Parents and Council Member Julie Won protest one-year delay of Court Square school opening

Council Member Julie Won speaks at Sunday’s rally for Court Square school. Photo courtesy of the office of Julie Won.

Nov. 19, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

Dozens of local parents and PTA presidents joined Council Member Julie Won at the site of a planned K-8 school in Court Square Sunday to protest against the decision to delay the opening of the new school by one year until September 2028.

The 547-seat school, first announced by former Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer in 2018, was due to open at 23-10 43rd Ave. in September 2027. However, the opening has now been pushed back to September 2028 due to delays in a legal agreement between the School Construction Authority (SCA) and Carmel Partners that would allow the vacant five-story building at the site to be demolished.

Protesters at Sunday’s rally held placards bearing slogans such as “Slowest Construction Around” and “Build the School.”

There is currently no elementary or middle school located in Court Square and the SCA has recently announced that construction of the new school will not begin until early 2025.

Council Member Julie Won speaks at Sunday’s rally for Court Square school. Photo courtesy of the office of Julie Won.

Won, who sited the Court Square school in 2022, described the delay as unacceptable and detrimental to the education of children living in Court Square, adding that the delay compounds existing school seat shortages in the district.

“For the past six years, the City has promised that the school would open in time for the 2027 school year,” Won said. “Now, two years after my office advocated to secure a site for the school, SCA is delaying the opening until 2028. The Court Square community does not have a school.”

A spokesperson for the SCA said Won’s comments asserting that the City has promised a 2027 opening date for the past six years were “simply inaccurate.”

“We announced the 2027 date in December 2022 when we started site selection. We shared the 2028 date a few weeks ago,” the SCA spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson further noted that a delay in securing a legal agreement with Carmel Partners meant that it was not possible to demolish the current five-story building located at the site and construct a 547-seat school within a two-year window.

Won promised to fight alongside parents in the community until the SCA agrees to open the school by September 2027.

Victoria Medelius and Whitney Toussaint, co-presidents of Community Education Council (CEC) 30, said the need for education facilities in Court Square has been evident for years, adding that the city’s decision to reduce class sizes across the board by 2028 further compounds education shortages in the neighborhood. Schools Chancellor David Banks announced in August that class sizes will be capped at 20 for lower-grade classes by 2028, while 4th-8th grade classes will be capped at 23.

Photo courtesy of the office of Julie Won.

Medelius and Toussaint noted that the SCA has committed to building a “much-needed” school in Court Square, stating that the school also includes seats for District 75 students – students facing significant challenges such as autism and significant cognitive delays.

“As gleaming new high-rises continue to reshape Court Square, the shortage of school seats becomes increasingly dire. Kindergarten students in Court Square deserve a local school to attend, and students with ASD and other disabilities in our District 75 programs cannot afford to continue to be overlooked.” Medelius and Toussaint said in a statement.

PS384Q PTA Co-Presidents Danielle LoPresti Lee and Sharita Alam said they were “deeply concerned by the decision to delay the opening of the Court Square school and said the school offers children an opportunity to attend school within walking distance of their homes.

“The area has experienced rapid population growth over the past decade, creating an urgent need for more local educational infrastructure. With class sizes expected to be reduced, the need for additional school facilities in Long Island City has never been more pressing,” LoPresti Lee and Amam said.

Meanwhile, Rachel Berkin of the Court Square Civic Association said any delays to the Court Square school threaten the vitality of neighborhoods in Court Square and Queens Plaza South.

Photo courtesy of the office of Julie Won.

Participants at Sunday’s rally called on the SCA to build an incubation site in Court Square while the permanent school is under construction.

SCA criteria for incubation sites require sites to have at least 25,000 square feet of land/property and at least two street frontages. The SCA also calls for column-free classrooms and classrooms with natural light and ventilation, while it also requires double-height ceilings and column-free space in the gym.

For incubation sites in mixed-use developments, the SCA will consider 100,000-square-foot condominiums with outdoor play space and sites located on the bottom five floors for safety and ease of evacuation in an emergency.

Won has called on members of the Court Square community to submit potential incubator sites by emailing district26@council.nyc.gov.

Medelius and Toussaint said CEC 30 is committed to working with the SCA to identify a potential incubation site while work for at the new Court Square school is ongoing.

“If delays attributed to nearby developers truly risk postponing the school’s opening to 2028, an alternative incubation site must be identified and become operational to honor the promised 2027 timeline. Anything less is a disservice to our community,” they said in a statement.

The SCA spokesperson, on the other hand, noted that the organization has added over 2,900 seats to District 30 since 2021, including news schools at PS 384, IS 429 and the Academy of American Studies. The SCA also broke ground Monday at a planned 547-seat school at Hunters Point South.