The site of the former Most Precious Blood Catholic School, which closed its doors in June after 58 years of serving the Astoria community, will now be used as a pre-K center, according to the Department of Education.
Students and parents at the school located at 35-32 37th St. found out in January that the school would be closing at the end of the school year due to drops in enrollment and the need for costly structural repairs. Even though parents and students rallied to keep the school open, the institution shut down.
However, according to the DOE, which has since leased the building, the site will still be used for educational purposes and there are no plans to change the use of the building.
In a letter to the Most Precious Blood community in January, Reverend William Krlis, pastor at Most Precious Blood Church, said that an estimated $5.5 million in structural repairs were needed for both the school and church. The school building needed about $2.55 million in repairs and work could not be done at the site while being used full time.
Although it is not clear what work has or will be done to the site, The Courier did notice scaffolding had been set up around the school building during a visit Wednesday morning.
The DOE said the school will be safe once students arrive in September.
The Diocese of Brooklyn declined to comment.
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