Out & About

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The New York Sun

Even the most successful fund-raising events for P.S. 132 in Williamsburg have brought in only small amounts of money. The kite festival in April, for example, yielded $3,200 and took up lots of parent time.

The scenario was a bit different at the Independence Day bash Tuesday night on the Williamsburg waterfront that brought in $6,500 with minimal parental effort, thanks to Norman Brodsky, a local business owner with a strong commitment to the community.

The founder of the document storage business CitiStorage, Mr. Brodsky invited P.S. 132 to host a benefit within his annual holiday party at company headquarters, which has a prime location for fireworks-viewing along the Brooklyn waterfront. Mr. Brodsky calls it the party of the year, and the 1,200 guests in attendance seemed in agreement.

“This is fantastic for us, and it really helps get the word out about the school,” a parent who is a vice president of the Parent Teachers Association at P.S. 132, Leslye Leaness said.

“Resources are always lacking, but especially if the school, like ours, is a pretty good school that is ethnically diverse,” Ms. Leaness said.

The school, which has 600 students, has been a solid, traditional school for a while. But historically, the artists who came to Williamsburg preferred to send their children to schools in Manhattan, particularly the East Village, where the curriculum was more progressive.

That is beginning to change, with the help of parents like Ms. Leaness. When her son, Isaac, entered the school, Ms. Leaness and some friends led a neighborhood campaign to get parents to enroll their children at P.S. 132. The number of pre-kindergarten classes since then has increased to four from one.

“Two years ago, people thought we were crazy. Now most people are staying,” Ms. Leaness said.

The principal of the school since 2003, Beth Lubeck-Ceffalia, who attended the party, can definitely take some of the credit for the change in enrollment patterns. She invited artists to paint murals in the building and oversaw a smooth transition to the more progressive curriculum mandated by the Department of Education. What was notable about the guests who came to support P.S. 132 by buying $50 tickets was their diversity. School parents were in attendance, but there were also young professionals from the neighborhood and alumni, many of whom found out about the event from flyers posted in the neighborhood.

“When I was growing up here, you couldn’t come down here to watch the fireworks,” Frank Fedele, an alumnus, said. “There was no interest in the waterfront. Now it’s amazing,” he said.

“We like the idea of homespun Williamsburg, so anything we can do to help the community, we’re there,” Nick Bernhard, who grew up on Metropolitan Avenue and attended Catholic schools, said.

For the family-oriented crowd there were carnival rides and games, lots of food (from hot dogs to carved roast beef with plenty of salad, yams, and corn on the cob), and that spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline.

Under redevelopment plans for the Williamsburg waterfront, Mr. Brodsky would likely lose his land. But with the goodwill he is building at this annual event, he will have some serious supporters on his side.

agordon@nysun.com


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