FASNY WILL HURT WHITE PLAiNS SCHOOL CHILDREN

FASNY wants to construct a massive private educational complex on a small two-lane road: seven large buildings, scattered sports facilities, and long entrance roads for a student body of 1,200 students and staff of 250.

FASNY wants to do this in a location that the White Plains Council of PTAs has identified as already unsafe for our public school children who must walk and bike, in particular to White Plains High School and Ridgeway Elementary School.

Ridgeway, North Street, Bryant Avenue and their side streets and intersections are not adequate for the added traffic of approximately 1,500 FASNY students and staff.  FASNY’s new plan to remove White Plains High School property and entrance space to create turning lanes and traffic circles on the already crowded North Street further threatens the safety of students and drivers.

FASNY claims their traffic will be reduced by 50 percent through “mandatory” busing, yet their existing student population comes from 64 different ZIP codes, 41 municipalities and three different states.  How will FASNY institute mandatory busing of students coming from all these locations?  And how will they enforce busing over these long distances? Even if their commitment to trying to enforce busing remains strong over years to come — a dubious proposition — they have no power to compel parents of their students not to drive.

Many White Plains students who walk to school along Ridgeway/Bryant/North Street do not have the option of taking a school bus.  In addition, parents and educators today recognize the importance of encouraging walking and biking to school by creating safe conditions through more sidewalks and other complete streets methods.

Walking, bikingWalking and biking are important for both our children’s health and for environmental reasons, to improve air quality around schools and reduce traffic congestion — all conditions that FASNY to the contrary will aggravate.

Should White Plains public school families roll back their health and environmental progress for the sake of private school students coming into our small streets from around the tri-state area?

White Plains has always attracted new residents because of the quality and diversity of its school system. Locating a large, private institution in the center of a desirable residential neighborhood will be a deterrent for families who want to take advantage of and believe in public education. These are families who greatly contribute to our public school system.

Lastly, FASNY as a tax-exempt institution will not contribute a cent to our tax-supported school system. In fact it will be a drain on our city services without paying for them.

Anne Boboroff Hajal  submitted this on behalf of the White Plains environmental group, EcoNeighbors.