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NYC nixes plan to close Upper West Side school amid outrage over parent's racist remarks
By
Jessica Gould
Published Mar 3, 2026
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NYC Community Education Council
By
Jessica Gould
Published Mar 3, 2026
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The city's education department on Tuesday announced it’s backing off a plan to close a small Upper West Side middle school next year after a parent’s racist comment during a public meeting grabbed headlines and prompted widespread condemnation.
Education department officials said in a statement they would forgo phasing out the Community Action School on West 93rd Street next fall as originally proposed.
“As the community continues to process the harm caused by recent racist comments at a Community Education Council meeting, our focus must be on healing, stability, and ensuring students feel safe and supported,” education department spokesperson Isla Gething wrote in the statement.
The decision to retain the school was first reported by Chalkbeat.
At a Community Education Council meeting in February, a Community Action School student, who is Black, was testifying about how much she loves her school and wants to keep it open when Allyson Friedman, a white parent at a different Upper West Side middle school, interjected.
“They’re too dumb to know they’re at a bad school,” Friedman, who attended the meeting via Zoom, was heard saying.
Friedman then appeared to refer to a Carter G. Woodson quote, which she misattributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “If you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back,” she said.
Friedman has publicly apologized for her comment, which she said was captured by mistake on an unmuted hot mic during the Zoom meeting, which was held simultaneously in person and online. A spokesperson for Hunter College, where Friedman is an associate professor, said the school is reviewing her conduct.
The comments were quickly denounced by the Community Education Council, the Center School — where Friedman is a parent — multiple parent groups and a slew of local lawmakers, including the mayor.
In a statement late last month, Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels called the comments “abhorrent.”
“It was a vile and reckless attack on a young person speaking her truth to power,” he said. “Let me be clear: Anti-Black racism has no place in NYCPS — not in our classrooms, our community spaces, or anywhere in our city.”
In an effort to mend the community, the education department has since promised extra support for the students at Community Action School and across District 3, which includes the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights and parts of Harlem. That support will include restorative justice circles, family sessions about prejudice and Black Studies lessons, officials said.
The proposal to phase out Community Action School came as the city continues to grapple with how to make the most of its school buildings while implementing a state law limiting class sizes and dealing with declining enrollment.
Before being appointed Schools Chancellor by Mayor Mamdani in January, Samuels had been superintendent in District 3, where he had overseen the development of potential plans to close small and under-enrolled schools, including Community Action School, and the relocation of others, including The Center School. The plans have faced fierce opposition from families.
Mergers, co-locations and relocations can be highly controversial and emotional, often touching on issues of equity and integration – issues that exploded into view following Friedman’s comments.
During the now-infamous February meeting, many students at the Community Action School said they had found a haven at the small middle school after struggling and facing bullies at previous schools.
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Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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