Sharpton To Join Upper East Side School Protest

The Reverend Al Sharpton is marching alongside parents and Upper East Side residents today to protest the dislocation of a group of schools from the neighborhood.

The six schools occupy a building on East 67th Street, the Julia Richman Educational Complex, which Hunter College is proposing to take over. In exchange for the building, which would be used to expand Hunter's campus, the college said it would sell land it owns on East 25th Street to be developed for a new school building.

The protesters say they aren't satisfied with the trade.

The schools, four specialized or alternative high schools, an elementary/middle school, and a junior high school for autistic children, serve more than 1,700 students, have diverse populations, and have all been lauded for their success in raising student achievement.

"Hunter College and the Department of Education plan to destroy the Julia Richman Complex, one of the most successful and racially diverse educational complexes in the country," Rev. Sharpton said in a statement released by the group organizing the protest, East Siders to Save JREC.

"We would get a modern school facility at no cost to the city," a spokeswoman for the Department of Education Ms.. Feinberg said.