By TimesLedger Staff
The School Construction Authority is in the final stages of buying the Bayside Jewish Center to build a new high school at 203-5 32nd Ave., City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) announced.
The project will help alleviate “significant annual overcrowding” at District 26 schools, the councilman said.
Vallone, citing city Department of Education statistics, said District 26 is now short of 3,400 seats and the new school would cut that figure by about 25 percent.
“It wasn’t a secret that the SCA was looking for a site within our district, but as of today, we’ve been notified that the purchase of the Bayside Jewish Center is being finalized and is under contract,” Vallone said in a statement. “There is no denying the overwhelming demand facing our district with regard to a long overdue high school for our students and community, but there is also never going to be a perfect place to build one.”
Vallone said it was critical that both the community and Community Board 11 is involved in the process every step of the way and that the impact on the surrounding neighborhood is minimized.
