After 10 Years of Lobbying, PS 87 to Finally Receive Annex

By Tamara Best

After 10 years of waiting and pleading their case, parents and students of PS 87 have a reason to celebrate.

On Tuesday, City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced that the Middle Village school would receive a new annex, creating room for 120 seats and a gymnasium.

“I am happy to report that the feasibility study has been completed and it is the determination of the [Department of Education] and [Schools Construction Authority] to move forward with an annex at PS 87,” Klein said in a letter to Nick Comaianni, president of Community Education Council 24. The design will phase will begin in the coming weeks, followed by a timeline for the project’s completion.

Parents, educators and community leaders say the annex will provide much needed help to the school.

“I really want to thank everyone for pushing this extension through, it’s a miracle,” said Caryn Michaeli, principal of PS 87. “The parents are grateful and the children are eternally grateful—and it’s about the children.”

PS 87 has approximately 600 students in kindergarten through 8th grade in addition to special education. As one of the first schools in the district to be converted into a K-8 nearly a decade ago, it is the only that has not yet received an expansion.

Though new schools have been built in recent years, District 24 is considered to be the most over-crowded in the city.
In the past, officials have argued that the school did not warrant the upgrades because it was not overcrowded like others in the area.

“Especially given the city’s difficult economic circumstances, it is essential that we prioritize school construction for the neighborhoods that need it most,” a DOE spokesman told The Forum last year. Because the school is not overcrowded, the DOE had planned to address concerns “without the construction of a costly and unnecessary addition.”

But, parents and educators say the expansion is needed, and it appears that the DOE has changed its stance on the need for one, based on Klein’s letter.

“Originally when we were asked to go to [pre] K-8 we were promised an extension, but that never happened,” parent Bernadette Beninati told The Forum in August 2009. “It’s not luxuries we’re looking for, it’s necessities for our kids... During the swine flu out- break children were lined up to get into the bathroom, it’s just crazy.”

Tuesday evening, when the announcement of the annex was made at the CEC meeting, Beninati clapped and cheered along with other parents.

“We’re thrilled, we’ve been fighting for this,” she said.

Despite not being as crowded as other schools, PS 87 still faces issues in need of attention.

The cafeteria can only hold 100 people at a time and occasionally doubles as a gym. Additionally, the second floor only has two toilets, something Michaeli called “completely inadequate for the amount of people” in a 2008-09 Building Condition Assessment of the school by the DOE.

Last year, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) led Klein on a tour of the school in effort to bring added attention to the conditions. She called the annex “a big victory for our community and, most importantly, for our students.”

At this time it unknown how long it will take to build the annex, where it will located and how much it will cost.

Still, Comianno praised the announcement. “This is very good news,” he said. “This is what happens when we work together.”

Parents and Students Demand City Finally Renovates PS 87

By Conor Greene

The head of the city school system heard an earful from parents, students and teachers who are demanding that the Department of Education live up to a decade-old promise to renovate their Glendale school.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein stopped by PS 87 on Monday for a town hall meeting, during which the community had the chance to ask questions about issues throughout District 24. While topics like the city budget were discussed, the city’s failure to renovate PS 87 when it became a K-8 facility years ago was on the minds of a standing-room-only crowd.

The school became one of the first in the district to expand to K-8, but remains the only not expanded or renovated since, as money set aside for repairs became unavailable after 9/11. To show how bad the problem is, students Lorena Chelaru and Stacey Aguilar presented a video showing the building’s crumbling ceiling, crowded hallways and cafeteria, lack of full-size gym and run-down bathrooms featuring broken sinks and lack of stall doors.

“We want that expansion that we’ve been fighting for a long time now,” said CEC 24 President Nick Comaianni. “This shows you what many of the students… have to work with – it’s not much. Hopefully this is something we can work together to see what we can do to help PS 87.”

In response, Klein called the video “terrific” but noted there are an “enormous number of compelling demands” at schools across the city. Still, he agreed to conduct a feasibility study to assess the situation and then work with Community Education Council 24 “to make sure your priorities are aligned with what can be done.” That prompted at least one audience member to yell, “Don’t give us empty promises.”

Council Vice President Peter Vercessi said that renovating PS 87 is a “top priority,” but was unable to get a clear answer from Klein as to why the work never happened. Klein couldn’t explain why the renovations never took place, and took exception with the idea that “something happened to the money.” He said it was likely the money was reallocated, but couldn’t say for sure since he wasn’t chancellor at the time.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) also pushed the chancellor to provide a “real promise” regarding the expansion.

“You have my commitment that we will look at those issues and work with the community to find a real solution,” said Klein in response to the councilwoman.

