Outrage as $60k-a-year private school is allowed to turn public Manhattan street into PLAYGROUND
The Birch Wathen Lenox School was granted permission to shut down the Upper East Side block - East 77th Street between Second and Third - to foot and car traffic for two peak hours a day, thrice a week, beginning in September, as reported by the New York Post.
The school received the permission as part of NYC 's Open Streets programs after arguing its rooftop playground was so small that only one grade could use it at a time.
It will be allowed to close the street from 11am until 1pm three days a week, as along as they usher children off the road as needed to let delivery trucks or emergency vehicles through.
The posh school, whose alumni include veteran journalist Barbara Walters, had previously been denied the permit, when it requested to shut down the street for five hours a day, five days a week.
Business owners on the street told the Post they are angry over the community board's decision which they say will affect their income.
The school said the playground on its rooftop was too small for their students
'It's a school filled with very rich kids. It's like the 1 percent taking away from the 99 percent,' said Todd Layne, who owns a laundromat near the school.
'Why do they have the right to commandeer an entire street and disrupt the businesses on this block?'
Meanwhile Toby Clairty Lighting owner Toby Chancey said he could lose as much as 10 percent of his business, because the majority of his elderly customers drive up to the storefront.
In response to the outrage, the Birch Wathen Lenox School pledged to clear the roadway when needed.
Head of School Bill Kuhn said the school will maintain open communications with its neighbors.
The Open Streets plan, additionally, will be up for review after the coming school year and could be scrapped.
'Our revised Open Street proposal, which was unanimously approved by Community Board 8 with a vote of 42-0, reduced our initial plan by 70 percent, asking only for two hours a day, three times a week,' Kuhn said in a statement.
'This approval reflects our extensive community engagement and the adjustments we made to address feedback.'
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