The saga of the charter school slated for construction in the St. Nicholas Houses project in Harlem continues. The drama over the school, slated to open in 2012, has sparked a firestorm between residents of the complex and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Last week Community Board 10 voted in favor of a resolution to disapprove a map change of West 129th Street, where the school would lie. The map change, requiring a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) by the Department of City Planning, would make West 129th Street, between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevards, into a through street. Currently the street starts and ends again in the St. Nicholas Houses.

However, even with CB 10 voting down the map change, the vote is only one factor in the ULURP to change the street. The map change must still be reviewed by the borough president's office, the city planning commission, the City Council and the mayor's office.

The new school will be a branch of the Harlem Children's Zone and will be open to 1,300 students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Admission is by lottery and students living in Community School Board District 5, where St. Nicholas lies, will have preference. The five-story, 130,000 square-foot structure is slated to begin construction in the summer. The NYCHA board approved the project last month.

The facility will also house a community center that will offer programs and services for people of all ages, whether or not they attend the school, along with close to 100 permanent jobs.

Controversy over the building of the school has been brewing since NYCHA made the announcement last year. Many residents feel the school is a way to privatize the St. Nicholas Houses and get rid of open outdoor space in the community. Rumors have even swirled that NYCHA plans to tear down the residential buildings.  

William Danzy and Sandra Thomas, co-founders of the group Citizens for the Preservation of St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem, say that they represent a growing number of residents who are against the school being built. They say that residents have been left in the cold about the whole thing and that NYCHA is trying to push people out.

"This is the first step to tear down the project," Danzy said. "When tenants found out about this in April of last year they only saw a notice that there was a meeting, but the notice didn't say what the meeting was about."

Danzy added that NYCHA buildings are being sold to make room for private housing and that the open space in the project is a fundamental benefit to the residents. However, he said that protests against the school are not strong enough because several residents are in fear if retaliation. Danzy and Thomas have gotten over 700 signatures of residents against the building of the school.

He said, "There have been so many schemes used. This isn't a rescue, it's an outright theft."

NYCHA, on the other hand, has a different story, and said that they are doing everything by the book and that they have informed residents of every aspect of the plan by following Section 18 procedures to move forward. In an interview with the AmNews, NYCHA officials said that they have no plans to tear down the St. Nicholas Houses and that the benefits of the school outweigh the burdens.

"For a whole year we have been going to tenant association meetings," said Amy Chester of NYCHA. "We've done mailings and meetings that are larger than the typical Section 18. We really wanted folks to understand what we were embarking on."

Chester added that NYCHA has been before CB 10 five times and has addressed several issues that residents have asked about, including questions about traffic safety. As far as the outdoor space goes, NYCHA officials said that, while the school will take out some outdoor space, there are several outdoor spaces still remaining.

"We will continue to meet with residents in a monthly basis and work with them on all issues to help them articulate the needs they have," said NYCHA spokeswoman Sheila Stainback. "We'll be there as construction moves forward."