By Patrick Donachie
Long Island City will benefit from 180 additional pre-K seats in the fall 2017 school year, according to the School Construction Authority and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Astoria).
The SCA announced it would convert the bottom two floors of 27-35 Jackson Ave. at Court Square into a pre-K space, SCA President Lorraine Grillo said. Van Bramer said the new seats were sorely needed in a neighborhood that is quickly expanding.
“Long Island City is growing rapidly, and our neighborhood’s children need a place to learn,” Van Bramer said at a news conference outside the space Nov. 2 to announce the new seats. “We fought long and hard for these desperately needed classes, and I’m beyond thrilled that we are now able to add 180 permanent pre-K seats for our neighborhood’s children, starting in September 2017. When we invest in schools, we invest in our community’s future.”
Van Bramer and community advocates said Long Island City was in desperate need of pre-K seating due to a huge increase in the construction of residential units, totaling more than 11,000 over the past 10 years. The Gantry Parent Association was formed in October 2015 in response to the burgeoning issue of space, and Kadie Black, the association’s board chairwoman, expressed her appreciation at the news of new seats.
“This is wonderful news for our children and community,” she said. “The Gantry Parent Association deeply appreciates the leadership of Council member Jimmy Van Bramer and the response of the School Construction Authority to the urgent need for pre-Kindergarten classrooms for the growing Long Island City community.”
The additional seating follows an announcement this summer that the Department of Education and the SCA would add two additional sections of universal pre-K in the pre-k section of Public School 78.
Pre-K for All was prominently highlighted by Mayor Bill de Blasio in the first year of his administration, trying to ensure free, full-day pre-kindergarten for every New York child. The number of seats available in the city is now approximately 70,000, compared to 20,000 at the start of the de Blasio administration, according to the mayor’s office. A DOE spokeswoman said that there were nearly 1,200 pre-K seats available in Long Island City now, compared to only 261 in the 2013-14 school year.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
