P.S. Proposed For St. Aloysius Site
The city’s School Construction Authority (SCA) has its sights set on building a new primary school for over 400 students at the location of the defunct St. Aloysius School in Ridgewood, the Times Newsweekly has learned.
In a public notice published last Tuesday, Mar. 20, the SCA announced that it is accepting comments from residents in writing regarding the proposed acquisition of the closed parochial school located on Seneca Avenue between Stockholm Street and DeKalb Avenue.
St. Aloysius School closed its doors in 2009 as a result of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens “Preserving the Vision” education plan. Students living within the parish were given the opportunity to attend St. Brigid School on the Ridgewood/ Bushwick border in Brooklyn or Notre Dame Catholic Academy of Ridgewood, which opened in September 2009 in place of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School.
Since St. Aloysius School closed its doors, the schoolhouse-which was opened during the 1960s-has sat dormant. According to a SCA site plan provided to the Times Newsweekly, the agency proposes to tear the existing building down and replace it with a new, 444-seat primary school facility.
“The existing parochial school building is insufficient to meet the current educational facility requirements and will be demolished,” according to an SCA alternate sites analysis attached to the site plan. “The acquisition of this property presented a unique opportunity to the New York City Department of Education [DOE] to continue the educational use of the site in an area in need of additional classroom seats.”
No designs for the new school are available as the project is in its infancy, according to sources with the SCA. The plan must be reviewed and approved by the City Council in order for the SCA to purchase the site and begin the development of the new school.
The grades of students who will attend the new school will be finalized by the DOE’s Office of Portfolio Planning prior to the school’s completion, should the project move forward, it was noted by SCA sources.
The SCA will not host a public hearing on the project, but is accepting written comments by mail. Those wishing to provide their input directly to the authority may write to Ross Holden, executive vice president and general counsel, New York City School Construction Authority, 30-30 Thomson Ave., Long Island City, N.Y. 11101.
Community Board 5 is looking to schedule a hearing and make a formal recommendation for or against the proposal before the public comment period ends on May 5, according to District Manager Gary Giordano. Additional details will be available in next week’s issue of the Times Newsweekly.
