Mitchell, it's truly wonderful that a city with so much trouble and exodus in years past has met the challenge of becoming a wonderful place for families with children. It used to be New Yorkers who could would flee for the burbs, but now the streets are teeming with parents pushing strollers and children needing schooling. Kudos to my favorite city on earth! I'll be there at Christmas!

Sep 07, 2009 04:30 PM

Pat Mullikin - KW Milwaukee

Keller Williams Milwaukee - Brookfield, WI

Mitchell,

Coming from an area of great public schools, my opinion is that quality schools help maintain property values.

The President speaking to school children? A noble idea but bound to draw criticism regardless of his party, etc. No matter who would be trying to do this, there would be a large, loud contingent of nay-sayers. Kids aren't going to "get it" anyway. Parents rule.

Sep 07, 2009 04:41 PM

Sabrina Kelley

ERA Herman Group Real Estate - Woodland Park, CO

Woodland Park Colorado Mountain Homes and Land

Teller county Colorado has a teacher work day on Tues. so no kids in school for the speech. I am glad that the press released a copy of the speech today so that parents who were worried about the content can send their kids to school tomorrow knowing the message is positive (Including the bit about washing their hands).

Sep 07, 2009 05:44 PM

Terry Haugen STAGE it RIGHT! 321-956-2495

Stage it Right! - Melbourne, FL

WOW Mitchell, that is awesome! I've always found it interesting that some school districts try to predict what the future will hold in terms of student enrollment, go on a building binge, fill up the schools, then a few years down the line, try to figure out what to do with some of the schools which are now pretty much empty. Hope that doesn't happen to NYC.

Sep 08, 2009 12:50 AM

Home Loan Search.Online

Home Loan Search Online - Newnan, GA

It's good to hear that the educational system is improving in NYC. This is a great blog post for someone looking to move into the area.

Sep 08, 2009 01:52 AM

Jeani Codrey

RE/MAX Corridor - New Braunfels, TX

Director of Opportunity & Agent Development

Glad to hear that the schools are improving but before we go running to the current administration's defense, let us not forget the bashing that our prior commander in chief took from this same media and citizens. I respect the president because of the office he holds, but I do not have to agree with him or his agenda, just like I didn't agree with everything the former administration did. No leader will do everything we want or expect, so we need to be independent thinking people...I also believe that is a quality of a good REALTOR. :o))))

Sep 08, 2009 03:38 AM

Mitchell J Hall

Manhattan, NY

Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn

John, I hear you. God forbid children may hear the President speak. It is quite amazing what some people have issues with these days.

Bryan, I hope this generation turns out less "silly" than some of their parents.

Trish, Since 2000 there has been a baby boom in the city. 1 out of every 20 Manhattanites is now a toddler under age 5. Their parents want to raise them in the city. Many of the new condo developments are no longer building studio and 1 bedroom apartments. Most feature large apartments 2,3, 4, 5+ bedrooms. Christmas is a wonderful time in the city.

Pat, I agree, quality schools maintain property values.

Sabrina, I think today is a teacher work day here also to prepare for the year ahead. The kids are off. Washing their hands just might prevent them from catching the flu.

Terry, We don't have that problem in NYC. Our population is growing, it is expected to grow by another million people in the next decade. NYC is a tolerant city and we welcome diversity including immigrants. The Statue of Liberty is in our harbor and our city was built by immigrants. We do not have the land to keep building and sprawling like some places. We appreciate our landmarks and preserve, restore, convert and renovate existing buildings. In fact one of the schools getting a new campus is the High School my mother attended.

Darrel, Thank you. As Chris mentioned it's never enough. There is always room for improvement.

Sep 08, 2009 04:29 AM

Louis Snitkin

Halstead Property - Manhattan, NY

"Results That Will Move You"

Coleen - Thank you for the link. Nothing controversial in his speech, unless you think that children shouldn't be asked to work hard and do well.

Mitchell - I have to agree that Mayor Bloomberg has had a positive effect on the NYC school system. Thank you for the update.

Sep 08, 2009 05:25 AM

Millie C. Legenhausen

Calcagni Real Estate, Hamden, Connecticut - Hamden, CT

CRS, GRI, CIPS, MBA, Realtor

Happy to hear about the new schools in New York City. I worked in the city for 10 years and absolutely love it. My husband and daughter are NYU grads. I look forward to a return of the day when NYC public schools are once again known for producing great minds. There is so much potential, so much "fire in the belly", and so much to aspire for in NYC.

Sep 08, 2009 07:22 AM

James Lyon

Vista Pacific Realty - Sacramento, CA

That is a great story and it is especially great to hear something positive about our schools, thanks.

Sep 08, 2009 06:06 PM

Mitchell J Hall

Manhattan, NY

Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn

Jeani, Thank you for your comment and opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. You do not have to agree with the "washing hands", "doing homework" and "studying hard" agenda. You can even call your dis-agreement "independent thinking".

Louis, Thanks for stopping by. The school system has changed under Bloomberg. As brokers we can not tell a buyer that their kids will go to a particular school even if the school is located across the street from our listing.

Millie, Thanks for stopping by. I agree. NYU is a great school. All New Yorker's have a sense of aspiration and share a strong work ethic.

James, Thank you for your comment.

Sep 08, 2009 11:34 PM

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