Lona Hankins, director of capital improvements for the Recovery School District, discusses the demolition of the Mary Church Terrell school before the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee on Monday.
Throughout the planning process last year for the allocation of federal school-rebuilding money, Gert Town residents begged education officials to reopen the Mary Church Terrell Elementary School at 3411 Broadway Street. In January, they brought the director of nearby Lafayette Academy charter school to say he could use the space to expand, and in July they argued that a school forms the heart of a community and could help the neighborhood recover.
The schools plan moved forward without a role for the campus, however, and on Monday, Recovery School District capital-improvements director Lona Hankins appeared before the city’s Neighborhood Conservation District Committee to request permission to demolish the building, “to remove blight from neighborhoods that are trying to recover,” she said.
Committee member Helen Jones pointed out that the demolition still goes against the wishes of many Gert Town residents.
“Kids [are] getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning, not getting home until late in the evening in that little area,” Jones said.
Hankins replied that the community meetings had made officials aware of those opinions, but that the Dunbar campus in the design stages in Hollygrove could serve some of those students.
“There is some concern about what we’re going to do,” Hankins said. “Right now we’re going to hold on to the land until there’s a better use for it.”
The request was approved 7-1 following about three minutes of discussion, with Jones the lone vote in opposition.
After the building is demolished, the site will be seeded and fenced in, Hankins said.
So, why have public hearings, when ya’ll gonna do what ya’ll wanna do? Say hello to the new Jim Crow!
Disgusting. But don’t say it’s race. Same thing happened with Hynes in Lakeview.
That sucks! I attended that school as a child when it was named Daneel #2 Elementary School and totally agree with those who wanted the school refurbished and reopened. Having a school in your neighborhood did bring a sense of community back then, which is lacking all over the city, especially in low income areas. No one really seems to know or care how important that is. I am so disappointed in how fast they made this decision. It appears as though there was no real consideration given for the desire of the Gert Town community. I don’t live in the neighborhood any longer but am still vested in the community. I see the kids playing basketball there all the time and it does my heart well. Hopefully they make wise use of the space and don’t just like it sit as I have seen with some other valuable land. I guess I should pay more attention.
What about Priestly on Monroe St. which just sits there?