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Plan B: Where to rent if your kid doesn't get into private school

By A. Ready  | February 9, 2011 - 7:02AM
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According to the Parents League of New York, New York City private schools will be mailing their kindergarten and first grade admissions decisions this Friday (2nd through 8th grade notices went out yesterday).

If your child is not accepted into private school, or into one of the location-blind special programs run by the city schools, all is not lost: You can still rent a place in a desirable public school zone, even if you have to sublet your place to do it.  And remember: However unhappy you may be about your child's rejection, you have also just dodged a $35,000 a year bullet, which translates into almost $3,000 a month in rent money. 

Insideschools.org can give you the skinny on schools in different neighborhoods, and for a slightly more insane take on individual schools a search on UrbanBaby.com can provide some potentially biased but informative details.

We took a look around ourselves and found the following apartments, ranging from $2,800 to $6,300 a month, all zoned for well-regarded primary schools.  One caveat: As you probably already know, these days moving into a popular school zone doesn't necessarily guarantee your child a seat; do your research in advance to find out if your target school is overcrowded.

  • This junior 4 apartment in Lincoln Towers is zoned for P.S. 199, a popular choice on the Upper West Side. While this is not the largest of the apartments that we found, at $2,800 a month it is one of the cheapest. It has a renovated kitchen and open views.
  • This high-floor two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit in a doorman pre-war building in the coveted P.S. 87 zone is listed for $5,850 per month. Located at 147 West 79th Street, the apartment has large bedrooms and an eat-in kitchen.
  • On the other side of Central Park, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo rental at 157 East 72nd sits in the P.S. 290 zone. Originally listed in October at an aspirational asking price of $6,500 (and increasing in price to $8,000 not long after), it has now drifted back down to a more reasonable $4,600 per month. It is located in a pre-war building, is renovated, and has a washer/dryer in the unit.
  • Slightly further north, $6,300 a month will get you a townhouse apartment at 2 East 75th in the vaunted P.S. 6 zone. With three bedrooms and two baths, you don't have to leave the baby behind. It has a wood-burning fireplace and is on a tree-lined street just steps from the park. This unit was originally listed at $6,500 in August and despite the $200 chop in October has not seen any takers, which may indicate some room for negotiating.
  • Downtown, at 222 East 19th Street, a renovated junior 4 in a doorman building comes with admission to P.S. 40, an increasingly popular neighborhood school. At $3,700 it is not inexpensive for its genre, but it appears to be in nice condition, and its location between Second and Third Avenues makes it more convenient that many options in that neighborhood.
  • If a Midtown location is appealing, this two-bedroom, one-bath, no-fee apartment at 145 East 27th Street is available for $3,795. Apartments in the building have renovated kitchens and baths, and children attend P.S. 116. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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