A ‘lot’ to fight for
Schools in ‘park’ row
A parking war has broken out in Brooklyn.
Special-education teachers claim employees from a neighboring high school are bullying them away from a parking lot that should be shared.
Staffers from John Dewey High School in Gravesend guard the lot every morning, bang on cars, plaster windows with “no parking” signs and even scream at motorists, as confrontations over the lot’s 100 spots escalate, PS 721 staffers claim.
‘Screaming’
“They bogart the gate and they’ll start screaming and yelling, threatening that you’ll be towed,” said one paraprofessional who now takes public transportation instead of driving.
Nearby construction and the proximity to a third school, NYCHA buildings and an MTA yard make parking in the area a nightmare, staffers at PS 721 say.
The principals of the schools worked out an arrangement for the District 75 special-ed employees, who serve kids with disabilities in grades K-12, to get 10 parking spots in the lot at Stillwell Avenue and Avenue X.
Employees say 10 spots is not nearly enough for their staff of around 400, which includes paraprofessionals and therapists.
The battle has been going on for years but “fizzles out” and returns, a teacher told The Post.
PS 721, also known as the Brooklyn Occupational Training Center, opened in 1976.
On June 4, PS 721 principal Barbara Tremblay sent out an email notifying staff that they would have “no access” to the lot beyond the 10 spots.
“I have to leave my house an hour early to get one of the 10 spots they allow us,” said a teacher. “People park, like, a mile away. I see my colleagues running to get here.”
One teacher said the Dewey staff mock and belittle anyone complaining about the issue in a UFT Facebook group.
The woman guarding the entrance and checking for parking passes Thursday identified herself as a Dewey employee and said there is no conflict anymore. “There isn’t an issue . . . People are just dumbasses,” she said.
The city Department of Education did not immediately answer questions.