LOCAL NEWS
Feeling ‘Rosey’ over project
NYC pols unveil new gym at UES’s Eleanor Roosevelt High School
BY MYRIAN GARCIA
On March 4, Congresswoman
Carolyn B.
Maloney and NYC
Councilmember Julie Menin
joined with Principal Dimitri
Saliani in cutting the ribbon
for a new gym at the Eleanor
Roosevelt High School on the
Upper East Side.
“I am so excited that Eleanor
Roosevelt High Schoolers fi -
nally have a new gym, and I am
thrilled to join Councilmember
Menin and Principal Saliani to
cut the ribbon,” said Maloney.
“I was proud to lead the effort
to create the Eleanor Roosevelt
High School, which has exceeded
everyone’s expectations for
the quality of education and the
enthusiasm of students seeking
admission. Up until now, ERHS
has had everything except a
gymnasium. Exercise and recreational
play are critical to keeping
students healthy and active,
and it is incredibly important for
every student to have the opportunity
to take gym. I am pleased
to hear that Council Member
Kallos’ efforts to increase the
number of gymnasiums in Upper
East Side public schools, and
leadership by EHRS students
who organized a petition drive
resulted in a new gym at Eleanor
Roosevelt High School.”
ERHS, located on the east
side of Manhattan, is one of
NYC’s top high schools with
500 current students. Congresswoman
Maloney has been
involved since the school’s beginning.
In 2002 she advocated
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, City Council Member Julie Menin, former City Council Member Ben Kallos and the Eleanor
Roosevelt High School community celebrated the Upper East Side school’s new gym.
for the need for a new East
Side High School. The school
never housed a gym despite
boasting 12 varsity sports that
participate in the Public School
Athletics League. For this reason,
Maloney and now former
Council Member Ben Kallos
advocated for the School Construction
Authority to build
gyms for schools in the Upper
East Side that did not own one.
The new $6.5 million gym
was made possible by advocacy
from local elected offi cials and
ERHS students who gathered
more than 5,000 signatures as
part of a petition to urge the
City to build a gym.
“High school athletes at
Eleanor Roosevelt have won
citywide championships, all
without having a gym. Now
thanks to the leadership of
these students, a petition
signed by 5,000 people, and
our Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney, we’re here to open a
new gym,” said Kallos. “Thank
you to Congresswoman Maloney
for founding this school
and continuing to support it
all these years, to the School
Construction Authority for
getting it built, Councilwoman
Julie Menin for getting this
gym open so early in her term,
Principal Dmitri Saliani whose
PHOTO COURTESY OF CONGRESSWOMAN MALONEY AND CITY COUNCIL EMMBER MENIN
been with the school since it
started and of course the past
and present students of Eleanor
Roosevelt High School.”
Maloney and Kallos were
encouraged to start the project
by Mayor de Blasio’s announcement
of a $385 million plan for
the Universal Physical Education
Initiative in June 2017.
The city’s investment in Capital
Funding plans to bring designated
PE space to all schools in
NYC. The construction of the
ERHS gym is the product of
the initiative.
“Eleanor Roosevelt High
School is proud to announce
the opening of our new gym
space. For the past 20 years the
only indoor space for students
to have PE activities has been
in a dance studio on-site,” said
Principal Saliani. “With this
new gym, ERHS students can
practice and play sports such
as basketball and volleyball in
an appropriate space. The entire
school community and the
community at large will benefi
t greatly from this additional
space dedicated to athletics and
physical fi tness. We thank everyone
involved, from our community
advocates; our graduates
and school staff, elected
offi cials, and the SCA, which
has made this a reality.”
Bottcher has tuneful inauguration
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Postponed from January
because of the Omicron
variant of COVID, newly
elected City Councilmember
Erik Bottcher held his formal
installation at the Joyce
Theatre in Chelsea this past
Saturday afternoon, March 5.
Representing City Council
District 3, his district includes
neighborhoods that
run from Hudson Square and
a bit of Soho, up the West Side
through the Village, Chelsea
and Hell’s Kitchen. Bottcher’s
mom and dad, other family
members, residents of his
district, and election volunteers
joined federal, state,
and city electeds including
many of his newly elected
Council cohorts.
The program began with a
performance from the Movement
class of Dance for a
Variable Population, where
Bottcher joined in the routine
at the end. Testimonials from
Bottcher’s dad and the political
VIPs fi lled the afternoon,
which ended when Bottcher
pulled out a guitar and musicians
crooned “New York,
New York.”
The VIPs surrounded him
clapping and singing, appropriate
for a district that includes
the Broadway theater
district, an uplifting end to an
awesome program.
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Singing New York New York, City Council Member Erik
Bottcher played his electric guitar at his inauguration.
8 March 10, 2022 Schneps Media