Daily News from New York, New York • 229

SUNDAY NEWS, JANUARY 3, 1971 C5 Fa Take Msk a State wf i If i ff "s' Trfii tl 'i By ROBERT CARROLL A special study committee appointed two years ago by Gov. Rockefeller recommended yesterday that the C-million-acre Adirondack State Park be placed under control of an independent state agency to be funded initially by $120 million bond issue. NEWS photo by Frank Castoral Fifth graders in the Open Corridor groupings play chess at PS 75, on the upper West Side. Open Corridor Taking ECids te of the ilackhoaird- Bungle By MERIEMEL RODRIGUEZ "Where's the teacher?" asked the visitor to a first-grade class at PS 75 on the In Miss Blau's Open Corridor grouping there are four classes. The teachers usually meet on Sunday to plan their week.

"It's exciting," she says. "The most interesting part is watching the kids' transition. In the beginning they used to turn to me for answers all the time. Now they turn to one another for help, or go ahead and find out on their own. I act as a guide." In spite of its success at PS 75 and other schools in District 3, Open Corridor- is not considered the only answer for New York City's school ills.

Many teachers have doubts about its lack of formal structure. But Ivan Ramos Acosta, a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, who teaches fifth grade at PS 75, summarizes its effectiveness with these words: "My greatest satisfaction is working with children who want to come to school the same children who a few months ago came into this class with bored looks." makeup of the upper West Side. The teachers volunteered for the program. The children's parents gave their consent before they were placed in the Open Corridor classrooms. In Open Corridor the corridor as well as the classroom is used for teaching.

The idea is based on, but is not a copy of, the British infant school system. This is the second year for Open Corridor in District 3. At PS 75, Open Corridor started last year with four classes and increased to 14 this year. The person responsible for its development is Mrs. Lillian Weber, an associate professor at City College's School of Education.

Mrs. Weber spent a year and a half in England observing 56 schools in working-class neighborhoods of London, Birmingham and Bristol. Always Alternatives "I saw in their inner city schools children involved in what they were doing, not apathetic," explained Mrs. Weber, who with a number of specially trained teachers supervises the work of the Open Corridor teachers. A typical day in an Open Corridor class might begin with a discussion of what the children want to do, in any of several areas ranging from science and math to the arts.

But there are always alternatives. During the taxi strike the aixth-erade class of Sharon Blau, The committee said the money should be used primarily to acquire land and easements within the park, whose boundaries encompass an area nearly as large as the state of Vermont. Of the park's 6 million acres, more than 60 are privately owned. Development Feared In its study report, the committee said the park's private land "faces an imminent crisis of unregulated development. Unless its development is intelligently planned," the committee warned, "the wild forest character of the park, a unique resource unmatched in the eastern United States, will be doomed." The study committee said its proposed bipartisan park agency should prepare a land-use plan for all private and public lands within the park boundary and impose regulations consistent with the plan.

Administration of the park would be vested in the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Local governments within the park area, of which there are about 85, would retain their land-use control, the committea proposed, "but the agency would have primary responsibility for matters of regional and state concern." 181 Recommendations Among the 181 specific recommendations in the commission's report were these: There should be no further major impoundments of water in the park's 2,000 lakes and ponds and 5,000 miles of rivers. Only those forms of "public outdoor recreation that will not harm or destroy the wild forest environment should be encouraged." The "highest attainable" standards should be set to protect of eight antidemolition, antievic-tio'n bills drawn up by Councilman Greitzer. The bills range from an outright moratorium on demolition of sound housing to proposals that would impe.de landlords who want to evict tenants to replace middle income, rent controlled housing- with commercial buildings, who want to subdivide multi-bedroom apartments into smaller units. The package is now pending in the council.

