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Clavister t1_jak2z1x wrote

In 1987, I was a junior at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. Mayor Krotch came to our school to give us a plaque for being the most ethnically diverse school in Queens, which had to have meant that we were the most ethnically diverse school in the whole goddamn country. To his credit, he was willing to answer some questions from our student journalist body. One student asked why our school was so crowded, and he responded like a politician would, saying "Well, everybody wants to go to Newtown, don't you want to go to Newtown"? We booed him for giving a bullshit politician answer. I feel it is part of my proud heritage as a New Yorker that I got to personally boo the mayor when I wasn't even old enough to vote for him yet.

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JaredSeth t1_jak53vp wrote

>Mayor Krotch

Whether or not this was intentional, bravo.

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Clavister t1_jak9o4i wrote

It certainly was intentional, that was an easy and common transformation of his name at the time

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NoNameComputers t1_jal0wo1 wrote

Having lived out of NYC for a while, this story made me both proud and homesick.

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AmadeusZull t1_jal1dos wrote

Newtown class of 2000 reporting in. It was so crowded we had freshmen year of highschool in some building on horrace and 108th st that had no windows. I think that building is some vocational or magnet school now if you pass it on the LIE. That freshmen year sucked.

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Clavister t1_jalyq7a wrote

The Newtown Annex was used for freshmen back when I got there in 1984, too. It did indeed suck. Still way better than junior high.

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AmadeusZull t1_jaovim3 wrote

Wow I haven't heard that name in a while and had no clue it existed back then too.

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SolitaryMarmot t1_jamcyg4 wrote

That's where I would have gone if my family didn't white flight me out of the city between the ages 6 and 16. I feel cheated.

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Due_Masterpiece_3601 t1_jar02xf wrote

The ones that got cheated were the ones that didn't leave during white flight, including African Americans.

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[deleted] t1_jamomkk wrote

[deleted]

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Clavister t1_jamthqq wrote

I didn't really keep track of who went where. I'd say it was an average NYC public high school, barely any budget. But I only had my own experience...

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WickhamAkimbo t1_jarjrqa wrote

> We booed him for giving a bullshit politician answer. I feel it is part of my proud heritage as a New Yorker that I got to personally boo the mayor when I wasn't even old enough to vote for him yet.

This is fantastic.

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