By The Times/Ledger
Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew was not the problem. Nor was he the solution. The enemies of crew may feel a sense of vindication now that the Board of Education has voted 4-3 not to renew his contract. However, they are deluding themselves if they think that Crew is responsible for the sorry state of public education in New York City.
Crew inherited a nearly impossible challenge – taming the bureaucracy at 110 Livingston Street. The huge centralized system has never been responsive to the needs of local school districts. Parents have had little hope of effecting changes in the public school system.
The latest scandal in which a number of teachers have admitted to helping students to cheat on standardized math and reading tests only served to show that the time has come dismantle the central Board of Education and replace it with five Borough Boards.
There is much that Crew, who earned $245,000 a year in addition to a house to live in, should have done during his tenure. He should have fought harder to make certain that New York City gets its fair share of state education spending. It does not. Crew should have been outraged that children in Queens are crowded into inadequate buildings. The use of temporary trailers is not acceptable. Crew should have also fought to make teacher salaries competitive with those on Long Island.
Currently they lag far behind.
But no matter how bright or talented he is, Crew could not make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. First the system must change – with or without Crew.
Illegal conversions
Northeast Queens is bursting at the seams. To meet the need for new housing, many builders have knowingly ignored existing zoning regulations in order to construct multi-unit dwellings in a space that once was occupied by a single-family house.
There is no question that these illegal conversions create an unacceptable burden for the entire community. Suddenly it becomes harder to find a parking spot and support services begin to show the strain. The illegal conversions also present safety issues an in some cases have been fire hazards.
Responding to pressure from the homeowners and their elected representatives, the Buildings Department has begun cracking down on illegal construction.
The crackdown has drawn an angry response from some immigrant groups in Richmond Hill who say that they are being harassed. They argue that without being able to rent out a basement or attic they could not afford to live in this part of Queens. They say the inspections were abusive.
The bottom line is that zoning was created to protect the quality of life in this city. If people want to live here, they must be willing to live within the existing zoning regulations. Period.
Hope in the Y2K
For years we have used this space to decry the overcrowding of the public schools in northeast Queens. Although new residents continued to move in record numbers to this area, little was done to make certain that there would be adequate classroom space. Now, a proposal to build three new schools on the site of the former Creedmoor Hospital offers real hope for relieving the overcrowding in Districts 26 and 29.
The plans being considered by the School Construction Authority propose the building of a 1,000 seat high school, a 900-seat intermediate school and a 650-seat primary school. Because the hospital lies on the border, it will be open to students from Districts 29 and 26. In addition to modern classroom space, the students would have access to the existing ballfields, a swimming pool and bowling alleys.
State Sen. Frank Padavan, Assemblyman Mark Weprin and Councilman Sheldon Leffler all share credit for at least getting this proposal seriously considered.
