Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Black And Bloomberg: Pols And Parents Respond
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 7, 2011
Modified Apr 7, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 7, 2011
Modified Apr 7, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
After Mayor Bloomberg's surprise announcement this morning that Schools Chancellor Cathie Black would be stepping down, effective immediately, the responses from New Yorkers and area politicians have been fast and furious. At Al Sharpton's conference the news was met with a standing ovation, three out of five Borough Presidents put out releases praising the decision and assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, the lead plaintiff in a suit to oust Black, hailed the move as well.
"The resignation of Cathie Black represents an extraordinary public acknowledgement by City Hall that her appointment did not serve the best interest of our public school children,” Jeffries said in a statement.
But not everyone was so gentle. In his release on the topic Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer decided to reference the Titanic: "It’s been clear for months now that, like the Titanic, this ship has been sinking with more than one million school children on board. I look forward to working with [new chancellor] Dennis Walcott and wish him the best as he tries to right this ship."
City Councilman Lewis A. Fidler kept the venom going, saying that Black’s tenure “was bad from the beginning,” and that “It wasn’t properly vetted; it wasn’t properly thought out.”
And always entertaining Councilwoman Letitia James put out a release pointing out that “The city has been plagued with incompetent administrators,” of late. "The Blizzard of 2011, CityTime, the Atlantic Yards project, and now this; many would consider this the third term curse.” (Aside: last we checked the big blizzard was in 2010...).
Meanwhile the general consensus seems to be that Walcott is a solid choice for the job. As Jennifer Freeman, an Upper West Side parent leader, told the Times: “I guess zero was not the optimal amount of education experience for a chancellor, after all...While I am sure there will be many things to disagree with Walcott about, at least there will be a substantive base from which to have a discussion.”
Despite his educational background though Walcott will still need to get a waiver to run the DOE, which Bloomberg said in the press conference he believes won't be a problem (he got Black in, didn't he?). And funny thing? The same day that Black got the boot reports are coming in that NY State Education Commissioner David Steiner, who gave Black a waiver for the gig in the first place, is leaving the state's top education job less than two years after starting.
Tagged
cathie black
dennis walcott
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 4:41 p.m. ET
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
The city's Public Design Commission taking a look at what's in store.
By
Willow Higgins
News
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
The city's Public Design Commission taking a look at what's in store.
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Early Addition: There's a new hot duck, this time in Queens
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .