1JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP proposed for Sunset at
0School Fifth Avenue and 36th Street
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
In an attempt to alleviate the continuing
overcrowding plaguing
Sunset Park schools, the city's
Department of Education has proposed
a new elementary school for the
neighborhood.
Plans for the site, located on the
corner of Fifth Avenue and 36th Street,
were presented by the New York City
School Construction Authority (SCA)
during a site selection hearing on
Tuesday, June 21 at Community Board 7.
The school would be around 19,000
square feet and seat approximately
404 students in Community School
District 15.
Tamar Smith of the SCA, who
stressed that the planning is currently
in the early stages, told concerned
parents, “We are excited because this
is one of several new sites that we have
presented in the last few months. We
had a seller that was offering the space
and it’s a nice sized space."
Throughout the meeting, parents
voiced concerns. Many attendees
asked why this is considered a good
location given its close proximity to
the bus depot and constant traffic.
“On the opposite site of the street,
there is also a gas station and a car
wash,” noted Jeremy Laufer, district
manager of CB 7.
Smith assured her listeners that all
concerns would be taken into account.
“When we do our environmental impact
studies, that will be one of the
main things we will study,” she said.
“This is a busy neighborhood like most
of New York. There aren’t a lot of sites
that are quiet and country-like. The
safety of the kids is always our top
priority.”
Laufer cited examples of schools
placed in similar areas. “One school
recently opened on Caton Avenue, one
of our most dangerous truck routes in
the area,” he explained. “The Department
of Transportation (DOT) came in
and did traffic studies and added many
different safety aspects which helped
alleviate the problems. We have another
school being built on Third Avenue
between 59th and 60th Streets. It’s the
most dangerous intersection in this
community but DOT is also coming
in for that project and we’re going to
be doing significant upgrades to the
intersection there.
"Don’t think this is just a school project,”
he stressed.
Superintendent of District 15 Anita
Skop was also in attendance to discuss
how to best handle zoning. “One of the
things that we will take into consideration
as we begin to build is how do
we rezone or create an application
process for this school? To be honest,
I’m thinking lottery at this point in
time,” she said. “We at the Department
of Education and the district office are
going to look at the flow of kids, what
would best serve kids in the district.
We want to make sure kids are not in
overcrowded situations and they’re
getting best education possible.
“Sunset Park has been historically
an underserved area,” Skop added.
“We have been waiting a very long time
to get seats here and we are grateful
to get any scrap of land we can find.
This is a wonderful opportunity for
us to have more seats for the kids that
occupy our building.”
Councilmember Carlos Menchaca also
recently chimed in on the proposal.
“Finding new school sites in Sunset
Park is an urgent priority,” he said in
a statement. “I am proud that for the
first time in decades, we are making
real progress. In addition to the three
Sunset Park locations we’ve secured in
the last two years, a fourth site at 36th
Street and Fifth Avenue is now set to
become a school for about 400 students.
Recent progress is encouraging, but
we have a lot more work to do.”
Still, not everyone is optimistic
about the site. “Honestly, I think they
just gave us the runaround,” said Maribel
Vasquez following the meeting.
“They’ve already decided what they
want to do and they don’t care about
what any of us think. They don’t care
about what they are doing to the children
because they’re putting the children
in danger. There’s a bus depot up
there where the buses come in and out.”
Several steps must still be taken
before the SCA can purchase the
property. Once the plan goes through
various levels of review, it must be
approved by the City Council and
finally the mayor. At that point, said
Smith, SCA can purchase the property,
design a school to fit the site and then
begin construction which could take
two or three years.
Image courtesy of Google Maps
36th Street and Fifth Avenue.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Jaime DeJesus
Tamar Smith of the SCA discusses proposal of school that would be located on Fifth Avenue and
36th Street.