City Rethinks Re-Zoning of Village Schools, PS 41 and PS 3

By Kevin Korber of Village Confidential

We had previously reported on a proposal by the city’s Department of Education that would change the public school zoning structure in the Village. The plan would have eliminated the choice of public schools that residents have enjoyed for years. Currently, residents of the West Village, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District had the option to send their children to P.S. 3 at 490 Hudson Street or P.S. 41 at 116 West 11^th Street. Under the proposal, the district would be broken up, consigning West Village students to P.S. 3 and Greenwich Village students to P.S. 41.

Now, it looks as if the Department of Education is having second thoughts about these changes. The Tribeca Trib is reporting that the DOE is re-considering the plan after hearing grievances from TriBeCa residents, who would be forced to send their kids to P.S. 3 as a result of the re-zoning.

This comes as a result of the DOE’s attempt to remedy the overcrowding situation at TriBeCa’s P.S. 234 by dividing TriBeCa into north and south zones. Residents of the north zone would have to take their kids to school in the West Village, a distance that did not sit well with parents in TriBeCa.

Members of the district’s Community Education Council and Community Board 1 have spoken out against the proposal, which has proven vehemently unpopular with TriBeCa residents, and even the principal of P.S. 234 said that she doesn’t support the proposal wholeheartedly, though she still warned that waitlists for the school’s kindergarten could begin as early as next year unless the overcrowding situation is resolved.

The next zoning proposal is set to be issued at another CEC meeting this month. The date and location have yet to be determined.