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Corona school plans halted over street closure

PS315Q_Southeast_SOM jpg
Rendering courtesy of DOE

Concerned over congestion, a Community Board slammed on the brakes when construction plans for a Corona school involved a temporary street closing.

According to Community Board 4 District Manager Christian Cassagnol, the board voted down the motion 14 to 10 when the Department of Education (DOE) and the School Construction Authority (SCA) requested 44th Avenue between 97th Place and Junction Boulevard be closed for the duration of the P.S. 315’s construction, adding that the proposal also included 97th Place be turned into a northbound one-way street.

Expected to be completed by 2015, P.S. 315 will cost $40 million and house 1,100 students. According to a DOE spokesperson, Community Board 4’s vote against the street closing does not stop SCA from continuing with the project. The spokesperson added that the DOE has submitted a request for street closure with the Department of Transportation (DOT), which has not yet approved.

Recognizing the desperate need for a new school in the neighborhood, fraught with severe overcrowding, Cassagnol said it’s not the school itself the board is against, but the street closure that the SCA feels is a necessary part of its construction.

Cassagnol alleged that several community board members were displeased with the design of the school, stating that while the design was beautiful, it did not conform to the aesthetic of the surrounding neighborhood. The school’s location had also formerly been disputed over. According to Cassagnol, Community Board 4’s former District Manager Richard Italiano proposed several alternate locations for the school that were all turned down by city officials.

Representatives from the SCA could not be reached for comment as of press time.