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Apr il 12,2010

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ChancellorJoelKlein
New York City Departmentof Education
52 ChambersStreet
New York, NY 10007

Re: AcademyCharter SchoolPlacementat PS 123

Harlem Success

Dear ChancellorKlein:

I write to you todayto expressmy outrageat the Deparlmentof Education's(DOE)

suddenreversaland snapdecisionto locatea HarlemSuccessAcademy(HSA) charter
sclroolin the spacecurrentlyoccupiedby PS 123at 301 West 140'nStreetin my Cor-rncil
district.I considerthis a violationof the agreementreachedundersimilar circumstances
two yearsago.At the time, I regardedthe DOE's decisionto look elsewherefor spacefor
HSA as an openingsalvo in an ongoingbattle over the alreadyover-taxedspaceat PS
123.I now seethat the fight over this spacehas retumedall too soon.

I do want to reiteratethat I am not againstcharterschools. There are charterschoolsin

my district that I strongly support. I am for a quality educationfor all children and
believewe must exploreall avenuesto providewhat I consideran absolutenecessity.atr
educationthat will make our childrencompetitivechampionsin an ever shrinking global
society. However,Harlem Success Academyis anothermatter. HSA hasbecomean
issueof greed. My communityis oversaturated with HSA. I readin the Daily News
emailsgeneratedby the Chancellor. Theseemailsbetweenthe Chancellorand Ms.
Moskowitz portrayedthe children of my community as nothing more than a commodity
that yielded Ms. Moskowitz significantprofit becauseshecapturedthe majority market
share.This market sharewill wreak havoc on the existingeducational,public school
infrastructure.We who love all of the children of our communitymust cry foul and
denouncethis reversalin policy on the part of DOE. Worst of all, the cozy relationship
betweenDOE and HSA leadership,combinedwith the rnethodsemployedto achieve
HSA's goalsat any cost,give all charterschoolsan undeseled bad name amongmany in
this community.
PS 123 is one the finest community-basedschoolsserving
my district, taking children
that HSA's lottery rejectsand molding them into intelleciually
curious,inter"estingyoung
people' This schoolcannotafford to fight anotherbattle
with unknown outcomesover its
preciousspace.The damageto the school'spsycheand reputation
.allloo still hasnot
healedsincethe DOE madethe commitmenttwo yearsago to
hold pS 123 harmless.pS
123's administration,parentsand,aboveall, childien canirot
continueto function
productivelywhen their resourcesare repeatedlyup for grabs
to a charterschoolwhose
hostile,slash-and-burncorporatetakeovertactiis would-beenvied
by GenghisKhan
himself.

Sincewe have had this fight beforewith what now amountsto no good
end for my
district and my constituents,I will not bore you with counterarguments
and emotional
appealssuch as the loss of a special-edclassroom,an art room, a
music room and a
computerlab. Thoseissueswere obviously ignoredlast time. The
DoE and,most
certainly,HSA, basedon recentmedia storiesinvolving the upper
echelonsof both, have
no interestin or compassionfor the studentsat PS 123,much lessthe
honor to abideby
pastcommitments.Suffice it to saythat I vehementlyopposethis
action.I will be
working with the PS 123 community to beatback this unconscionable
assaultone more
time.

Sincerely,

E.
t?,,A*,
DeputyMajorityLeader

Cc: ChairmanCharlesB. Rangel

StateSenatorBill perkins
Assemblymember Keith L.T. Wright
DeputyMayorDennisWalcott
TheHonorableEvaMoskowitz,HarlemSuccess
Academy
RandiWeingarten,IIFT
Dr. BeverlyLewis,principal- pS 123
PS 123PTA

IED/mrb