Great moments in overdevelopment history

From DNA Info:

More than half of the city’s 1.1 million public school students attend overcrowded schools, according to a new report from the watchdog group Class Size Matters.

Despite the Department of Education’s addition of more seats and new buildings, many families feel the situation is getting worse as existing seats are being chipped away due to lost leases, schools being co-located together, or the elimination of annexes, mini-buildings and trailers housing temporary classrooms, according to the report released Thursday.

As trailers housing temporary classrooms — with nearly 8,000 seats — are expected to be phased out entirely, it may further strain school buildings, the report warns.

Roughly 575,000 students attended schools in 2015-2016 that were at or above 100 percent capacity, the report said, citing Department of Education enrollment data.

From the Queens Chronicle:

School Construction Authority officials on Monday said they have the money ready to alleviate overcrowding in overutilized school districts, such as SD 24 in southwest and western Queens, but a lack of available space remains their main obstacle.

“The hardest job of the SCA is to try and find real estate,” Michael Mirisola, director of External Affairs at the SCA, told members of the Borough Board during the annual update of the agency’s five-year capital plan. “We have brokers in every borough, in every district. We are constantly doing tests to see if a site will hold a school. We go through that exercise many times during the week and some of them just don’t pass muster.”

School District 24 has consistently been one of the most overcrowded in the city — as of February of this year, its average school utilization rate was 115 percent.
Mirisola said the SCA is always open to tips on available space to fit a school, yet many suggested sites are ultimately deemed unfit for an educational facility.

“Generally, the No. 1 reason is size,” he said. “If it’s a funded need and we don’t have a project, it’s because we’re looking for a location.”

Lots suitable for a new school site must be 20,000 square feet, the SCA official said, in addition to “other specifications and other requirements.”

School trailers will stay for now

From the Queens Chronicle:

The School Construction Authority has no immediate plans to remove 70 of the trailers being used as portable classrooms on school grounds across the borough, agency officials told Borough Board members Monday.

“We go at them as we can find solutions,” said Michael Mirisola, director of external affairs at the SCA.

The agency went over its amended 2015-19 capital plan with board members, detailing the plans to build and renovate schools in Queens district by district, but it was the part about the trailers — known as transportable classroom units — that most interested the community board chairpersons and a few City Council members who showed up to the meeting.

The capital plan, as it stands, has $450 million allocated for the removal of the units, but before they can be taken away, a plan must be developed to seat the children in them back in their school or an addition built onto it.

Right now, there are 17 Queens schools with such a plan, though some details still need to be hammered out.

Sunnyside Gardens want SCA to preserve historic garage

From DNA Info:

Plans to build a much-needed middle school on the site of an old garage has drawn the ire of local preservationists who say the structure is too precious to be destroyed.

The city is looking to purchase the privately-owned property at 38-04 48th St., home to a two-story former garage, most recently occupied by a pool hall but now sits empty.

A 600-seat middle school is being proposed for the space, something local parents have been pushing to get for years to accommodate the growing number of children in the neighborhood.

But preservationists say the garage should be saved due to its historical significance. The building was designed by renowned urban planner Clarence Stein, one of two architects responsible for designing Sunnyside Gardens.

Though the building sits just outside the boundaries of the landmark historic district, it was designed as part of the project in the 1920s as a garage for Sunnyside Gardens residents to park their cars, according to architectural historian Barry Lewis.

"He didn't want to eat up the space in the city blocks with garages and driveways," said Lewis, who said the building was designed with features similar to the homes in Sunnyside Gardens, including its red brick.

"You'd be ripping out one of the major components of Clarence Stein's original plan," he said.

City planning to knock down school it landmarked

From Brooklyn Daily:

The city will knock over Sunset Park’s castle-like former police precinct to make way for 300 classroom seats, officials announced on June 13. School Construction Authority reps made the pitch to Community Board Seven, claiming the crumbling landmark at Fourth Avenue and 43rd Street would “probably have to come down” while also showing photos of schools the agency previously built atop demolished historic structures.

