Students lose fight to keep Kennedy

Say goodbye to John F. Kennedy High School.

In the wee hours of Feb. 4, the Panel for Educational Policy voted in favor of phasing out JFK, which opened in 1972, by 2014 starting next fall. But before the PEP voted, more than half of the attendees expressed their opinion on the closure process by walking out, shouting, booing and waving signs — provoking backlash for Mayor Michael Bloomberg for their behavior.

The evening took a surprising turn when the first student, Kennedy senior Ahmani Croom, got up to speak.

“John F Kennedy was set up for failure. This process is a complete joke,” she screamed, before starting a “fix our schools now!” chant that lasted for about 10 minutes and ended in a massive walkout of more than half of the meeting’s attendees

The large auditorium dissolved into chaos as attendees started shouting, waving signs and shaking their fists in a planned boycott of a meeting by those who perceived the closure process as being stacked against them.

“In case you didn’t notice, this meeting is officially adjourned!” one student screamed before leaving.

Hours earlier, a raucous rally outside Brooklyn Tech drew hundreds of protestors by 4:30 p.m. Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez spoke to attendees who stood outside in the cold evening air, waving sings and chanting.

The mayor struck back at protestors who took their grievances to the hearing on his weekly radio show.

“This is embarrassing for New York City, for New York State, for America,” he said.

Rafael Pena, a youth leader at Sistas and Brothas United, an organization that fights for educational justice and helped facilitate the walkout, and 2007 Kennedy alum, said the mayor needs to brush up on his history.

“For him to say it’s un-American, then he must not know the American history, he must not know the history of movement. It’s insulting and hilarious,” Mr. Pena said, adding that the closure process is un-democratic.