UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) -- It's intended to provide a place for schoolchildren to play when their access to outdoor space is limited, but one plan for implementing part of the city's Open Streets program is getting pushback from some local residents.

After it was rejected before, a plan to make the street in front of a high-end private school open for students to play is about to go into effect when school starts next month.

"I just feel this is a recipe for disaster," said Marie Spareck, who lives on the same block as the Birch Wathen Lenox School on East 77th Street, between Second and Third Avenues. It won unanimous approval by the local community board to have the block closed off on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The block is busy now,

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