School Construction Authority reps refused to say the agency would definitely demolish the building, which would require a virtually unheard-of un-landmarking or for the city to condemn the derelict structure as a hazard. However, they did show locals photos of schools the agency build with an aesthetic nod to the historic buildings that they replaced, such as PS 133 in Park Slope, which rose from an older schoolhouse, and PS 30 in Bay Ridge, which succeeded the Green Church.

R.I.P. Historic Wych Elm of Downtown Flushing

Cutting and removal of the historic Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra) on Franklin Ave, downtown Flushing by NYC Parks Forestry in early November was prompted by the continuum of allowed blatant and egregious construction impacts upon an invaluable public tree asset, the absence of effective interventions by those in charge when they had the opportunity to do so (NYC Parks Forestry) as well the use of legal action against the perpetrators of tree abuse when it was occurring (NYC School Construction Authority), despite a community rally with the then City Council Member Liu to ensure tree preservation by those agencies.

It is clear NYC Parks forestry operations are not in the public tree protection and preservation business despite their core mission statement that directs them to do so. No wonder we are loosing many of our most important and invaluable large public trees.

Who then speaks for the trees?

Attached: The last views of this aged rare historic street tree.

Carsten Glaeser

DOE withdraws purchase of school site that Vallone said couldn't be stopped

From the Times Ledger:

The city School Construction Authority has announced it would rescind its contract to purchase the Bayside Jewish Center along with its plans to build a 739-seat high school on the site, ending a controversy over which has been growing for months.

SCA President and CEO Lorraine Grillo issued a statement Tuesday making the announcement:

“In addition to building great schools that foster a welcoming environment for our students and families, we are laser focused on identifying appropriate locations to increase capacity in a city where space is at a premium,” Grillo said. “Unfortunat­ely, we have been unable to reach a consensus with Bayside residents and local elected officials on our proposed development site for a new high school in their neighborhood. The proposal will not be moving forward; however, we remain committed to addressing overcrowding communities face.”

This comes after Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) wrote a letter Friday, asking the SCA to halt its proposal before it went to the City Council for a vote. State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) held a rally Saturday calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to put a stop to the contract. But ultimately Grillo caved in to mounting community concerns.

Wasn't it Vallone who said this process couldn't be stopped?

How leaders feel about new Bayside high school

Tony Avella speaks at CB11 meeting

Paul Vallone says he is opposed to school

Steve Behar explains how Council votes with home rule member

Bayside residents overwhelmingly oppose new high school

From the NY Times:

Critics attacked the authority’s process for selecting a site, saying it should have involved community input from the beginning — well before a contract was signed.

Some speakers argued that since the overcrowding in Bayside was partly caused by students traveling from other parts of the city, new schools should be opened in those areas instead.

Several speakers directed their fury at Paul A. Vallone, the councilman who represents Bayside. Opponents of the proposal have complained that he has not taken a sufficiently aggressive stand against the project. His position on the matter could influence the rest of the Council, they contend.

“Can a council member be impeached or recalled?” one speaker asked, provoking a chorus of cheers and whoops.

At the conclusion of the two-hour meeting, the community board overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, with only one member voting for it.

On Monday, Mr. Vallone issued a statement saying that as a result of the vote, he would “stand in opposition to this site, despite the community board’s repeated requests for a specialized high school in the district for nearly a decade.”

A representative from the Construction Authority, however, said the city would nonetheless press forward with its plan for the new high school.

Bayside community not fooled by SCA & Vallone

Received from someone who did a lot of homework on the Bayside high school/Paul Vallone issue:

32nd Avenue Construction

Vallone stands alone in support of new school

From QNS:

A meeting with Councilman Paul Vallone and education officials on Monday couldn’t quell the concerns of Bayside residents still adamantly opposed to a school proposed for the former Bayside Jewish Center.

Vallone was only a few minutes into his introductory remarks when the audience interruptions began. The councilman pointed out that, as the Bayside Jewish Center and the School Construction Authority (SCA) had already entered into a contract, he thought it unlikely that plans for the school would be squashed at this point.

