In the continued fight against Success Academy Charter Schools, of which former councilwoman Eva Moskowitz is CEO, advocates held a rally in front of the corporation's headquarters at 310 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday, December 15.

Much of the recent opposition is directed at a proposal to open a Success Academy Charter School in a District 15 building at 284 Baltic Street in Cobble Hill, which already houses several different schools.

Success Academy also announced plans to open a charter school in Williamsburg.

Parents who oppose the proposal fear overcrowding and closures of other schools in the building as a result of a Success Academy school.

The protest in Manhattan, which followed a recent rally in front of the Cobble Hill school, brought together public and other charter school parents who oppose Success Academy Charter Schools and Moskowitz.

But a Success Academy representative said opponents of the proposal are led by false information, and that the subject is turning into a political agenda backed by a teachers' union.

The rally at the Success Academy headquarters was organized by the Alliance for Quality Education, a partner with the United Federation of Teachers union.

Far Rockaway resident Oswaldo Bajana, who attended the Manhattan rally and has a son in sixth grade at the Global Studies school in the Cobble Hill building, made no mention of political reasons for his opposition.

“I'm against the proposal,” he said, because “they have a small gym, a small library, a small cafeteria, and they're going to add another school? I don't think it's right.”

Unless the building is physically expanded, Bajana is concerned that afterschool and other programs will be cut to make room for the another school in the building.

“Because right now it's too many students,” he said. “I live in Far Rockaway and we travel at least an hour to come to that school.”

If another school is brought into the building, Bajana said he will move his son to a different school because it will no longer be worth the commute.

Success Academy spokesperson Kerri Lyon cited reports from the Independent Budget office and the New York City Charter School Center that show that buildings that house both district and charter schools together are among the least crowded in the city.

“In fact, in these arrangements, these studies show that the charter schools tend to be the more overcrowded of the schools,” she said.

In addition, Lyon said recent accusations that Success Academy does not educate children with special needs is incorrect.

“They serve comparable numbers of students with special needs,” she said, “and have made a major commitment to continuing to improve the way that they serve these children.”

Some Cobble Hill parents expressed a desire for a charter school in Cobble Hill.

Naidre Miller, a Cobble Hill resident who has a four-year-old son, said charter schools are an alternative to pricey private education.

In a letter to the Department of Education's Panel for Educational Policy, Miller wrote that Success Academy appears to have a good track record and increased administrative oversight compared to the city's public schools.

“I have no problem with the charters going outside of the unions, or operating at a profit,” she wrote. “If it means high quality education that is free of charge, I am in support.”