From the NY Times:Bill de Blasio, the mayor-elect of New York City, said this week that his family had not yet decided whether to move from its modest townhouse to the stately comforts of the mayoral residence. But he did acknowledge a chief impediment: The travel time to Dante’s specialized public school, now a short drive away, could more than double from the transit-poor badlands of East End Avenue.
For a family billed as a relatable alternative to the gilded reign of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg — Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, has often trumpeted the significance of electing a mayor with a child in public school — the potential move would place Dante, 16, in the company of tens of thousands of New York students whose slogs to class each morning are less than ideal.
At Dante’s school alone, nearly 2,200 students — about 40 percent of those enrolled — commute from another borough, an assistant principal said.
On Thursday, Dante’s peers at the city’s elite public schools suggested that there were worse fates than a morning on the train. They described the chance to complete last-minute work and to devour a quick breakfast, the appeal of people-watching underground and the independence of a parent-free trip.
“He’s more like other New York City students,” said Danielle Tong, 15, a sophomore at Bronx High School of Science, “if he makes that long commute.”
Semon Basar, 17, a senior at Bronx Science, said the school was only 15 minutes from her home in Pelham Bay, in the Bronx, by car. But because she does not “have the luxury of getting dropped off,” she said, she must spend over an hour on the train in each direction, riding the No. 6 into Manhattan every morning, then transferring to the No. 4 to return to the Bronx.
While she described Dante as “a star,” Semon expressed little compassion for his potentially lengthened commute, which might be partly or wholly experienced from the back of a chauffeured S.U.V.
“If it’s a problem commuting,” she suggested, then the mayor-to-be “should fix that up for every student.”
11 comments:
When I attended Brooklyn Tech, it was about an hour (each way) by one bus and two trains. It was worth it. Having to deal with the trek was part of character building.
Oh, let's not be childish about this....That is the son of the Mayor. He will be a target for any public displeasure aimed at his father.
It makes sense to have someone drive him to school or accompany him on any form of transportation.
And it doesn't make sense for him to be whining about the commute when he'll be driven there and picked up. Unless he was raised to be an entitled prick.
Cosign the first poster. I went to Brooklyn Tech as well and I remember the commute and I agree it was part of the character building.
So they should get special treatment bevause they chose to go to a school far away from their house?! Give me a freaking break! I have a 90-120 minute commute to work everyday but I dont look for the government to fix that because I chose to go to a job far away from my house!
THIRD YORKSHIREMAN:
Well, of course, we had it tough. We used to 'ave to get up out of shoebox at twelve o'clock at night and lick road clean wit' tongue. We had two bits of cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at mill for sixpence every four years, and when we got home our Dad would slice us in two wit' bread knife.
FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN:
Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.
FIRST YORKSHIREMAN:
And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.
If he puts family ahead of job, I like him already
another puff piece. the little brat will be driven to school. stop crying for him, cry for me.
Cry me a river. You people forget anyone ever moving from one location to another always considers their commuter and those of the rest of their family members whenever making a decision on moving.
Bunch of baby's.
As kids in the early 70s we didn't meet the distance criteria and distance for free bus and train passes. We were flat poor from buying a house in Ridgewood ($36,000 at the time)never took my grandfather wouldn't allow it.
School days both Ridgewood 93 and Brooklyn tech I had to walk uphill on Forest ave sometimes during 3, 6, 7 inches snow.
Or worse down Seneca 2 miles to catch that nasty packed blue Dekalb ave fishbowl bus to Brooklyn Tech. (25 or 50 cents each way I think)
This mayor kid will be napping and changing out his pajamas in the back of a warm pre-heated Mercedes SUV on his trips.
I never pick on kids or make them the focal point of the ongoing political corruption in NYC abated by its voters. You elect 'em.
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