NO WAY ‘OUT, ’ BLAS
Principals wary of guns, needles
Nearly two dozen Bronx principals say they’d love to have outdoor classrooms — if only they didn’t have to worry about their students getting shot or picking up used syringes off the ground.
A day after Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza crowed about turning city parks and streets near schools into classrooms amid the coronavirus pandemic, principals in the borough’s District 7 fired off a blistering letter.
“Our District has been in the grips of a wave of gun violence that is dangerously affecting and can further exacerbate the safety conditions for all members in our Learning Community,’’ the educators wrote Tuesday.
“A few days ago, a woman was shot to death in front of one of our district schools,’’ the principals said — apparently referring to a 25-year-old mom who was killed early Saturday outside PS 1 and Alfred E. Smith HS in the Melrose section of District 7.
“Most of the parks next to the schools which we use for recess [belong] to the Parks Department [and have] to be cleaned daily as syringes and other drug paraphernalia are constantly found there each morning among broken beer bottles, urine etc.,’’ the letter said.
On Tuesday, The Post found at least five syringes littering the playground at PS 18 on Morris Avenue in District 7 in the South Bronx — and five more of the used drug instruments along the sidewalk outside, as three to four spaced-out, disheveled derelicts hung around the fence.
“We not only have to worry about the coronavirus, but now we have to worry about HIV and AIDS and whatever else is out there,’’ Keyia Brown, a 42year-old home-health aide, told The Post when shown photos of the syringes.
“It’s definitely not safe, it’s not a good environment’’ for outdoor classrooms, she said. “Are you going to put the kids back there? No! If you ask me, I’d tell the mayor and the chancellor that they are playing with the kids’ lives, they are making a mistake, a big mistake.”
A District 7 principal who asked to remain anonymous told The Post that the city’s outdoor pitch “sounds good in theory,” but the reality is much more complicated.
“Of course we would like to get the kids out. But a lot of the parks and the areas nearby are not in good shape, especially recently,’’ the educator said, referring to the city’s soaring crime rate.
City Hall responded in a statement. “We know this is an incredibly difficult time for school leaders across the city,” said spokesperson Avery Cohen. “We’re continuing to work with our union partners to guarantee a successful reopening and will not rest until every single school has what they need to begin the school year safely.”