“I’m more of a realist than someone who’s going to stand on the corner and say it’s not going to happen,” Vallone said over the grumbling of audience members.

The councilman added that the situation was delicate and would likely draw criticism from residents no matter which site was chosen, and that he believed the SCA site selection process in general should be changed to increase transparency. Vallone also noted that his constituents in Community Board 11 have often commented about a dire need for school seats in the area.

In a joint letter sent to SCA President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Grillo on Tuesday, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Assemblyman Edward Braunstein asked that the SCA rescind its contract with the Bayside Jewish Center due to the lack of support from the Bayside community.

“The process that the School Construction Authority (SCA) uses to purchase property for siting new schools is flawed, and does not offer the residents, the community board, or elected officials any opportunity for input until after the contract negotiations have begun,” read the statement.

State Senator Tony Avella previously opposed the plan, holding opposition rallies outside the center in recent months.

From the Queens Tribune:

Addressing his disgruntled constituents, Vallone argued that the proposed school was a deal between two private parties and that it wasn’t in his power or anybody else’s to stop it.

“We go along with this journey as it happens,” he said, “We can’t stop it.”

Chadney Spencer, who opposed the school, said Vallone had taken a different stance when a high school was proposed in Whitestone.

“You ran around defending Whitestone to get the vote,” he said.

The SCA abandoned plans for the Whitestone site, at 150-33 6th Ave, after Vallone and other community members protested and petitioned.

The Queens Tribune reported in April 2014 that “Vallone personally delivered more than 500 signatures against the plan to [SCA CEO Lorraine] Grillo.”

Vallone said in a statement at the time “I never stopped pushing the SCA to commit to abandoning this plan.”

A Vallone staffer said the Whitestone site had not progressed as far in the sales process at the time that Vallone opposed it, and that Vallone had been acting as a private individual to protest the site, as he was not an elected official at the time. The staffer also said the Whitestone site had been a more inappropriate site than the Bayside one.

Isn't it interesting that this Vallone staffer is anonymous in this story and that he/she doesn't seem to know that Vallone assumed power on January 1, 2014 and the school was nixed April 2014?

City lied to Koo about Linden Place high school

From the Times Ledger:

Elected officials and civic leaders say they are against an SCA proposal to build a high school on Linden Place in Flushing in an area they say has many facilities and traffic problems.

The School Construction Authority announced a plan to convert 30-48 Linden Place—a building that currently houses offices for Community School District 25 Superintendent Danielle Dimango, District 25 staff and the community education council —into High School 859.

In a letter dated May 27 to City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing)said residents told him maintenance workers on the site were seen removing furniture for a new high school despite being told by the DOE that the plan was not being pursued.

Justin Brannan, deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, responded to Koo’s letter June 23 confirming that the building is being converted into a high school at Farina’s request.

Brannan also noted that because the DOE owns the building, it is not required to participate in a public process and that a portion of the building is being used as an alternate learning center for high school students.

Koo said there is a need for a good high school in Flushing but that another location should be considered, saying he needs more details.

Bayside residents unhappy with high school proposal

From the Queens Courier:

Bayside residents showed up in large numbers to Monday’s Community Board 11 (CB 11) meeting to contend with a proposed high school planned for the former Bayside Jewish Center.

Although many were interested in speaking on the issue of the proposed school, most of the attendees had not realized they needed to pre-register for the public participation segment of the evening and were not allowed to have the floor. The few who did get to speak out against the school received a raucous applause from the rest of the audience.

“Put simply, this project is not needed and is not wanted,” said Nancy Kupferberg, a Bayside resident who has had two of her children attend nearby Bayside High School. Kupferberg appeared on behalf of many others to present a total of 3,100 letters from community residents, students and staff members to express their concerns about the proposal.

“What my experience tells me is that we don’t want this,” added Ana Baires, a resident of the area around Bayside High School. She spoke of teenagers loitering around her house and causing trouble.

