The Peck Slip elementary school just might be bigger than it’s slated to be, after all.
A letter Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver received this week from the city Department of Education indicates it is considering granting Lower Manhattan its wish to expand the school, which is slated to open in 2015.
The letter, signed by Lenny Speiller, the D.O.E.’s executive director of public affairs, states that the D.O.E. would retain the right to the full, 2,000-square-foot space at One Peck Slip — the site of the future elementary school — in the event that the U.S. Postal Service vacates its section of the building it has occupied in recent years.
The U.S.P.S. hasn’t confirmed whether or not it is abandoning its One Peck Slip lease entirely. The company most recently announced plans to move its retail operations to 116 John St. and its mail carriers to 90 Church St., facing the World Trade Center site.
“To this end, we have contacted U.S.P.S. regarding their final plans for this space and hope to hear back in the near future regarding their decision,” said Speiller to Silver.
The D.O.E.’s letter was in response to a Sept. 22 letter the Assembly Speaker wrote to city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, urging the D.O.E. to consider growing the school past the planned 476 seats.