While the situation surrounding PS 87 dominated much of the meeting, Klein took a few moments to give an update on progress made around the city and within the district since Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002.

Since then, the city’s school budget has rose from $13 billion to $21 billion, with city funding up 80 percent, state up 55 percent and federal up 27 percent. Per pupil spending has increased from $10,649 to $17,696.

“We’re making better investments and getting better results,” said Klein. As a result, graduation rates have jumped 33 percent in that time, after staying flat for the prior decade. Schools are also safer, according to Klein, with major and violent crime rates down across the city.

In District 24, which is considered the most overcrowded in the city, eight new schools have opened since 2003, said Klein. “This is a good school district – people want to go to school here, so we’re building.” There are eight more projects planned for the district in the upcoming five-year capital plan, including six schools with a total of 4,302 seats.

Vercessi asked what the likelihood is of having that capital plan cut, given how much is at stake for the district. “Right now, there is no reason to think the capital plan for this district will be cut,” responded Klein.

PS/IS 87 Upgrades and Concerns Over Playground Highlight Meeting

Superintendent Honored; Swine Flu Concerns Discussed

By Conor Greene

Hot topics at this month’s Community Education Council 24 meeting in Glendale included the ongoing push for upgrades at PS/IS 87, concerns over the conversion of the playground at PS 91 into a public park and a possible outbreak of swine flu this fall.

The meeting, held on Tuesday inside PS 91, began with a farewell to outgoing Superintendent Catherine Powis, who is retiring after 37 years with the district, and included election of the council’s officers for the coming year.

Superintendent Powis Honored

Prior to her final report as superintendent, Powis thanked many of the people she has worked with over her three-plus decades in the district. “I’m reordering my priorities,” she told the board and residents. “They’re called Sarah, Kate and Megan.”

She said her time here has been “very rewarding” and that she was “very fortunate to spend it in this wonderful district… I am very proud that I am part of this great district and its accomplishments,” she added, before being presented with a plaque from the council, a proclamation from Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and heartfelt praise and well wishes from a number of parents.

Push for PS/IS 87 Upgrades Continues

Carlos Mercado, president of the PS/IS 87 parent’s association, told Sandy Brawer of the DOE that parents are “still fighting for our extension.” Among the most pressing issues is the lack of bathrooms, with just two stalls serving about 225 students on one floor. “We have kids who have medical needs who can’t wait,” he said. Other issues include the gym and cafeteria, which are not large enough to accommodate the school’s 600 students.

According to Mercado, the school agreed in 2000 to become the area’s first kindergarten through eighth grade facility under the understanding that the building would be expanded to handle the additional students. However, Brawer, the DOE’s Deputy Executive Director, had a different recollection of those events. “We understood that the facilities weren’t there to meet the needs of K through 8,” he said, adding that the parents still wanted to move forward with the change in grade structure.

Still, Brawer, who recently took part in a tour of the building, said he understood where the parents were coming from. “We do understand the cafeteria issues, and we do understand the bathroom issues,” he said. He noted that aside from the facility issues, “the building is in excellent shape” structurally. In addition, the majority of capital dollars generally go towards creating new seats within the overcrowded district. Hearings on the DOE’s next five-year capital plan will take place this fall, he added.

“We acknowledge some of the issues and are looking at what funding is available,” said Brawer. Once the DOE and SCA reviews the options, he will bring a proposal back to the education council. He wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a full addition, but stressed that officials are “going to be looking at competing interests in District 24 as to what the priorities are… The hope is that we will be able to do something to make it better.”

Council Vice President Peter Vercessi, who is a school administrator on Long Island, pushed Brawer to characterize whether the school’s facilities are at or below average. Brawer responded, “The building has needs, no doubt about it… but there are a lot of buildings in New York City that have needs.”

PS 91 Playground Concerns

Several residents expressed concerns over the city project to convert the playground at PS 91 into a public park that is open after school hours and on weekends. Parents and board members accused the DOE of pushing this project on them without providing an opportunity for public input and fear the property will be destroyed.

Brawer explained that the project is part of a mayoral initiative designed to make the space available to the community. However, residents pointed out that there is a public park just two blocks away and said living next to a school yard is very different than living next to an open park. “They put a park out there but never had any community input,” said CEC 24 President Nick Comaianni, agreeing with residents who are concerned the location will become a magnet for misbehavingteens. “This is an ideal spot if I’m a teenager and I don’t want anyone to see me,” adding that the project never came before the council.

