By Julie Shapiro
Millennium High School may not be getting a gym after all.
Rather than granting $2.1 million to construct the gym, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation will likely divide its money among several schools, a member of Councilmember Alan Gerson’s staff said.
“[The L.M.D.C.] doesn’t want to do so much for one school,” said David Feiner, director of youth and education at Gerson’s office. “They’re leaning toward giving every school something.”
The L.M.D.C. is “making a decision maybe as soon as this week,” Feiner told the C.B. 1 Youth and Education Committee Tuesday night. Avi Schick, the L.M.D.C.’s chairperson, had said last month that the community grant winners will be announced in October, but his spokesperson said Wednesday the decision is more likely to be made in December.
Gerson met with David Emil, president of the L.M.D.C., on Tuesday to urge Emil to give Millennium the money, Feiner said.
However, the L.M.D.C. has several schools, and about 200 other organizations, competing for $45 million in community grants. P.S. 126, for example, submitted a $300,000 proposal for computers and science needs, Feiner said.
“All the schools are under-funded,” Millennium Principal Robert Rhodes said. “They all deserve as many resources as we can put towards the children.”
Rhodes remains hopeful about the gym, which he said is “tremendously important” to the school.
Currently, students have physical education classes in the school’s fitness center or in the auditorium. Neither space has enough room for team sports, which would teach students cooperation, school spirit and discipline, Rhodes said.
He added that a strong sports program could attract parents and students to the school in the competitive school-choice market.
Members of the C.B. 1 Youth and Education Committee responded to Feiner’s remarks with surprise and were particularly concerned about the idea of schools competing for funds.
“It’s not over,” Feiner said, encouraging parents to fax letters.
Millennium, built after 9/11 as part of the Downtown’s redevelopment, is the only local high school with a preference for C.B. 1 students. The L.M.D.C. provided part of the funding to build the school, which opened in 2003.
At 75 Broad St., Millennium already has raw space for the gym on the 34th floor of its building — which the Department of Education would add to the school’s square footage — but Millennium needs the money to renovate the space.
To support the effort, Gerson secured $350,000 of city money for the gym in July. Millennium parents could also raise some money, but the gym will need substantial L.M.D.C. funds to proceed, committee members said Tuesday.
The problem with a gym is that “You can’t build it in little pieces,” Rhodes said in a telephone interview. “You either build the whole thing or you can’t build it.”
If Millennium does not receive the entire requested $2.1 million from L.M.D.C., the school will try to fundraise, but that would be a challenge, Rhodes said.
“We’re a school,” he said, “not a fundraising institution.”
If the gym falls through, Gerson will reallocate his $350,000 to another school or another program within Millennium, Feiner said.
