I live in Woodside at 57th Street and Woodside Avenue. Presently there are two elementary schools in this area. One is St. Sebastian, at 57th Street and Woodside Avenue, which takes in students from three other parishes, and the other is PS 11, at 56th Street and Skillman Avenue.
The city School Construction Authority has a contract with the owner of the property, at 57th Street and 39th Avenue, which is on the same block as St. Sebastian, for a proposed 440-seat elementary school.
You can imagine the amount of school buses and parents bringing their children to and from school from areas miles way. This would present a major problem of safety, parking and noise in a predominately two-family-home neighborhood.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), my councilman, whose body has fiscal approval on such matters, has not scheduled any meetings on the proposed school. The principal of PS 11 has been asking for an extension to her overcrowded school for many years to no avail, yet there will be addition to PS 287 in Corona of 432 seats, PS 87 in Middle Village of 140 seats and PS 70 in Sunnyside of 508 seats.
Why not Woodside? The most logical thing to do would be an addition to PS 11 and forget the proposed 440-seat school at 57th Street and 39th Avenue, which would bring unneeded congestion in a confined area and change the complexion of the area permanently.
There are plenty of available properties in School District 30.
James J. Condes
Woodside
