Nov. 1, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
A new 180-seat pre-kindergarten center will open in Court Square next fall, according to Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.
The new school is scheduled to open in September 2017 and will operate out of a renovated four-story office building at 27-35 Jackson Avenue in Court Square.
“Long Island City is growing rapidly, and our neighborhood’s children need a place to learn,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. “We fought long and hard for these desperately needed classes.”
“When we invest in schools, we invest in our community’s future. Adding new school seats is one of the most important things I can do as an elected official, so we can make sure our neighborhood remains a great place to raise a family,” Van Bramer added.
Van Bramer is expected to make an official announcement on Wednesday.
The four-story building currently holds the U.S. Citizen and Information Services on the first floor and an adult trade school on the third floor, with more office space on the fourth floor, all of which will remain in the building.
According to permits filed with the Building Department, the School Construction Authority plans to add a school lobby to the first floor and convert the office space on the second floor to classrooms in the coming year.
The SCA signed the lease on the space last week, though plans for additional pre-k seats had been in the works for quite a while, according to Van Bramer’s office.
Long Island City has seen tremendous growth over the past year, with many young families moving in to the neighborhood.
There are over 11,000 residential units in Long Island City, with over 22,000 additional units planned for the coming years, according to LIC Partnership data.
In a collection of data from five major LIC developments, the LIC Partnership found that couples or families occupied 46 percent of the units.
The SCA did not return request for comment regarding the extent of the renovation of the space by the time of publication.
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7 Comments
That’s great news but can’t help wondering where will these 180 kids go to kindergarten? PS 78 already has an overcrowding issue.
They will be sent to Sunnyside for K, most likely.
Yep, PreK is great but obviously we also need K,1,2,3,4 in the Court Sq area!
Can they just add more space in the building for additional grades … K, 1, 2 , 3 , 4
Great news and thank you! This is badly needed and will provide relief to the overcrowded PS78.
Huh, I wonder what happened to the retail mall they were planning on putting in there?
http://newyorkyimby.com/2015/11/revealed-27-35-jackson-avenue-long-island-city-retail.html
Yay!!