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Type | Public community college |
---|---|
Established | 1963 |
President | Anthony E. Munroe [1] |
Students | 26,831 |
Location | , , U.S. |
Campus | Urban |
Website | www |
The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, business, health, science, engineering and continuing education fields.
BMCC's original campus was scattered all over midtown Manhattan, utilizing office spaces, hotel conference rooms, and various spaces throughout Manhattan. In the mid-1970s, CUNY began scouting for suitable property on which to erect a new campus of its own. The current campus has been in use since 1983.
Martin B. Dworkis was BMCC's first president. [2] Classes were originally held in part of the ground floor, the entire second floor, and part of the third floor of an office building at 131 West 50th Street in midtown Manhattan. BMCC renovated the office space into classrooms and administrative areas, and it created its own entrance at 134 West 51st Street. [3] Fred Kelly, a graphic designer living in of Kew Gardens, designed BMCC's official seal. [4] BMCC's first classes were held in fall 1964. [5] During its first school year, 42 percent of its students were African American. [6]
Plans were announced for BMCC to have its own buildings to hold its classes in 1968. In 1974, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools determined that BMCC's physical facilities were "so inadequate as to defy description", and it said it would suspend BMCC's accreditation unless improvements were made quickly. The City University of New York's central administration evaluated BMCC the same year, and it found that student grades were inflated to such an extent that they were essentially meaningless. There was a ground-breaking ceremony on a new building for BMCC the same year. Because of the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, however, construction was suspended the next year. [7] In 1977, BMCC's president, Edgar D. Draper, was fired after he improperly persuaded a college association evaluation team to alter its report to show the college administration more favorably. [8] By 1980, BMCC's passing rates on nursing certification exams had significantly improved, and BMCC no longer had a financial deficit. [7] BMCC's new campus building opened in January 1983. [9] A 15-story building at 30 West Broadway was donated to BMCC in 1993 by Miles and Shirley Fiterman; the building was subsequently named Fiterman Hall in their honor. [10]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, BMCC's students, teachers, and staff members heard explosions coming from the direction of the World Trade Center, which was located just a few blocks away. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey used the gymnasium at BMCC's main building to triage survivors, and BMCC donated medical supplies from BMCC's Nursing Department to treat victims. The Port Authority set up generators at BMCC's main building, and the building became its command center. That afternoon, 7 World Trade Center, across the street from BMCC's Fiterman Hall, collapsed, and the building fell onto Fiterman Hall, rendering the hall uninhabitable. [11] [12] BMCC's staff worked constantly to restore Fiterman Hall and, on October 1, the building reopened for classes. [13] [14] The hall was eventually demolished and a new building opened in September 2012. [15]
BMCC has also recorded a large rise in remedial education, [16] lack of freshman retention, [17] and overcrowding. Due to its larger base of capital compared to most other two-year colleges, expansion of new campuses during the rebuilding of Fiterman Hall was possible. Several trailers are still used as classrooms to help expand capacity. Internal programs have also been created or expanded to help with academic advisement, provide online access for registration, transferring to other colleges, and job placement.
BMCC also has a diverse student base, [18] some of whom had immigrated to America shortly before enrolling. [19] Among other issues are improving the retention and graduation rate, as well as the increased financial and academic burdens of a remedial program.
Borough of Manhattan Community College's four main campuses are in the Tribeca, Civic Center, and Financial District neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. BMCC occasionally hosts the Tribeca Film Festival's ceremonies and films. [20] The main campus on 4.28 acres is located in Chambers Street, North Moore Street and covers a four block radius. It houses a swimming pool and gymnasium as well as technical facilities, computer laboratories, and a media centre.
The original Fiterman Hall opened in 1959 and occupied a block bounded by Greenwich Street, Barclay Street, West Broadway, and Park Place. [21] It had been the original location of King's College, before it was renamed Columbia University and moved to Morningside Heights. [22] [23] Fiterman Hall was donated to BMCC in 1993 by Miles and Shirley Fiterman, for whom the building was subsequently named. [10] [24] The building had previously been used as a bank, and CUNY had wanted to rent the building from the Fitermans, but they decided to donate the building to CUNY instead. It was the largest gift of a building to a community college in the United States, and it was the largest donation ever to CUNY. The building was renamed Miles and Shirley Fiterman Hall. [25] In 2000, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, which owned the building, began a massive renovation to better adapt the building for classroom use. [26]
During the September 11 attacks, the building's structure was heavily compromised by debris from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, and the renovation was never completed. The building became unsafe to occupy because of exposed asbestos and mold growth. Since traditional demolition would result in an unacceptable environmental impact, the building was scheduled for deconstruction and decontamination as a part of the Lower Manhattan redevelopment project. [27]
Fiterman Hall was to be replaced by a new building designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners [28] after the deconstruction, and was scheduled to be completed by February 2007. [29] [30] However, environmental impact concerns and funding issues caused numerous delays. At a press conference at BMCC on November 13, 2008, city and state officials announced a new agreement that revised demolition and reconstruction plans through a funding agreement among New York City, New York State, and the City University of New York. In addition, approximately $80 million from an insurance settlement would be applied to the project's budget. [31] Under the plan, the building was demolished and rebuilt in November 2009, [32] and the new Fiterman Hall was completed in September 2012. [15] [26] [33]
College teams of the BMCC participate as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Panthers are a member of the community college section of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, soccer and swimming; while women's sports include basketball, soccer, swimming and volleyball.[ citation needed ]
BMCC offers a large state-of-the-art recreation facility including a regulation basketball court, swimming pool, and weight room. There are active teams in many sports such as handball, bowling, baseball, soccer, and basketball. Sports teams compete in both the CUNY athletic system and the local NJCAA collegiate sports system. The women's basketball team has won numerous championships including the CUNY basketball championship and the regional Division III championships including placing third nationally in 2000 with a 21–3 regular season record. [34] The chess team has won national awards. One of the most successful programs at BMCC is the men's soccer team with 6 consecutive wins at CUNY soccer championships, 1 regional Division III championship, and placing third in the NJCAA national championship in 2005.