The residents were so eager to speak on the matter that many members of the frustrated crowd spilled out into the hallway. Chairwoman Christine Haider said a discussion will be held in the future when the community board has more information about the project.

I have it on good authority that

• over 3000 individual letters that were written by residents opposing the school were brought to the meeting
• CB 11 warned the rep from Vallone's office that the SCA better not hold any meetings during the summer
• the Principal of Bayside HS was not informed about the new school ahead of time and is totally upset with Vallone and the SCA about it.

Avella introduces legislation to stop SCA stupidity

From the Queens Chronicle:

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) is asking the School Construction Authority to do its homework when it comes to picking sites for educational facilities.

As the senator and Bayside residents rallied against the proposal to place a public high school at the former site of the Bayside Jewish Center, located at 203-05 32 Ave., Avella on May 14 introduced legislation that would require the SCA to give elected officials and community boards the reasons as to why a particular site was picked for an educational facility.

Avella said he has been working on the bill for a while, but introduced it two weeks ago after the city announced its plans to have a school at the 32nd Avenue site.

“You could say that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” the senator said in an interview with the Queens Chronicle.

The bill, if signed into law, would require the city to give the reasons why a new school is required in the area, identify any other sites that were considered for the school and why the site chosen won over all other possibilities.

He also said he’s pushing for the legislation because his staff was told by SCA President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Grillo that they were not notified of plans for the site because the agency, “didn’t want to give him time to organize” against them.

Avella called that conversation “disrespectful” and said “I think it’s time for Lorraine Grillo to go.”

Petition against new Flushing high school

Just wanted to make you aware of this petition against building a school in Flushing:

A new 481 seat High School is being planned for 30-48 Linden Place. This is where the Board of Education building now stands. The Mitchell-Linden Civic Association has already notified our legislators that this location is absolutely unacceptable for the following reasons: Directly across the street is a car wash, and two hotels. It is adjacent to the Whitestone Bowling Alley and only ½ block from an early child hood school. Within one to three blocks are two Nursery schools, two Senior Centers, and P.S. 214. This is the most congested and grid locked location in our entire community. It is also the pathway to the Pathmark Shopping Center.

I'm still trying to figure out why, since the birth rate has been low for quite some time, do we need a school built on every other block?

Bayside opposed to high school at Jewish center site

From the Queens Courier:

Residents living near the Bayside Jewish Center rallied with state Sen. Tony Avella on Thursday against a proposed high school planned for their neighborhood.

Around 75 people showed up at the intersection of 32nd Avenue and 204th Street and largely complained of overcrowded traffic and buses due to the existence of several other schools in the nearby vicinity, including a number of elementary schools and Bayside High School, which serves a student body of more than 3,000 only four blocks away.

While the protesters agreed that new schools should be built for local students, they did not think that their community could accommodate a school with a planned capacity of between 800 and 1,000 students.

Avella said the School Construction Authority (SCA) has systematically chosen school sites without the support of residents and elected officials, citing an unsuccessful 2013 outcry against an elementary school being built on 48th Avenue. He is introducing legislation which would amend education law to require detailed analyses to be made available upon the proposed construction of a new school in a city of over a million in population.

Councilman Paul Vallone, however, indicated that while compromises with the community will have to be made in the process leading up to the school’s construction, he looks forward to seeing a new school in his district, whether it is installed at the former Jewish center or at an alternative site.

Bayside getting a new high school

From the Queens Courier:

The School Construction Authority (SCA) plans to purchase the Bayside Jewish Center and transform it into a new public high school, according to Councilman Paul Vallone.

The new school will go a long way toward solving the issue of overcrowding in District 26 schools, which are at 130 percent capacity and currently short more than 3,400 seats. The new school is set to alleviate around 25 percent of that gap.

Vallone said that he is going to work with residents to lessen the impact that a new school would have on their everyday lives, including potential effects on parking availability and local traffic concerns.

“What is critical now is making sure that the community and community board are involved in every step of the way and that we work closely with the SCA to minimize the impact to the surrounding neighborhood,” Vallone said.

