Feb. 17, 2012 By Christian Murray
The city is building a 440-seat elementary school in Woodside, officials from the School Construction Authority and the Department of Education announced today.
The school, which will be located on 39th Ave (between 57th and 58th street), is schedule to open in the fall of 2015. Its construction comes at a time when P.S.11 in Woodside, located at 54-25 Skillman Ave., is at 120 percent capacity.
The construction of the elementary school follows a series of discussions that councilman Jimmy Van Bramer has had with officials from the School Construction Authority since December. Until last week, it was still unknown whether authorities were going to expand P.S.11 or build a new school.
“Today’s announcement shows a commitment by both the School Construction Authority and the Department Of Education to address this [overcrowding] problem in our district,” Van Bramer said in a statement. “This agreement will not only give our children the adequate space that is needed to learn but will also alleviate the strain that has been put on schools in the surrounding area.”
Construction of the new school is expected to begin in the spring/summer of 2013. However, Van Bramer said he will push the School Construction Authority to expand P.S.11 as well.
The announcement of the Woodside school follows last year’s news that a new elementary school is going to be built in Sunnyside. The Sunnyside elementary school, to be located between 43rd and 44th Streets (between Queens Blvd and 47th Ave), is scheduled to open in Sept. 2014. Two schools in Long Island City, Van Bramer said, are also being constructed.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris said, “School overcrowding is a chronic problem that is reaching crisis levels. The construction of additional classroom space is welcome news that will help the children of Woodside obtain a more productive learning environment.”
