A new school will soon rise on the former regional offices of White Castle in Jackson Heights.
A groundbreaking was held on June 23 for Q398, a 476-seat school in Jackson Heights that will cater to pre-K through fifth grade students. It will be constructed at the corner of 34th Avenue and 69th Street. The five-story, 65,000-square-foot building will include a rooftop garden, art and music classrooms, a library and more.
It will also include four pre-K classrooms, three kindergarten classrooms, 15 classrooms for first- through fifth-graders and two special education classrooms. It is scheduled to open in September 2019.
“This new school is great news for our community,” said Councilman Daniel Dromm. “District 30 is one of the most overcrowded school districts in the city. Overcrowding in neighborhood schools will be alleviated once Q398 is constructed. That means higher quality arts and physical education for our students. I am proud of this accomplishment and will continue to fight school overcrowding tooth and nail.”
School District 30, which encompasses Astoria, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside, has struggled to add more seats to a district that is consistently expanding. The DOE plans to add 2,700 seats to School District 30 in the next five years.
Q398 will also include an early childhood playground and a playground for older students. Purcell Architects designed the building and “drew inspiration from Jackson Heights‘ renowned architecture.”
This school will provide an enriching learning environment for our students,” said Dr. Philip A. Composto, the superintendent of District 30. “Like all of our other District 30 schools, having this new building will support the creativity of teachers and staff as they design innovative and personalized learning experiences for each student. I am very excited about this endeavor and I thank you all again for making this possible.”
