Hillcrest Group Has Sour Grapes

A Hillcrest man is spearheading a campaign against the construction of an 800-student high school on the Queens Medical Center’s campus, which, according to him, would only add more traffic and noise to an area already teeming with educational facilities and hospitals.
"We’re not against education, but we ask that the school be located at another place because already there are 29,000 students coming into the area every day," said Robert Trabold, head of the Hillcrest Citizens For Neighborhood Preservation. "You can’t even find parking in my neighborhood."
Lorraine Grillo of the School Construction Authority plans to meet with Trabold and local politicians including Councilmember James Gennaro sometime this fall to discuss plans for the site, as well as ways to mitigate impacts on the neighborhood from construction and operation of the high school, according to a letter written in July by Kathleen Grimm, deputy chancellor. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education declined to comment further.
Hillcrest, which borders Jamaica Estates, is not only home to the medical center, but to a handful of schools. St. John’s University boasts 16,000 students. In addition, Jamaica High School, Thomas Edison High School, Hillcrest High School and the Health Care High School have 10,000 students, and PS 86 and PS 131 enroll about 1,800 studentsnot to mention two parochial schools and two schools for the handicapped on 164th street.
"I don’t think a rationale exists for an 800-seat school in that location," said James Gennaro. "It’s too big a facility for the site and for the community to absorb." He mentioned that the site is also out of step with the concept of smaller high schools model that is being widely accepted over larger schools.
The Larrea family has lived in Hillcrest for over 25 years and is concerned about the school bringing in more litter to the streets, more bus traffic and, overall, disturbing the quality of life in the neighborhood. "It took my parents years to get the house in perfect order and the community has gone through its changes," said Giovanni Larrea, a corporate lawyer who divides his time between the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Hillcrest. "It’s a stable middle-class area with good, solid homes. But my parents are overwhelmed."
In a door-to-door campaign, the Hillcrest Citizens For Neighborhood Preservation has collected around 526 signatures from people who oppose building of the school, said Trabold.
"If things get to the point where no one is willing to listen to us, we will proceed with litigation," said Larrea, who would represent his parents in a case against the Department of Education.