Panel OKs Staples, not school

By Jyoti Thottam

Community Board 5 threw its weight behind a proposed Staples store in Maspeth last week, voting against a new elementary school competing for the same site.

After two heated public hearings on the issue last month, the board voted 28 to 11 in favor of the proposed Staples site, at 72-50 Grand Ave. The Board of Education and School Construction Authority hope to build a school on the site, so the choice between school or store will now move to the City Council.