Score one for thinking ahead.

Borough politicians and community leaders won a significant victory for the planning process on Nov. 5.

The cause for celebration: a commitment from the East River Realty Corporation that it will include space for a new public school at the much0discussed development site at the old Con Ed Waterside plant. The deal also includes a set-aside for affordable housing units. Both agreements represent significant progress from the developer, which still has a project that many neighbors argue is simply too bit for the site.

The school, though, impressed us as being some good news from this high-profile development. And we can only hope that it bodes well for a borough in need of educational options.

On the East Side, a virtual political kaleidoscope was on hand this week to celebrate the school that will lie near the East River. On the scene: Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senators Liz Krueger and Tom Duane, Assembly Members Jonathan Bing and Brian Kavanagh, Council Members Daniel Garodnick and Jessica Lappin and the Community 6 Board Chair Lyle Frank. Maloney called the East River site "the last great swath of land in Manhattan," underscoring the importance of the 9.5-acre property.

The pols pressed the theme that they had worked together—and they had.

One impressive element: seeing representatives not just from where the Con Ed development will happen, but from north of there. Neighboring representatives are smart enough to see the development's repercussions, which extend beyond narrowly defined borders.

The refreshing news that a school was part of the plan played out on the East Side, but the issue of planning is borough-wide. String and Lappin, who chairs the council's panel on landmarks, both indicated that they understand what is at stake. And that what happened along the East River could serve as a model for the planning process.

We cannot think of development in this city without thinking of the schools needed to educate the people who will live in the towers in the future. The pols who gathered on First Avenue were sophisticated enough to know they will never be able to stop all development. Stringer said, "Skylines in this borough change." He knows that, and his colleagues do, too.

But they also know that changing skylines can bring new families, and we have to be ready for them. Looking ahead to what might be a 25 percent increase in the number of students in city schools in the next decade, Garodnick said, "We cannot pretend we don't see it coming." New buildings bring other needs, too, like additional stress on police, fire, medical and mass transit services.

It was refreshing this week to see some forward-looking pols at work.