Some residents and elected officials say the proposed site for a new high school in Northern Queens is too close to the existing Bayside High School. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.
A controversial proposal to build a new high school in Bayside has some residents saying "not in my backyard."
John Lomangino grew up in Bayside and is now raising a family in the quiet residential neighborhood. He says he is pro-education but thinks the narrow stretch of 32nd Avenue can't handle the extra traffic a new high school will bring in.
"Multi-level, possibly 800 students; concern is traffic,” Lomangino said. “Congestion in the morning."
The city’s School Construction Authority (SCA) recently signed a contract to finalize its purchase of the Bayside Jewish Center. Under its plan, the center would be torn down to make way for a new public high school holding around 800 students. State Senator Tony Avella says the center is too close to Bayside High School, which is about four blocks away.
"At dismissal time with all the buses that pick up the kids, the area shuts down,” Avella said. “So how are you going to put another school a couple of blocks away?"
Students at Bayside agree, and say building another high school just a few blocks away would cause big problems.
"It's going to be chaotic,” one student told NY1. “I feel like there's going to be a lot more problems with another school. Because there's already problems with school that are not that far from here."
"There's probably going to be problems in the park here,” another student added. “School rivals and stuff.”
But, City Councilman Paul Vallone says he is concerned about school overcrowding in the neighborhood. He says the two public high schools in the district are nearly 3500 seats short. His office has been in touch with the SCA about the proposal but he wants to make sure the community is a part of the process.
"Our office is going to make sure that this site is looked at, in every possible way,” Vallone said. “And before I say no to the future of our children, it's going to take a lot. So, we want to make sure everybody has a say in that."
A Department of Education spokesperson tells NY1 in a statement, “As we continue our effort to reduce school overcrowding in Queens and throughout our city, we are fully engaging our partners to ensure ongoing dialogue on all aspects of this project as we move forward. The public review has just begun and members of the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback.”
According to these residents, there is a lot to talk about.