By Rebecca Henely
City Department of Education officials and City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) broke ground last week on a new elementary school in Corona, at Northern Boulevard and 110th Street.
Frank Thomas, a DOE spokesman, said the school would be called PS 287Q and add 432 seats in District 24, the most crowded school district in New York City.
“I think any new seat addition, obviously that’s additional capacity,” Thomas said. “And I think that we’ve recognized the fact that we need to continue to build new seats there.”
The district encompasses Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale and parts of Corona, Sunnyside and Woodside.
Thomas said the new school was established in the department’s 2010-14 capital plan and will open sometime in 2013 for the 2013-14 school year. The department does not have any concrete plans for what grades the school will service or if the school will be an expansion of a nearby elementary school.
He said the department had other projects slated over the next few years that would add another couple of thousand seats to the district.
“It’s not the only place we’re looking to expand,” Thomas said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