Broadway is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for 13 mi (20.9 km) through the borough of Manhattan, over the Broadway Bridge, and 2 mi (3.2 km) through the Bronx, exiting north from New York City to run an additional 18 mi (29.0 km) through the Westchester County municipalities of Yonkers, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow, after which the road continues, but is no longer called "Broadway". The latter portion of Broadway comprises a portion of U.S. Route 9.
The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, the West Side Highway to the west, Liberty Street to the south, and Church Street to the east. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) owns the site's land. The original World Trade Center complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts college with a criminal justice and forensic focus in the United States.
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside Heights borders Central Harlem and Morningside Park to the east, Manhattanville to the north, the Manhattan Valley section of the Upper West Side to the south, and Riverside Park to the west. Broadway is the neighborhood's main thoroughfare, running north–south.
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the borough of Queens in New York City. Part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Queens College occupies a 80-acre (32 ha) campus primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 countries.
Tribeca, originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Chambers Street. By the 2010s, a common marketing tactic was to extend Tribeca's southern boundary to either Vesey or Murray Streets to increase the appeal of property listings.
Baruch College is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan, one of the major two-way, east-west streets in the borough's grid. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided into its east and west sections at Fifth Avenue. The street runs from Avenue C and FDR Drive in the east to Eleventh Avenue in the west.
Columbia University in New York City has an extensive tunnel system underneath its Morningside Heights campus connecting many of its buildings, used by the university as conduits for steam, electricity, telecommunications, and other infrastructure. Throughout their history, the tunnels have also been used for other purposes, mostly centering around transportation. During the first half of the 20th century, they were used by students to avoid aboveground traffic. When the university housed the Manhattan Project, they were allegedly used to move radioactive material between buildings. During the Columbia University protests of 1968, students used the tunnels to facilitate their occupation of buildings on campus.
The Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (BCC) is a public community college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system.
The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division, stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhattan north to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street in Riverdale, Bronx. The Brooklyn Branch, known as the Wall and William Streets Branch during construction, from the main line at Chambers Street southeast through the Clark Street Tunnel to Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn, is also part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line is the only line to have elevated stations in Manhattan, with two short stretches of elevated track at 125th Street and between Dyckman and 225th Streets.
The Borough Hall/Court Street station is an underground New York City Subway station complex in Brooklyn shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IRT Eastern Parkway Line. The complex comprises three stations: Borough Hall on the IRT lines and Court Street on the BMT line. The stations are located under Court, Joralemon, and Montague Streets, next to Brooklyn Borough Hall, in the Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It is served by the 2, 4, and R trains at all times; the 3 train all times except late nights; the 5 train on weekdays; the N train during late nights; and limited rush-hour W trains.
The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building is a 40-story, 580-foot (180 m) building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The structure was built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs. Construction began in 1909 and continued through 1914 at a total cost of $12 million.
The 69th Regiment Armory is a historic National Guard armory building located at 68 Lexington Avenue between East 25th and 26th Streets in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1906, the armory was designed by the firm of Hunt & Hunt in the Beaux-Arts style. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.
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The City College of the City University of New York is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City College was the first free public institution of higher education in the United States. It is the oldest of CUNY's 25 institutions of higher learning and is considered its flagship institution.
Chambers Street is a two-way street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from River Terrace, Battery Park City in the west, past PS 234, The Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Stuyvesant High School, to the Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street in the east. Between Broadway and Centre Street, Chambers Street forms the northern boundary of the grounds surrounding New York City Hall and the Tweed Courthouse. Opposite the Tweed Courthouse sits the Surrogate's Courthouse for Manhattan. 280 Broadway the Marble Palace, lies west of there, on the north side of Chambers.
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Antonio Pérez López was appointed in 1995 as president of Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), The City University of New York (CUNY) which has grown since that time to have the highest enrollment of any CUNY college. President Pérez stepped down in 2018.
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