LaGuardia Community College eyes expansion

Long Island City’s LaGuardia Community College will expand its facilities, thanks to $55 million in funds from the State Senate’s capital appropriations. LaGuardia, which is currently housed in four buildings, will use the money to purchase and renovate a building nearby.
The state budget has not been approved by Governor George Pataki who has announced plans to cut some $2 billion in proposed spending from that plan.
A spokesperson for LaGuardia said that the college has not decided which building it will try to acquire nor when the project is due to be completed.
The new space will be used to expand the school’s library, which was built for half the school’s current student population, and add computer labs - all of which are open to the public. Classrooms specifically designed for business classes and new facilities for the two high schools that work with the college will be part of the new building’s design.
“As a son and grandson of immigrants, it is particularly gratifying to be able to provide this funding to ‘The World’s Community College,’ as LaGuardia has come to be known because of its culturally diverse student body,” said Senator Serphin Maltese, a member of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee.