Voters weigh HALB’s No. 6 deal

Posted

The Lawrence School District and the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB) have finalized contract negotiations concerning the sale of the Number Six School in Woodmere.

Pending a public referendum that is scheduled for March 31, HALB will purchase the 6.67-acre site on Church Avenue that includes a 80,170-square-foot school building for $8.5 million in cash. An additional $2.7 million will be held by the district as a guarantee that Lawrence will realize more than $565,000 in annual savings on what the district now spends on transportation and special education for HALB students.

HALB plans to shift 800 elementary school students from Long Beach to the Number Six School after it receives approval from the Town of Hempstead to renovate the building and the work is complete. HALB Board President Lance Hirt said should the referendum be approved, he anticipates opening the new school in two years.

“This purchase agreement is a win-win for the Woodmere-Five Towns community and for our students,” Hirt said. More than 90 percent of HALB’s incoming students live in the Five Towns area. In addition, HALB also runs the Davis Renov Stahler High School for Boys in Woodmere, walking distance from the Number Six School, and the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls and the Lev Chana early childhood center, both in Hewlett Bay Park.

Hirt said renovations to the building are needed to make better use of the classroom space and public areas, install a new roof and windows to improve energy efficiency, put in a state-of-the-art heating and air conditioning system, along with new electrical and plumbing systems that comply with current building codes.

Before that can be done, HALB has to deal with community members who last year led a campaign that overwhelmingly defeated a referendum to sell the property to Bronx-based Simone Development Companies. Simone was planning to lease the site to Mt. Sinai Hospital for a specialty medical center.

Residents formed the Community Coalition of the Five Towns to oppose that proposed sale. They wanted the recreational areas on the site that includes ball fields, basketball courts and a playground preserved.

Page 1 / 2