Manhattan Community Board 12 education committee adopts school budget priorities
Manhattan Community Board 12’s Youth Education Committee backed requests for an AI and screen-time study, teacher training, disability supports, para wages and school repairs.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — budget priorities discussion and vote (education, new business/public remarks, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Manhattan Community Board 12’s Youth Education Committee sought a local study of AI and screen time, alongside training to help teachers navigate both.
School screens became a budget question alongside aging buildings. Manhattan Community Board 12’s Youth Education Committee approved budget priorities calling for a local study of AI use and screen time, teacher training in AI and computer literacy, and a curated online research space for students. Members distinguished between access to technology and time spent using it. A motion to adopt the priorities was seconded and passed without stated opposition.
The committee chair said Department of Education responses at a previous hearing had not explained how the success of different AI programs would be measured or what would come next. Members discussed pausing AI use for younger grades, including pre-K and elementary school, and worried that exemptions could still leave children spending more time on screens. One member proposed comparing the effects of screen time and human interaction across grade levels; another suggested a protected research repository for students in grades 6–8.
Beyond technology, the committee included advocacy for a living wage for paraprofessionals, with language recognizing collective bargaining. Its list called for training and capacity building in District 6; support for standalone schools and students with autism, dyslexia and other disabilities; and school repairs addressing air conditioning, water and lead concerns, and aging buildings. The chair noted that the Department of Education had not attended the meeting. The vote adopted the committee’s requests, not funding or new school policies.
New Business/Public Remarks: Engagement with Shabazz Center and Black Cultural Institutions; Education and Special Needs Advocacy
At a Manhattan Community Board 12 meeting, a member asked for another email to the Shabazz Center and a closer working relationship with the institution. The member said Black organizers, activists and neighbors were not invited to a recent Uptown tour stop, despite living nearby. The member asked Manhattan Community Board 12 to engage the center as it does United Palace and Columbia University.
The member tied that concern to school decisions, arguing that the PS/IS 187 expansion lacked community input. The member urged attention to class size and called for standalone schools for children with autism, dyslexia and other needs. The member said some District 75 classes were placed in inadequate spaces, including a middle hallway, and needed more appropriate support.
On classroom technology, the member distinguished access to devices from reliance on AI and screens, calling instead for teachers, critical thinking, recess and social development. The member said education discussions would continue and described difficulty getting the School Construction Authority to attend meetings and provide clear timelines.
Education committee seeks answers on PS/IS 187 expansion
Manhattan Community Board 12’s Youth Education Committee heard parents and neighbors question the PS/IS 187 expansion, especially plans for the schoolyard and conflicting construction timelines. Committee members discussed inviting the superintendent and seeking a School Construction Authority town hall to address design, enrollment, class size and traffic.
Families want to know when construction will begin and how much schoolyard space will remain available.
Community Board 12 hears Con Edison shutoff warning
Manhattan Community Board 12’s district manager reported that Con Edison warned of potential electricity shutoffs at buildings with unpaid accounts, including possible loss of power to shared systems. Con Edison offered advance notice to Manhattan Community Board 12 and elected officials; members raised concerns about elevators, hallway lighting and water pumps.
Tenants could lose elevator access or water service even if they pay their own electricity bills.
Education committee discusses fatal Marble Hill shooting
Manhattan Community Board 12’s Youth Education Committee chair discussed an ICE-related shooting in Marble Hill and said the person who was shot later died. The chair said a five-year-old child was in the car and cited a Bronx Borough Board resolution; Manhattan Community Board 12 will check Marble Hill’s district alignment.
The incident involved a child, and uncertainty over district boundaries may complicate which community board follows up.
Community Board 12 hears truck and childcare updates
Manhattan Community Board 12’s district manager said a proposal to lengthen loading zones and extend their hours was sent to DOT after complaints about Amazon trucks. The district manager also described a planned Birch Family Services early childhood hub at 181st Street and Fort Washington Collegiate, and a possible November Kiska Plaza plan.
Longer loading zones could change delivery traffic, while the planned hub would offer daycare and family services.
- Manhattan Community Board 12 — Youth Education Committee. Multiple parents and community members raised concerns about PS/IS 187 construction/expansion, emphasizing lack of transparency, loss of schoolyard/community space, traffic and quality-of-life impacts, and unclear enrollment/class-size rationale. Speakers requested a public forum/town hall and clearer information from SCA/DOE and school leadership, while also noting concerns about exclusionary language in a circulating petition.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
Manhattan Cb12 had 26 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCEHousing and Human Services Committee Report. The committee reported on an HPD affordable housing presentation and urged members to watch the recording. The committee also highlighted SNAP benefit cuts and new work requirements, and discussed a possible budget idea involving solar panels for apartments and which agency would be appropriate.
- GOVERNANCEDiscussion: Potential Public Safety Subcommittee/Task Force on ICE-Related Issues. A member suggested that the Public Safety Committee consider protocols or monitoring related to ICE activity and incidents. Members discussed whether this should be a subcommittee and noted the issue spans public safety, human services, and health; no formal action was taken.
- GOVERNANCEChair’s Report: Borough President Roundtables and Legionnaires Disease Concern. The chair announced borough president roundtables for district managers and chairs and mentioned upcoming topics including Legionnaires disease and e-bikes. A member emphasized Legionnaires disease impacts, accountability for water tower/building maintenance, and frustration with stalled legislation.
- GOVERNANCEBusiness Development Committee Report. The committee reported on an October meeting featuring the Dyckman Beer Company owner and Workforce1, emphasizing local hiring. The committee announced “Cafecito Conversations Commerce” Part Two on Oct. 28 at Ponce Bank from 5:00–7:00 p.m.
- GOVERNANCEDistrict Manager Report: Residential Parking Town Hall (United Palace) and Zoom Link. The district manager announced a residential parking town hall scheduled for Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at United Palace (176th Street and Broadway). A Zoom link would be sent to board members, but the link was not to be broadly publicized.
- GOVERNANCEBoard debates borough attendance policy and how it applies to committees. The chair summarized a borough attendance policy with excused and unexcused absences and a removal-letter process after three absences. Members questioned whether it applies to committees, criticized it as punitive and confusing, raised disability and caregiving concerns, and discussed whether vote records need to be kept in writing.
- GOVERNANCEDYCD Safe Space and Youth Support Update (Credible Messenger/Life Coach Program). A DYCD-affiliated credible messenger and youth life coach provided an update on a “safe space” program serving youth ages 11–24, including location details, referrals, conflict mediation work, and collaboration with the 33rd and 34th precincts.
- GOVERNANCEYouth and Education Committee Report (Research Project, Budget Request Discussion, and Equity Concerns). The Youth and Education Committee reported on a prior presentation from a children’s mental health research group and discussed a proposal from Futures Ignite/Wheels involving neighborhood temperature measurements and related interventions. Members debated appropriate funding channels and cautioned against naming nonprofits in agency budget requests; concerns were raised about geographic equity within the district.
- GOVERNANCENew Business Discussion: Know-Your-Rights/ICE Information and Website Resource Hub. Members discussed inviting an organization to a general meeting to provide know-your-rights information, especially in Spanish, and adding consolidated resources to the CB12 website. Members raised concerns about vetting organizations and making existing resource pages easier to find.
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