6 The Queens Courier • february 28, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Photo Courtesy of Deborah Alexander Augustus Alexander’s parents had hoped to enroll him in The Academy at P.S. 122, but the program is being phased out. OUTRAGE OVER FEWER GIFTED AND TALENTED SEATS BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com As her son Augustus began kindergarten in the city’s gifted and talented program at Sunnyside’s P.S. 150, Deborah Alexander was excited at the thought he would eventually be enrolling in the prestigious middle school program known as The Academy at P.S.122 in Astoria. Yet the excitement turned to concern as the Department of Education revealed its plan last week to cut down the number of classes at The Academy in order to expand P.S. 122’s general education population into the eighth grade. “Tearing down a middle school program that was ranked number two in the state makes no sense,” said Alexander, who also has a two-year-old daughter zoned for P.S. 122. Other outraged parents met with members of the DOE last Thursday night at P.S. 234 to voice their concerns. Although the parents hoped to get answers that night, they were left with more questions. “They were treating us not even how we treat our children, it was insulting,” said Alexander who couldn’t hold back tears at the meeting. “I asked for a raise of hands of who was in support and not a single hand was raised.” This announcement comes a month after the DOE unveiled a new gifted middle school that will open in fall 2013 at Long Island City’s I.S. 126 with seats for 60 students. Yet because of the cuts, students from P.S. 150, P.S. 166 in Long Island City and P.S. 217 in Roosevelt Island will all be competing for the 60 seats. “They tried to say ‘look at what we gave you,’ but instead of adding the seats we asked for, they reduced them,” said Alexander. The DOE has responded by telling parents that according to the DOE’s Chancellor’s Regulations, P.S. 122 is supposed to be a K-8 building, and rules have not been followed. “It’s the department disrespecting the community. They went off and pissed off a community that was really, really happy,” said Isaac Carmignani, co-president of the District 30 Community Education Council. According to Carmignani, this change will extend to all classes at P.S. 122 through eighth grade starting with this year’s incoming kindergarten. By 2019, there will only be room for one class per grade in The Academy, down from the three to four classes offered now. Parents are afraid the expansion will overcrowd the school, create more lunch periods starting at 9 a.m., and cut science and math programs. They also worry the remaining classes at The Academy will go down in quality as fewer classes are offered. “They are taking a school that is a model and destroying it in the process,” said Alexander. “This concern is for the community and the district as a whole, not just one school or population.” Local politicians joined parents in opposition of cutting down classes at The Academy. “The problem is that they are going to be cutting the overall amount of G&T seats and that’s completely unacceptable,” said Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. “Even with additional classes in other locations the seats in total have been cut down.” Before any drastic changes take place, the community hopes to be able to work out an agreement with the DOE to keep the gifted and talented seats either at P.S. 122 or at another school. STADIUM PLANS PULLED OFFLINE AFTER LEAK BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com The controversial Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium Photo courtesy of A Walk in the Park Rough plans for the proposed Major League Soccer stadium, expected to hold 25,000 fans, were accidentally leaked last week. Moving testimony in trial of ‘CANNIBAL COP’ BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com The trial of “cannibal cop” Gilberto Valle began at Thurgood Marshall Court House in Lower Manhattan with testimony from his estranged wife, potential victims and an FBI agent, according to published reports. On day one of the trial of the six-year NYPD veteran who allegedly planned to kidnap, kill and eat 100 women, defense attorney Julia Gatto reportedly told the jury “the only thing Gil Valle is guilty of is having some bizarre thoughts and sharing them online with others.” Later that day, the six-year NYPD veteran’s wife, Kathleen Mangan, took the stand and broke down crying as prosecutors brought up photographs of her husband with their daughter and went through his plot to cook and eat more than 100 women, including her. According to published reports, Mangan recounted her discovery of the online chats her husband had been having at odd hours. “I was supposed to be tied at my feet, my throat slit, and they were going to watch the blood rush from my body,” Mangan told a Manhattan jury Monday morning, February 25. Three possible “targets” of Valle’s plot testified Tuesday on their interaction with the cop, including a past high school acquaintance. According to the Daily News, an FBI agent also took the stand, presenting the jury with excerpts of Valle’s deranged web chats in which he describes his plans on kidnapping and cooking the women present in court with his accomplice in the alleged plot. Among the targets who took the stand was the 18-year-old softball star from Archbishop Molloy High School who, according to reports, Valle referred to as “the most desirable piece of meat I have ever met.” Along with being charged with planning to kidnap, torture, rape and eat women, Valle is also being charged for improperly using a federal law enforcement database, published reports said. The trial is expected to last two weeks with more evidence to be brought forth and other “targeted” women taking the stand. in Flushing Meadows- Corona Park finally showed its face, but then went back into hiding. According to the blog A Walk in the Park, fans and those opposed got their first glimpse of the proposed stadium on Tuesday, February 26. The renderings were leaked after a video was uploaded of a February 1 presentation at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, where Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects paused his focus on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to give his students a view of what he called an unnamed project at an unknown location. Hours after the images spread around the Internet, the video was pulled off the SB Nation “Nets Daily” blog, where it was first published. According to the blog, viewers got a taste of the exterior and interior of the stadium and an idea of just how large the structure will be. The leaked images of the proposed stadium, say detractors, brought to reality some of the problems the project will bring to the community. “This is a nightmare, now we know why MLS has been trying so hard to keep renderings of the stadium out of the public eye. This is massive. The stadium represents the equivalent of parking three enormous aircraft carriers in the middle of a public park,” said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. Yet, according to Major League Soccer, the drawings show nothing. “These drawings do not represent what the stadium will look like,” MLS president Mark Abbott said in a statement. “In fact, we haven’t selected an architect yet and will not start the design process until we have an owner for the club. This was simply a concept drawing that was done only to help determine the potential height and footprint.” Plans for the MLS stadium in Flushing Meadows- Corona Park were announced in October and it is expected to seat 25,000 soccer fans and host 20 games a year. With additional reporting by Terence M. Cullen
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