“Nobody in this community was notified – they’re just forcing this down our throats,” added a resident who lives adjacent to the school and wants the park only open during school hours. “We want this for the children of PS 91. They deserve it.” Adding insult to injury was seemingly minor decisions by the DOE such as to install regulation height basketball hoops, which are only useful for older teens. “The 104th Precinct has too much to do to come here every time we call,” she added.

Comaianni said the issue isn’t necessarily with the overall program, but rather the poor implementation of it in this case. “The program is not a bad program – I think the issue is you put it in the wrong school,” he said.

Brawer said he would bring these concerns back to DOE officials. He wouldn’t say definitively who has the final say as to what hours the park would be open, but noted that city money was used with the understanding that the community-at-large would benefit. He said the principal “has some leeway” as to the park’s usage, but wanted to look into the issue further.

Preparing for Swine Flu Outbreak

Dermot Smyth, the area’s United Federation of Teachers representative, asked the board to consider devising a strategy to deal with a possible outbreak this fall of the swine flu, which killed 522 people across the country earlier this year.

Smyth referenced a recent report issued by a presidential panel report predicting a “plausible scenario” in which as many as 120 million people across the nation become sick, overwhelming hospital emergency rooms. The report suggested that as many as 1.6 million people could be hospitalized, with 300,000 intensive care patients.

He asked the council if the proper preparations are taking place on a local basis and asked members to come up with a “protocol” by next meeting. “We can’t leave it up to the chancellor and mayor” and instead need a “local answer,” he said.

In response, CEC member Brian Rafferty asked what exactly Smyth had in mind, noting that the council has limited power and doesn’t decide if schools are closed due to a swine flu outbreak. Comaianni reminded Smyth that the council’s requests in the spring that additional schools be closed were ignored.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said her office would assist in coming up with a plan. “We need to make sure we get enough vaccinations… for those who are most susceptible,” she said, adding that a 27-year-old NYPD officer recently died from swine flu complications. “We need to make sure in our community that elderly and pregnant moms are the first to receive the vaccine. Then we have to make sure it’s available to the young,” she said.

A Crowley spokeswoman later said the councilmember is working with the health department to make sure proper precautions are taken in Queens, which was hardest hit by the swine flu outbreak this past spring.

Council Elections

Before the start of the regular meeting, the council held its annual elections. Comaianni was again named president and Vercessi was reelected as vice president. This year’s treasurer is Jeanne Forster, while Shwe Zin OO was again named secretary.

Parents, Crowley Push for PS 87 Upgrades

DOE Officials Visit School in Response to Complaints

By Conor Greene

Pleas to have the bathrooms and cafeteria at PS 87 upgraded have fallen on deaf ears over the past few years because the school isn’t as overcrowded as others in the area, but residents are hopeful progress is being made now that Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has joined their fight for better conditions at the Middle Village school.

The problem started nearly a decade ago when the school was converted into a pre K-8 facility, according to residents. Along with the conversion came promises of an expansion, for which money was earmarked and plans were drawn. While the school did switch over from a K-5 building, the addition never moved forward.

As a result, the school now has about 600 students enrolled, but the cafeteria can only hold 100 people and doubles as a gymnasium, even though its ceilings are just eight feet high. Even worse, say parents, is that there are just two toilets per floor – meaning each is expected to serve more than a hundred students.

“Originally when we were asked to go to [pre] K-8 we were promised an extension, but that never happened,” said parent Bernadette Beninati, who has two daughters enrolled at PS 87. “What happened, we don’t know, but we didn’t get anything. It’s not luxuries we’re looking for, it’s necessities for our kids… During the swine flu outbreak children were lined up to get into the bathroom, it’s just crazy.”

A group of parents has pleaded the case for upgrades at recent Community Education Council meetings over the past few months, but in June the DOE said that no upgrades are planned for PS 87 in the coming years. While a science lab was constructed there several years ago, the department otherwise “never committed to building an addition” at the site, according to Will Havemann of the DOE.

Since then, Crowley (D-Middle Village) has joined the fight on the parents’ behalf and toured PS 87 last Friday with DOE officials. “I am pleased that the Department of Education came out to PS 87 to see for themselves the school’s dire need for additional facilities,” she said. “The years between pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, especially at junior high school age, are some of the most impressionable on a student’s physical, emotional and academic development. How can we encourage kids to exercise and use athletics as a positive outlet without a space for physical education.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Havemann said that there are no plans to build an addition at PS 87 since the school “is not overcrowded and there is no school-age growth projected for the school’s neighborhood… Especially given the city’s difficult economic circumstances, it is essential that we prioritize school construction for the neighborhoods that need it most.”

Still, Havemann said that “In the coming months, we’ll work with the PS 87 community and Councilmember Crowley to determine how we can best address their concerns without the construction of a costly and unnecessary addition.”

