SCA President and CEO Nina Kubota (center, grey jacket) and representatives from Navillus Tile and Purcell Everett Architects during Monday’s ground-breaking ceremony. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Nov. 19, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) broke ground on a new 547-seat elementary school in Hunters Point South Monday following an almost decade-long battle for a new school in the neighborhood.
PS 341 Q, located at 1-50 54th Ave. near the Long Island City waterfront, will be a three-story, fully air-conditioned school for K-5 students and is due to open in September 2027 for the start of the 2027/28 academic year.
The school will contain around three dozen classrooms, including four pre-k, three kindergarten and 15 standard classrooms. It will also contain two general special education classrooms and eight District 75 classrooms for students facing significant challenges such as autism and significant cognitive delays. PS 341 Q will additionally include reading, science and speech resource rooms.
A number of elected officials, including Council Member Julie Won, U.S. Rep Nydia Velasquez, State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards attended Monday’s ground-breaking ceremony, marking the end of an eight-year wait for construction to begin at the site.
Initially slated to be completed in 2021, the school was first sited in 2016 but faced continuous pushbacks and delays due to issues with underground infrastructure at the site, including Amtrak tunnels.
Photo courtesy of NYC SCA
Won said the school is long overdue, stating that there is a clear need for more school seats in Long Island City.
“Every child deserves a school seat in their neighborhood where they can walk to school,” Won said Monday.
She also referenced Schools Chancellor David Banks August announcement that New York City class sizes will be reduced by 2028, with lower-grade class sizes capped at 20 and 4th-8th grade classes capped at 23.
“We can’t have overcrowding in our classes and in order for us to meet those goals, which are good for our students, we have to build more schools,” Won added.
Photo courtesy of NYC SCA
Velasquez said PS 341 will help relieve classroom overcrowding and help ensure that children in Long Island City get the education they deserve.
“This project is about more than meeting the demands of growth in Long Island City,” Velasquez said. “It is about equity. It is about opportunity. It is about giving every child, no matter their background or abilities, the chance to learn in a safe and welcoming environment.”
Gonzalez during Monday’s ceremony. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Gonzalez, meanwhile, said the school represents a vital investment in Long Island City’s future, creating an enriching educational environment for children with modern classrooms, green spaces and sustainable design.
“It’s so exciting to see Long Island City lead at a time where we are not sure what will happen with our educational system in the next four years,” Gonzalez said during Monday’s ground-breaking ceremony.
Photo courtesy of NYC SCA
Richards said PS 341 will bring state-of-the-art amenities to Long Island City, providing children from all walks of life with access to quality education.
“No matter your socioeconomic status, everybody deserves a quality and state-of-the-art institution to learn in,” Richards said. “That’s what the kids here at PS 341 are going to receive.”
Long Island City is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the USA, experiencing a 40% population jump between 2010 and 2020, while Richards noted that Queens has built more houses than any other New York City borough in each of the past three years. However, he said it is important to match that development with new community centers, schools, parks and open spaces to help build a community in the area.
In a statement, Deputy Mayor for Operatoins Meera Joshi also noted that LIC is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in New York and said new elementary school seats are essential to ensure that the pace of that growth is healthy and sustainable.
Anatole Ashraf, chair of Community Board 2, said the new school helps to address a long-standing shortage of school seats in CB 2’s district, especially addressing a shortage in pre-K seats.
PS 341 will include aet and music classrooms, a library, a guidance suite, a medical suite, occupational and physical therapy rooms, a gymatorium, playground, full kitchen complex and cafeteria, among other amenities.
Nina Kubota, president and CEO of the SCA, said the school represents an expansion of educational facilities available in LIC.
“We’re making an investment in our community’s future, ensuring every student has the space and resources they need to thrive,” Kubota said.
The SCA said it has added more than 2,900 new seats in District 30 since 2021, including PS 384, IS 429 and the Academy of American Studies. It also noted that PS 341, along with the planned school at 23-10 43rd Ave., will bring an additional 1,094 school seats to the district.
PS 341 is designed by Purcell Everett Architects P.C., while Navillus Tile will oversee construction of the new school after being awarded a $74.7 million contract.
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