New Clinton Ave Charter School Wins First Community Approval

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — A new five-story charter school planned for Clinton Avenue got its first round of approval this week after a public hearing on the proposal, which will give Downtown Brooklyn's International Charter School a permanent home.

ICS' application, which would have developers Barone Management create a custom 50,000-square-foot building at 30 Clinton Avenue, won approval of Community Board 2's Land Use Committee in an 11 to 2 vote. The application requests a special permit to use the building as a school given that it is in a manufacturing zone.

Executive Director Matthew Levey said the custom building will not only let International Charter School grow, but also help staff and students who have been struggling to work out of its two temporary locations. The school currently serves more than 350 elementary students and will expand to 725 children kindergarten through eighth grade in the new space.

"Our teachers and families have done a wonderful job of trying to overcome the difficulties inherent in working from two buildings, but even at just six minutes walking distance from each other, it is not easy," Levey said. "(The new location will) offer 32 instructional spaces for more than 30 years that allows parents and staff to rest easy, knowing each year where they will be, so they can focus on learning and teaching. "

Levey said the response at the hearing was positive, but that some board members did raise questions or further suggestions that the school and developers plan to look into.

But at least one committee member, Ernest Augustus, has said that the application should be denied, arguing that the 30 Clinton Avenue space is the wrong spot for a school.

Augustus said he worries about the safety of teaching children on a property that has been used for manufacturing uses and is concerned that letting a non-manufacturing use into the zone will mean losing out on spots for those types of businesses.

"I know people are anxious for schools, but...it's just not the right place," Augustus said. "Manufacturing zones are a very healthy part of any residential neighborhood. I just don’t see that being reversed back to a manufacturing (property)— it will open pandora’s box."

Levey, though, contended that allowing a permit for the school will not change the overall zoning designation for the area. He pointed out that manufacturing zones, such as the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard, where a public high school recently opened, can be home to both manufacturing uses and schools.

The developers and ICS have already started a full environmental review of the space to make sure it is safe, he added.

"Safety concerns were the subject of significant expert analysis which has been submitted to the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection for review," he said. "Along the key dimensions of traffic, noise, air and water quality the Clinton Ave location meets or exceeds relevant safety requirements."

He added that International Charter School chose the Clinton Avenue location after it had no luck with hundreds of other locations throughout Brooklyn, which it examined during a five-year search.

The space, because it will be custom built, will give the school everything it needs to serve its students, including things it has had to go without at the temporary locations, he said.

The 30 Clinton Avenue will offer the students a gym, playground, cafeteria, media center and roof garden. Should the application be approved by the city's Board of Standards and Appeals, International Charter School could move into the building as early as August 2021.