Brearley Eyes More Residential Buildings

After a decade-long push to expand, the exclusive Brearley School may have finally found enough room to grow. The all-girls Upper East Side school bought three tenements that it plans to replace with an annex, [The New York Post reported May 27]. The three new buildings, 70, 72 and 74 East End Ave., were purchased May 25, Brearley confirmed. Unsurprisingly, the rent-stabilized buildings" 15 tenants aren"t thrilled. â??There are sites available that would not involve the attempted evictions of tenants. There are options, said David Rozenholc, the tenants" lawyer. This is the school"s second recent expansion bid. Another plan, involving 85 East End Ave., generated a fair amount of ire from residents. That effort was abandoned in March. Back in 1995, the school first tried to solve its space quandary with a 14,000-square-foot rooftop expansion that added two additional levels. However, the school decided that it needed to expand even more and for years looked for new property that could provide for additional teaching space. â??This initiative, which will take years to realize, will help ensure our students continue to benefit from the best education possible and serve as a permanent solution to our space needs, said Brearley school principal Stephanie Hull in a statement. â??It is our desire to work cooperatively with the residents to find a solution that will ease the eventual transition to new living space. But Rozenholc laments that if these tenants are evicted, they will not be able to find an equivalent deal. â??If they lose, they"re not living in Manhattan again, he said. Updated May 27 4 p.m.