By Connor Adams Sheets
A Flushing man who was student body president at Stuyvesant High School in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, has finally forged a compromise allowing him and his former classmates to hold a private remembrance ceremony at their alma mater on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
For weeks the school’s principal, Stanley Teitel, ignored and deflected inquiries by Jukay Hsu and a number of his fellow alumni, who were hoping to host a memorial event at the school located blocks from Ground Zero, according to Hsu.
Teitel had still not given his blessing for the plan, but with the help of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office, Hsu said he was able to reach a compromise Tuesday with the Battery Park City Authority, which has reserved the entire first floor of the 10-story building, which is on Battery Park City property.
The group has granted the alumni a permit for up to 300 guests to use the school’s theater for their ceremony, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Hsu said.
“Thank for you for your continued participation and support! It’s really touching to see the Stuyvesant community come together,” Hsu said in a Tuesday e-mail to his fellow alumni announcing the deal. “I’m really glad we’re able to put this behind us so that we can focus on the commemoration itself.”
Teitel and Stringer’s office did not reply to requests for comment,
Many of the students’ lives were forever altered on 9/11, and dozens saw one or both of the planes hit the World Trade Center, Hsu said. They did not return to their school, at 345 Chambers St., for more than a month after the attacks.
Hsu, now a 27-year-old Harvard University graduate and former platoon commander in Iraq, said he and many of his former classmates were taken aback when Teitel was not supportive of the plan.
Those who felt let down by Teitel’s position include 26-year-old Cherelle Harrell, who lived in Jamaica and was at the school on 9/11.
“It’s frustrating that we’ve been given such a runaround and it’s disappointing that the principal would allow his personal feelings to affect what so many of us are trying to do,” she said. “I just think that the experience we all shared on Sept. 11 was very unique for us as kids who ranged from 14 to 17 years old.”
Teitel eventually said he would consider allowing the event, but that he would have to charge the former students for the right, according to Hsu. It is unclear whether the group will have to pay to use the theater.
But Hsu said Teitel later called back and said Stuyvesant’s first floor, including its auditorium, had already been reserved for an event that day by the Battery Park City Authority — which did not respond to a phone call and e-mail requesting comment — and that he would be unable to accommodate the former students’ request. Hsu said he then inquired as to whether his group could use another space in the school, and the principal then said he was concerned about damage.
“He said what about vandalism, what about people damaging property? I understand heightened security concerns, but that shouldn’t be a problem,” Hsu said. “He said he’ll consider it but, basically, no.”
The city Department of Education sided with Teitel.
“The school had already approved a permit for use by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy of the Battery Park City Authority, and activities are planned for the entire day,” the department said in a statement.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
