HALB’s a coming! Voters asked to OK ‘win win’ No. 6 deal

The Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB), stepping up its campaign to win voter endorsement of its bid to buy the long-shuttered No. 6 School in Woodmere, rallied HALB supporters Tuesday night to “get out the vote” on Monday, March 31.

Everyone at the lightly-attended event appeared to be on message: HALB’s purchase of No. 6 — for $8.5 million plus $2.75 million in notes that would be waived as the Lawrence School District realizes anticipated transportation cost savings — was a win-win proposition for HALB, its students and faculty, the Lawrence district, and the city of Long Beach.

HALB President Lawrence Hurt said that No. 6 requires an eight-to-nine million dollar renovation.

“It is a significant project” but one that is in line with “what we expect to earn when we sell the Long Beach property,” he said.

“It seems like every week we have a new potential bidder,” for the Long Beach site, he said. “There’s a lot of interest, which is a little surprising to some of us. We thought that after Sandy nobody would be interested in owning beachfront property in Long Beach, but thankfully the reality is there are a lot of people interested in building rental apartments.”

Hurt said the city of Long Beach is happy with HALB’s planned move, since “it would create a revenue stream they don’t really have” with HALB.

Lance recounted that several years ago, HALB was significantly outbid for the No. 1 school in Lawrence, which he said was much smaller than the No. 6.

Referring to the No. 6 acquisition as “an amazing opportunity, to get hold of 6-1/2 acres in the middle of Woodmere,” he said of the No. 1 loss: “Sometimes interesting opportunites are delivered from situations that seem like they might go elsewhere.”

At Tuesday’s meeting — which took place at SKA High School for Girls in Hewlett Bay Park — Principal Rabbi Dovid Plotkin described the extreme space shortages and outdated facilities on HALB’s Long Beach campus, promising that the Woodmere building would “be appropriate for our children to have the proper education that they deserve.”

Parents Council Chairperson Dana Frankel also spoke, conveying the enthusiasm of HALB parents for the move.

Lance said that between proceeds from the Long Beach sale and a capital fundraising campaign, it was unlikely that tuition increases would be required as a result of the No. 6 purchase and renovation.

A public hearing on the proposed No. 6 sale will be held next Tuesday, March 25, 8 pm, at SKA, 291 Meadowview Ave., Hewlett Bay Park.

Voters in the Lawrence School District will vote on the purchase on Monday, March 31, from 7 am to 10, at Lawrence HS, 2 Reilly Rd., Cedarhurst (for Cedarhurst, Woodmere and North Woodmere voters) and Lawrence Middle School, 195 Broadway, Lawrence (for Lawrence voters).