“The situation is incredibly
frustrating,” he added.
Pichardo explained that
the intersections of East
181st Street and Jerome
Avenue as well as E 176th
Street and Jerome Avenue
are the most troublesome
low clearance locations.
Since that portion of Jerome
Avenue sloops downward
from north to south,
the height of the trestle decreases
at several locations
to the point where the average
tractor-trailer doesn’t
clear the structure.
The NYC Department of
Transportation has afi xed
‘Maximun Clearance’
signs throughout the troublesome
stretch of Jerome
Avenue. The areas that
have a height limit posted
at 12’ 4” seem to be causing
the crashes.
One trestle crossmember
has been hit so often
its steel has been literally
bent downwards, reducing
the location’s actual clearance
another one and a half
inches.
“So clearly it’s not the
exact height posted,” Pichardo
said pointing to one of
the bent frames on Friday,
February 8.
He cited three main
causes for the traffi c nightmare,
the fi rst being that
truck drivers are either
unaware or ignoring the
clearance signs as well as
being unfamiliar with the
truck route.
“Certain trucks aren’t
even allowed to pass
through streets like Jerome
Avenue, so many
of the ones that get stuck
shouldn’t even be on that
road (to start with),” he
added saying, that businesses
that expect truck
deliveries also have a responsibility
to ensure
their trucks are taking the
proper routes and warning
the drivers about the clearance
restrictions.
“We have to be aggressive
enforcing that with the
NYPD,” Pichardo said.
He also mentioned that
some of the height signage
on Jerome Avenue is inaccurate
due to blacktopping
and road repair work,
which is also contributing
to a thicker roadbed.
Pichardo is currently
working with DOT to meet
and come up with a more
realistic solution for the
problem at hand.
“As offi cials we have to
do a better job as well,” the
assemblyman admitted.
Fittingly enough, as of
press time, another tractor
trailer became wedged
under the same bent frame
as the one last week at East
181st Street and Cameron
Avenue.
15 BRONX WEEKLY February 17, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
from Page 1
ADS founder and principal Melissa Melkonian (c) and parents. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
Ground breaking for new
south Bronx charter school
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A south Bronx charter
school celebrated its upcoming
expansion when construction
began on a new building that
will soon be home to its growing
educational program.
American Dream School,
a charter school currently located
in Mott Haven, recently
broke ground on a state-ofthe
art building in Melrose,
to serve as its high school. The
ceremonial groundbreaking
took place on Friday, February
8.
The new school building at
700 Gerard Avenue will be a
fi ve-7story, 33,000 square foot
educational facility addressing
the continuing curriculum
of ADS, said Nicholas Gallagher,
director of operations.
The new facility boasts
dedicated space for a gym,
computer lab and cafeteria,
and dedicated space for nearly
all activities, said Gallagher.
Among the amenities that
ADS’ multi-lingual English
and Spanish high school’s
building are expected to offer
by July 2020 are a chemistry
lab, biology lab, physics lab,
outdoor educational terrace,
top fl oor gymnasium, a full
kitchen that will enable the
school to eventually prepare
fresh meals for students, said
Gallagher.
ADS founder and principal,
Melissa Melkonian, joined
with parents and teachers in
celebration of the milestone
on February 8.
“I believe our hardworking
students and teachers deserve
a permanent, beautiful, stateof
the-art facility that inspires
them every day,” Melkonian.
Melkonian added that a
key element of ADS’ vision
is to cultivate a welcoming,
encouraging environment
for English language learners
and immigrant students
where learning and language
development is supported.
“With the groundbreaking
of our new high school
campus, we’re pushing our
vision forward,” said Melkonian.
The new building will accommodate
324 students.
Hollister Construction
Services, a full-service construction
managing company,
is constructing the new
building.
Andrew McLaughlin, Hollister
project executive, said
he believes that the design
created for the building will
continue to push boundaries
and will be a great representation
of the school community
and students.
Gallagher said that when
ADS was founded during the
2014-15 school year, it was
originally intended for middle
school education, and that
the dual language school was
expanded and their charter
amended because of parent
requests.
“Our parents petitioned
us to expand our grade offering
into high school because
they did not fi nd the type of
programming in their community
that they felt was appropriate
for their children,”
said Gallagher.
ADS continues to occupy
the fourth fl oor of P.S. 30 and
has also expanded into private
space nearby for the upper
grades, said Gallagher,
who added having its own
building will provide the
school with stability.
The school hopes to offer
its fi rst high school graduating
class a diploma with a
NYC Department of Education
seal of bi-literacy, meaning
graduates are bi-literate
and bi-lingual in English and
Spanish, said Gallagher.
Every class at the school
is taught in both languages
except for English subject
class, and the classes have
two teachers per classroom,
said Gallagher.
ADS founder and Principal Melissa Melkonian (c) and teachers at the groundbreaking.
Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
Unsuspecting truck drivers
surprised by Jerome Avenue wedgie
Another truck jammed under the el on Wednesday, February, 13.
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Victor Pichardo’s Offi ce
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