… But Want More Grades At R’Wood School
Parents welcomed the proposed construction of a new public school on the former site of St. Aloysius School- and also called upon city officials to expand grade levels at nearby P.S. 305-during a public hearing held by Community Board 5 last Tuesday night, Apr. 10 in Ridgewood.
The session at P.S. 305’s cafeteria was initially a forum for residents to learn about the School Construction Authority’s (SCA) plan to purchase the defunct parochial school-located at Seneca and DeKalb avenues, across the street from P.S. 305-and develop a new primary school seating over 400 children.
Few details regarding the new school’s construction or usage were provided by SCA officials in attendance since, they explained, the agency had yet to finalize the pur- chase of the St. Aloysius site from the parish. Even so, residents expressed favor over the project, as it is designed to help alleviate overcrowding at other schools in the neighborhood.
But those with children currently enrolled at P.S. 305-an early childhood center for students from prekindergarten through third grade-urged the city to add fourthand fifth-grade classes at the facility. Some called for the new school to be zoned for P.S. 305 children so they do not have to transfer over to P.S. 81, which has been dealing with overcrowding issues for years.
The new school plans were met with favor from Board 5’s Education Committee, and at its behest, the full advisory body recommended approval of the project at their general meeting in Middle Village the following night, Wednesday, Apr. 11. For information on that session, see the story on Page 6.
A rough draft for school
Chris Persheff of the SCA informed residents that the agency has entered into contract with St. Aloysius Church (which owns the former schoolhouse) to purchase the property. The city must go through a public review process and the City Council must approve the transaction in order for the deal to move forward.
Persheff estimated that it would take between four and six months for the SCA and the parish to finalize the deal, barring any complications along the way.
“In this case, it was a unique opportunity to purchase the building from the parish. It does not come up that often,” he said. “I know that it is very rare that we come across sites like this…. It’s one of those opportunities that we can’t pass up.
Should the SCA purchase the site, he explained that the authority would demolish the existing schoolhouse, which opened in 1966 and closed in 2009, when the parish school merged with Our Lady of Miraculous Medal School to form the Notre Dame Catholic Academy of Ridgewood.
“For what we need to develop a modern school,” Persheff said, the existing school lacks many amenities. “It doesn’t have a gymnasium. It doesn’t have a full kitchen. It’s not air conditioned as this school is.”
Several attendees claimed that the current P.S. 305 lacks enough bathrooms for the children as well as a gymnasium and an auditorium. SCA officials told residents that the new primary school, if constructed, would have all of the proper facilities a normal elementary school would need.
Patricia Grayson, chair of Board 5’s Education Committee, expressed concerns about the demolition of St. Aloysius School, observing that the building may be contaminated with asbestos. The SCA’s Monica Gutierrez assured her that the agency would conduct any necessary abatement of hazards such as asbestos, lead paint or PCBs, prior to demolishing the structure.
“They will have the area contained,” she said. “They go by federal, state and city regulations.”
After the site is officially acquired by the SCA, the agency will then begin the design process of the school. From start to finish, SCA officials noted that it could take four years for the new public school facility to be fully developed and opened on the St. Aloysius School site.
“It’s going to be state of the art for the 21st century for the kids to learn,” Gutierrez said.
Persheff added the target date of the completion of the building is September 2015. He estimated that the building “will be of a similar height” to P.S. 305 and will include a play yard in the rear of the facility.
Though Gutierrez informed residents that the SCA would work to minimize the impact construction activities would have on neighboring P.S. 305, some attendees feared that problems associated with P.S. 305’s construction several years ago would be repeated at the St. Aloysius site.
“When they were constructing [at P.S. 305], they were driving right up onto the sidewalks,” said Theresa Concert, a local resident.
Gutierrez stated that the SCA would update area residents regularly regarding construction and demolition activities once they commence. She also encouraged neighbors and parents to report any work-related problems to the SCA directly.
Residents also raised concerns about the impact on traffic in the area. Persheff stated that the SCA would conduct a traffic analysis in association with the project and work with the Department of Transportation to resolve anticipated or existing traffic problems.
Board 5 member Steven Fielder also requested that the SCA put a construction vehicle entrance to the site-and place related equipment- on DeKalb Avenue rather than on Stockholm Street, away from P.S. 305.
Reaction
“We need more schools defi- nitely,” said Margie Feliciano, who said she supported the creation of the new school as an annex to P.S. 305. “My thinking is that we have to support the idea of pushing the issue of having it as fourth- or fifth grade and [giving] these kids a decent place to study.”
“I don’t want my daughter learning in a trailer at P.S. 81,” said Anthony Marchitella. “We should have an official petition of all the parents from the school who want their children to be zoned here.”
Lynn Botfeld, P.S. 305 principal, requested that the new school be annexed with P.S. 305, pointing out that “twice we have requested to expand to fifth grade, and twice that has been denied, generally based-my understanding is-on the large demand for kindergarten.”
“Without the building next door, we would have to taken in fewer kindergartens and first grades so we would have enough rooms to go to fifth grade,” she said. “There’s been a very strong feeling that as good as P.S. 81 is … the ideal situation is that the children have fewer transitions so that they stay here, at least until fifth. … At least they’re not having that second transition from third to fourth [grades].”
Though many parents appealed for the introduction fourth- and fifthgrade classes at P.S. 305, Gutierrez referred them to meet with District 24’s Community Education Council and the Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Portfolio Planning. The SCA solely focuses on school maintenance and development.
“That’s where the power of the parents come in,” she said. “You guys are going to have to go to the CEC meetings” to make their appeals regarding P.S. 305.
Grayson told parents that, based on information she obtained in conversations with education advocates, any new school buildings in the district would most likely be “a single school.” Nonetheless, she urged the P.S. 305 community to follow news about the St. Aloysius project closely and to be prepared to lobby CEC 24, the DOE and local elected officials to support their request.
“The policy now in the CEC is that this school will be an entity unto itself,” she said. “It will not be an annex to P.S. 305. … It’s being built as its own school.”
“Don’t get excited yet, but remember that you’ve got to get excited soon,” Grayson told parents. “As soon as the first brick comes off St. Aloysius … you have to come and speak your mind.”
Peter Pottier, a representative of City Council Member Diana Reyna, read a statement on the legislator’s behalf thanking the SCA and DOE for working to address overcrowding in the area. He added that the project marks “a step in the right direction” to addressing community needs.
Ann Maggio, a member of Board 5 and president of Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, asked that SCA officials return to the community once a design for the new school is completed. Gonzalez stated that “I’m sure we can come back once it is in design.”
Board 5 supports project
The next evening, Grayson told Board 5 members at their regular meeting at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village that the Education Committee and local residents “were not adverse to having a new school” at the St. Aloysius site.
“My feeling, at this point, is that our feelings should be, ‘If they build them, they will come,'” she said. “No one has a problem with putting the building there. It’s who goes in it.”
In the end, Board 5 voted unanimously to recommend that the SCA purchase the site and develop the new school.
