Deputy Mayor 'Pulled Strings' To Get Kid Into Selective Park Slope School, Report Says

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Deputy Mayor Richard Buery "pulled one string after another" to get his son into a competitive Park Slope middle school before he moved to New York City, according to a report.

The New York Post said Buery "was given the personal cellphone numbers of school leaders and taken on private tours by principals and administrators when he was relocating to the city in 2014."

The Post, citing anonymous sources and emails between Buery and a "handler" inside the DOE, reported that Mayor Bill de Blasio's deputy was able to get private tours of the school, and his son was able to get accepted to M.S. 51 far later than most others could.

A Post editorial that ran concurrently with the article said Buery's son was able to secure a spot despite the family moving to the city just weeks before school started.

You can read the article in full here.

The Department of Education, however, told Patch that "standard process" was followed.

DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye wrote in an email that there was no wrongdoing.

"When families move to New York City the Office of Student Enrollment works with them to enroll their child in a school – that’s how it worked in this case, and every case," she said.

In 2014, according to the DOE, 16 students were admitted to that school after the main round of admissions, which is a standard process for kids moving into town outside of the normal application window.

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