NYC Public Schools Backpedals UWS Closure Proposals After Backlash
After UWS parents and students petitioned and protested a collection of proposals for closures and a relocation, NYC schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels withdrew four plans before a scheduled vote during an April Panel for Educational Policy meeting.
| 15 Jun 2026 | 04:17
NYC schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels withdrew four proposals late April which would have closed two UWS middle schools and relocated another after communities expressed their strong opposition through petitions and community hearings. (
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NYC Public schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels pulled four proposals which would have highly affected three UWS middle schools after receiving widespread backlash from community members.
The proposals, which were withdrawn prior to an April 29 NYC Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) meeting, included closing two UWS middle schools, relocating another, and opening a high school centered around artificial intelligence (AI). In initial reporting done by Chalkbeat, Samuels said the proposals had been viable, and still are an option for later revisitation, but he didn’t wish to advance so quick after taking office this year under NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He also noted that he wanted to include the feedback of families involved in the decision.
For the families of the three UWS schools set to be affected, the withdrawal of the proposals is a huge win after months of petitioning and community opposition.
Community Action School (CAS) (MS 258), a middle school at 154 W 93rd St. which was slated for a closure proposal, had been the center of controversy after one parent’s racist remarks were unknowingly overhead during a meeting in which students were petitioning to keep the school open. Following the remarks and huge backlash, Samuels then confirmed that the Department of Education (DOE) was no longer going to shut down the school March 2. Officials had cited the school’s small enrollment size and test scores, which were below city average, as justifications for the closure, while families described the importance of CAS for students to have equitable access to local education in the school District 3 community in their petition.
The Center School (MS 243), another UWS middle school located at 100 W 84th St., also took to community petitions and support to protest a proposed plan to relocate the school. The school was slated to move into the current location for The Riverside School for Makers and Artists building, a middle school at 300 W 61st St. which would have been dissolved if The Center School had moved in to the property. Officials had cited the needs for expanding P.S. 9, an elementary school which shares The Center School’s property, in accordance with NY’s Classroom Size Law. However, school community members described how the move would be too sudden to plan accordingly and impact the education of The Center School’s students, due to reduced access to facilities at the proposed new location. A petition circulated by students and families reached over 3,000 signatures before the proposal was reversed in late April.
Among the other two proposals withdrawn was a proposal to close middle school P.S. 191 and a proposal to open a new High School in downtown Manhattan, named ‘Next Generation Technology High School,’ which would aim to provide students with an education geared for careers in big tech. Both proposals had also received significant pushback from parents and PEP members, according to Chalkbeat.
Since reversing the four proposals, the NYC DOE announced the upcoming of five schools in Fall 2026: Academy of Cultural Excellence (D30), Bronx School of Arts & Exploration (D75), The Bronx School of Hip Hop (Bronx HS D7, 9, & 12), Queens Academy for Innovative Learning (D75), and West Q Elementary (D24).