Geraldine Ferraro School design is an improvement

The new school on Metropolitan Avenue and Tonsor Street in Ridgewood is coming along and I have to say the design is a step up from the recent school designs built.

The curve is cool.

And there's even a port-a-jane amidst the port-a-johns!

Kids learning in trailers not counted

From DNA Info:

Richmond Hill High School is so crowded that, at any given time, 375 students are attending classes in temporary trailers next to the school, according to the school's PTA.

But the Department of Education's latest report on school trailers did not list any students in temporary classrooms there. It also didn't count thousands of other students in trailers at dozens of public schools across the city, advocates said in a report released Friday.

The School Construction Authority's 2012 report on trailers listed 7,158 students in the temporary classrooms, which are often criticized by parents and teachers as moldy, leaky and disruptive of students' learning.

But the School Construction Authority's number did not include thousands of students from 47 schools who were in trailers but were not counted because of technicalities, the study found.

For example, at 14 high schools, including Richmond Hill High School, the DOE did not count any students in trailers because the trailers were not used as homerooms, according to the School Construction Authority's explanation of the numbers.

And in 28 elementary schools and three middle schools, no children were counted in the trailers because the temporary classrooms were used for art, music or other special classes, rather than standard academic subjects, the School Construction Authority said.

Whitestone high school nixed

From the Queens Tribune:

The School Construction Authority has decided against placing a high school at a controversial site in Whitestone, after protests from the community and its councilman.

During a Queens Delegation briefing on April 17, SCA president Lorraine Grillo confirmed that the plot of land located at 150-33 6th Ave. in Whitestone is no longer under consideration for a new high school. The news came from Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), who helped lead the community protests against the proposal over last summer.

Vallone, with the backing of civics such as the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Civic Association, personally delivered more than 500 signatures against the plan to Grillo. While the SCA had not purchased the land, which is privately-owned, it was considering the site for a new public high school. However, the community quickly came out against the idea, stating that there was a lack of infrastructure and transportation, making the site less than ideal for teachers, students and civilians. It would also have a negative impact on the quality of life for surrounding residents.

Grillo agreed with the councilman and community members, stating those factors as the reason why the Whitestone site is out of the running.

Good for them. However, I seriously doubt that it was lack of infrastructure and transportation or potential quality of life problems that killed this. When has SCA ever cared about any of that? More likely, someone important lives nearby or the site is contaminated beyond belief.

A better site for a school than Kiel Brothers?

From the Times Ledger:

Members of Auburndale community groups are puzzled by a vacant lot on Northern Boulevard that appears to be under construction but has remained unchanged for more than four years.

The boarded-up site, at the corner of Northern Boulevard and 196th Street, has some nearby residents wondering what, if anything, will take its place. The property formerly housed a gas station that was demolished in 1998 and the city Department of Buildings began issuing new building permits in 2002.

Since then, 32 permits have been issued for various types of work, including new buildings, alterations and sign construction, but no work applications have been filed since 2009.

Henry Euler, first vice president of the Auburndale Improvement Association, said the lot has been vacant for years and has been the subject of some complaints filed by various groups.

“My civic association had registered complaints because there were a lot of old things stored on the site, like garden nursery-type materials at one point,” he said. “The construction fence had been in disrepair and no permits were posted.”

Euler said the community has talked about several options for what could be built where the lot now stands empty but has no confirmation about what is really happening. One possibility mentioned by some nearby residents was to turn the lot into a school, which Euler said the community is in need of, according to the city School Construction Authority.

He said the SCA had contacted Community Board 11 about the need for a new elementary school in the Bayside-Auburndale area, and last month the City Council approved a plan to build an elementary school at 48th Avenue and 211th Street in Bayside. Residents who live near the site, now occupied by Keil Brothers Garden Center, still are strongly opposed to having the school so close the backyards of 31 homes, but the SCA is believed to be moving ahead with its plan.

Euler said he believes the lot on Northern Boulevard is large enough for a school and would satisfy those who are looking for another one in the area.

Another possibility for the property, he said, is to turn it into some type of community space.