Before and after: fancy new signs going up today at the East River Co-op, at the far end of Grand Street. Thanks to photographer Joel Raskin for sending these images along.

The New York Times picks up on the charter school space debate, which erupted on the Lower East Side two weeks ago.  They followed up on the spirited public meeting, in which parents rebelled against the Department of Education's plan to carve out more classroom space in traditional public schools for the Girls Prep Charter School.

None of the schools, it seemed, had the more than 20 classrooms that
Girls Prep needed. “Nobody wants to give up the space we have fought so
hard for,” said Ann Lupardi, a Shuang Wen parent. “These are science
labs and art rooms that we helped find the money to get because we
think they are essential.” Miriam Lewis Raccah, who oversees
Girls Prep, said charter operators are not looking for fights but are
enthusiastically trying to create successful schools in areas that have
lagged for years. “Nobody wants to give up a school that’s part
of a neighborhood’s identity,” she said. “The reality is that there is
still a need for better schools, and the question is: Where are we
going to go? It’s not as if we’re creating new kids.”

Continue reading Girls Prep Redux, Gang Tweets, the LES Rat Shoot