In New York state, the Assembly is led by Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly. In this interview, he expressed opposition to the State Senate’s bill to protect Eva Moskowitz and to assure that all of New York City’s nearly 200 charters get rent-free space in public school buildings. Eva has a chain of 22 charters. Mayor de Blasio just agreed to give her five more, but turned down three proposed charters for her chain. Two of those schools do not exist and have no pupils. The third will have to relocate 194 students.
Silver said about the State Senate’s proposal:
“This whole right of having a building around you — yet there’s thousands of children sitting in trailers in city public schools. Does anybody speak for their right?” Silver asked reporters during a rare visit to the Capitol’s press room. “They don’t have Wall Street billionaires who can put ads on, or contribute to campaigns, and therefore, nobody represents them and they’re doomed to sitting in trailers for the rest of their school career? That’s unfortunate. Some of that money, maybe, from all the advertising, would do well to build some buildings for a lot of students if they actually support them.”
If Silver acts on his views, the legislation won’t pass.
194 children were displaced from one of Eva Moskowitz’s 22 charters. Her chain, which spends millions on marketing, public relations, and advertising can easily afford to rent space for a school for them. The legislation proposed by the State Senate would guarantee
Eva the right to expand in a public school without regard to the children they displace and to stay there rent-free.
On the other side are 1.1 million children in the public schools, who have no billionaires to fight for them. They now depend on Speaker Silver to defend them from those who would bully their way into their schools, take away their art room, their dance room, their resource room for special education kids, their computer room, and any other space they choose.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The 194 children should be at forefront of every debate on this issue.
What is to happen to these children, who I understand are mostly special education, other than to be shipped to facilities outside their neighborhood? How have services been diminished by the existing co-location of a charter school? In a good public school special education students have a chance at success and now that chance is no longer available.
Barbara Braden,
Eva’s Success Academy 4 does not have any children with high special needs. Her 194 students would displace children with special needs in PS 149 in Harlem.
My lack of clarity, read wrong number. it is the displaced children in PS 149 that I am concerned about – and the special needs teachers who do remarkable things in a facility with diminishing resources.
Charters, LEBENSRAUM for the 21st century !
If this person and her billionaires are able to dictate their will against the expressed, unambiguous majority who voted for de Blasio and change, we might as well simply admit we have degenerated into the status of a banana republic. This is grotesque.
Look at how easily Cuomo was bought. Tell me that this man is a true governor serving the will of the people.
What is really obscene is that Moskowitz is paid more than twice as much as Carmen Farina, whose job is infinitely more important than hers.
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NYCs 1.1 million children have no billionaires fighting for them
Not like Eva Moskowitz who runs 22-private Charters
http://bit.ly/1ilrVE4
It is mind boggling to me that such a bill could even come before a legislature. We really have to start paying attention to the caliber of people who we vote into office. Unfortunately, in my state of Illinois, it is getting hard to identify candidates who are worthy of their offices.
They are all for sale. They are looking out for themselves.
I believe that this senate bill attacks public education in such a negative way – an impairment of the state’s obligation to provide an equal free public education to children between the ages of 5-21 if you will – that a simple senate vote on this issue is unacceptable. The passage of this vote would require preliminary hearings first. However, be that as it may, I would think that the senate is punching above its weight to dictate that private corporations can tell New York City what to do with its property. Although, New York City is a municipality that has its authority to operate under a legislative grant, its fiscal viability is rooted in large part on a guaranteed autonomy. So the senate telling New York City that it has to use money that was earmarked for something else and now use it to provide facility funding for charter schools and giving them authority to dictate the terms of their absolute presence in public school buildings while still remaining private and autonomous is asking the mayor, “Please take us to the federal court.” But, who would abide by such an unconstitutional law? A preliminary injunction would ensue, although I like the idea of secession. Hey, you never know. Anyway, it’s time to back Mayor de Blasio on this issue fully. But even more needed, our voice on public education must even be louder than our elected officials.