 The school was the first free school in New York City since 1975 . It started in a rented portion of a Park Slope Methodist church , but moved to a brownstone in Fort Greene . Students participate in the design of classes and in the school 's governance , which is done at a weekly Democratic Meeting . Staff and students all have equal votes . The school is funded through sliding @-@ scale tuition , grants , and donations . In 2012 , Lucas Kavner of The Huffington Post called the Brooklyn Free School " arguably New York 's most radical center of learning " . 