Crowley vowed to continue advocating on behalf of upgrades at PS 87. “I believe the DOE’s visit to the school [last week] demonstrates a step in the right direction. I will continue to work with the DOE to ensure that the needs of the PS 87 community are addressed.”

For the PS 87 parents, the needs are simple: enough bathrooms to accommodate the building’s enrollment, a proper gym that allows students to exercise and enough cafeteria space to avoid starting lunch sessions at 10:10 a.m. “I’m glad they came in and saw what we’re talking about, and now I’m hopeful they will agree with us and see what we’re talking about in terms of necessities,” said Beninati. “The curriculum is great, the teachers are great, the principal is great, it’s just the necessities that are [lacking].”

Parents Push for Overdue School Expansion

By Conor Greene

A group of parents are pushing for improvements at PS/IS 87 in Middle Village they say were promised years ago but never happened due to budget cuts after 9/11. Citing issues including a cramped cafeteria and lack of bathrooms, the group vowed to make noise until the school gets the attention from city officials they say it needs.

A half-dozen residents spoke at Tuesday’s Community Education Council 24 meeting in Maspeth in support for the addition. They argued that the school was changed from K-5to pre-K through 8th grades as a result of the planned expansion, and as a result the current building can’t handle the more than seven hundred students who attend PS/IS 87.

“We’ve been quiet these past five years and watched as all these other schools got expansions,” said Lucy Accardo, who has three children in PS/IS 87. “We just want to be kept in the limelight and will keep bringing up the issue at every meeting unit it happens.”

The parents stressed that their demands are modest. They want a new gymnasium since the current cafeteria only seats 140 students – forcing lunch to be served in stages beginning at 10:15 a.m. In addition, the cafeteria serves as a gym, even though its ceilings are just eight feet high. In addition, each floor has bathrooms containing just a single stall that must be shared by hundreds of students, according to the parents.

“It’s just not adequate for all those students,” said another parent, Margaret Kane. “We’re still where we started in 2000. It’s beyond us why we’re being overlooked.” She added that the bathroom situation is not healthy. “It’s not luxuries we’re looking for, it’s all necessities.”

Deputy Executive Director of Business Sandy Brawer of the Department of Education said he will bring the residents’ concerns back to department officials. However, he noted earlier in the evening that District 24 has received the most capital dollars and had the most additional seats added through construction of any district citywide. He also noted that all expansion projects were done in consultation with the CEC and community, at which point the issue of PS/IS 87 being overlooked could have been raised.

Nick Comaianni, president of CEC 24, said he agrees with the requests being made by the parents. “I feel it’s a shame” that the expansion never occurred, he said. “We’ve pushed it with the School Construction Authority and with Facilities, and it’s always the same thing.”

Laura Wittmer told the council that her son graduated from eighth grade this year. “I’m very sad to see that nothing too much was done for him,” adding that she is “angry” over the lack of upgrades at the 80th Street building. Her son, who is over six-feet tall, was forced to take gym classes in a room with eight-foot ceilings. “I just feel it’s unfair,” she said.

Finally, parent Jeanne Forster pointed out that the DOE’s Website still lists the school as being a K-5 facility. “That I think is one of our first concerns – the school needs to be reflected accurately on the Website,” she said. “It is very hard to change perceptions [so] right off the bat we are swimming upstream here… We’re talking about a pretty small extension.”

In a letter to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, the parents note that Mayor Michael Bloomberg deemed PS/IS 87 “a model for special education” after it became the first school in District 24 to convert to Pre-K to 8th grade facility. “How do you expect our school to compete with the other schools all several blocks away from us when they have extensions and we do not?” the parents questioned.

According to the letter, extensions were completed at PS 113, PS 128, PS 49 and MS 119 since funding for PS/IS 87 was cut. “Please do not mistake the fact that we have been quiet for the past five years as naivety or ignorance of what is going on around us,” the letter states. “We are well aware of the great injustice being doled out to our children. We would appreciate that this situation be rectified as soon as possible.”

Despite the parents' vows to keep pushing until the addition moves forward, the DOE said in a statement that no upgrades are planned for PS 87 in the coming years. The department "never committed to building an addition for PS 87," according to spokesman William Havemann. As a result of lobbying by former Councilman Dennis Gallagher, a science lab was constructed at the school, but that is the extend of upgrades planned for the facility.

"Given very limited resources... it is our responsibility to build a new school facility only when one is needed to meet enrollment demands," said Havemann. "While we're opening more than 3,000 school seats in District 24 over the next two years, we predict no need for an addition for PS 87."