The Co-Op School Finds a Home in Clinton Hill
After five years of using temporary space (mot recently at 241 Taaffe Place), the Co-op School, a pre-school serving the Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy communities, has found a permanent home: The 60-family group will take over the Irving Place Child Development Center at 87 Irving Place between Putnam Avenue and Fulton Street…
After five years of using temporary space (mot recently at 241 Taaffe Place), the Co-op School, a pre-school serving the Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy communities, has found a permanent home: The 60-family group will take over the Irving Place Child Development Center at 87 Irving Place between Putnam Avenue and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill. From what we hear, everyone is thrilled with how the long search ended up. Hopefully, it will also apply some extra pressure to law enforcement’s efforts to address the long-time, ahem, quality of life issues that have plagued Putnam Avenue. GMAP
Hey BK! I seriously was not trying to call you out or anything. I understand what the nature of your question is and I don’t think you were wrong to ask it. I just think that anything active and positive going into that space is welcome. Sorry if it seemed like I was questioning you. I am not sure Putnam if your analysis of the racial make-up of the school is that accurate but I don’t pretend to know for sure–my daughter is going to go there in the fall but I have not been to the school yet. I had the sense that it reflected the racial demographics of the neighborhood better than that. But I can see why you (BKnesto) would question the police presence thing. I am just glad something positive is going in that space.
This school is a private co-op which is predominantly non-African American (even to the extent that they feel the need to reach down their waiting list to be more “colorful”). To the extent that it represents a presence by an upper middle class institution, I believe there is some sense that it confirms the possibility of further development/change of this corner of Clinton Hill. Given the number of empty lots over here, anything which encourages further development is welcome. But your point is well taken, BK,[clintonhilchill] it is obvious that there is a strong undercurrent of “a school filled with kids who look like our kids.” Perhaps visions of a little Berkeley-Carroll School in the hood. (I know that the Co-op School is hardly that!)
Sigh, sorry if our enthusiasm reveals our classist slip is showing.
Wow…
I didn’t say it was unwelcome wasder. I asked a question, if you didn’t have an answer you couldve easily let it slide. I’m not trying to slice anything.
It’s great news. It’s a grass-roots school too, that a lot of people seem to be happy with. With this, and with the Achievment First Charter School on Waverly between Fulton and Atlantic to open hopefully soon, there will be more young kids regularly attending school along Fulton, which is nice (more parents along the commercial strip in the morning, after school etc…).
I don’t know why Brownstoner specifically linked police presence to this particular school but from my perspective it is a very welcome addition to the neighborhood. For one thing my daughter is going to go there so that is convenient for me, but also that stretch of Irving has been really downbeat since the child care center closed and having a vibrant school there is good for the neighborhood no matter how you slice it.
The school has been open longer than it was closed, there’s also Nelrak around the corner, P.S.56 down the block and a playground across the street. What’s so different about this school that one thinks it will put pressure for increased police presence?
Hey BKNesto! What’s up? The daycare center in question has been unused since I have been living here, getting tagged and gathering garbage around it. This is why I am excited for the school to open and why Brownstoner said what he said. If it was still an operational day care center we wouldn’t be talking about it but its an eyesore right now.
So parents have been taking their kids there for years, but now that it’s inhabited by a different school police presence should automatically increase?! That place has been a daycare center for years as well as Nelrak around the corner.