Greitzer and Weiss said: "Administration officials have such a case of the jitters over criticisms of lack of new housing that they were ready to capitulate to the outrageous demands of combined real estate building interests." Cite Areas of Need The building industry is calling for the stablishment of a housing 'czar" or commmision to expedite evictions and building permits and a 20 zoning bonus that would result in greater building density. However, Weiss and Greitzer said: "The building industry is not interested in building in the areas of greatest need, but only in ptim Manhattan locations." upper West Side. "I'm here," answered Ruth Lowy, who was wearing jeans and. a blue work shirt splattered with paint. She was sitting on the corridor 'floor outside her classroom Beside her were four little girls.

sat and the other sprawled on the floor painting a tree on a piece of brown wrapping paper. A sign pasted to the wall read, "How do you feel about trees today?" Exercise in Chaos? Inside the classroom small clusters of children worked with scales, or electric bulbs and batteries. Another group surrounded two cages holding gerbils and rabbits. Some children were writing, others were handling the animals an dtalking. To a visitor, Miss Lowy's first-grade class seems like an exercise in chaos.

It is an Open Corridor classroom. There are no desks, not even for the teacher. The students are scattered around the room. However, there is one remarkable thing about the class. Not once while she talked to the visitor did Miss Lowy utter the familiar phrases "Children, will you be quiet," or "Johnny, will you sit down," or "Mary, will you go back to your seat, can't you see I'm talking to this lady?" "This is a child-oriented program," explained Miss Lowy.

"If a child is working on a project or writing a book, he doesn't have to come to me all the time. I have a work bench in the room. I wouldn't teach any other way." PS 75 is one of eight schools in District 3, in which Open Corridor, a relatively new idea in education in this country is being used. Seventy teachers, and a number of paraprofessionals and student teachers are involved. The 1,900 children in the 15 Open Corridor groupings are white, black and Spanish-speaking, middle-class and poor, reflecting the ethnic, religious and economic A Gov.

Nelson Rockefeller the air and water quality of the park. Commercial mining and logging i i the park boumU should be allowed to continue but under more stringent supervision. Tax relief should be afforded landowners who restrict us of their land to park purpones and state aid given communities whose tax bases are reduced by such relief. Establishment of a four-year state college in the Saranac Lake area. Gov.

Rockefeller called the re-port "a landmark in the environmental history of this state" that presents, "thoughtful options for action." The 14-meniber study commission was headed by Harold K. Hochschild, honorary board chairman of American Metal Climax, Inc. Carol Greitzer Accumm LinJtay Theodora S. Weis td mini at rat ion This, the councilmen say, will necessitate land clearing operations that would accelerate thousands of evictions. "It is ridiculous to try add to the over-all housing stock by destroying additional decent housing when there are so many salvageable vacant buildings and vacant sites throughout the city suitable for residential building," the councilmen said.

"The administration should channel builders efforts into neighborhoods most in need of housing by offering tax incentives and low cost financing." It (Charge 'Moax' Will Up Evictions Two Manhattan councilmen accused the Lindsay administration yesterday of dragging its feet on promised new eviction regulations while holding "secret negotiations" with the building industry that, they contend, will result in evictions of "tens a tall, dark-haired beauty, discussed the walkout. The class talked about the people involved in the strike how it affected the children, their parents, the taxi owners, the cabbies. They also looked into the role played by the gypsy drivers. "The children write out their daily work plans," explained Miss Blau. "At the end of the day I ask them to write an evaluation of their work.

I use this and my own observations to keep their parents informed of their of thousands" of tenants. In a statement at City Hall, Democrats Carol Greitzer and Theodore S. Weiss also said it was becoming "more obvious every day" that last September's public hearings on evictions were a "hoax on tenants." Promised changes have "not materialized," they added. The hearings, held by Rent Commissioner Benjamin Altman, were scheduled largely at the insistence of all eight Manhattan councilman. The Manhattan delegation has "sponsored a package 400 and 500 persons would die in traffic accidents.

One person was killed and 408 injured in 318 accidents during the New Year's weekend between 6 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. yesterday, police reported. The total number of accidents, including those involving only property damage, was 920. Police made 17 drunken driving arrests and gave out 1,321 summonses for moving violations.

Road Toll Running Higli AIRDEX PHEALTHFill" UNSATISFACTORY- ACCEPTABLE-" GOOD- I FMK vr Testacy. Chicago, Jan. 2 (Special) The National Safety Council said today that New Year's weekend traffic deaths were running ahead of its estimated casualties for the 78-hour holiday. The council said 246 persons had died on the highways since the tally began at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The count continues through midnight tomorrow. Before the holiday began, tha council forecast that between TODAY: Pollution levels are expected to remain unsatisfactory. Dept. of Air Resources.