Expansion plans are expected to ease overcrowding at a school in Middle Village. Expansion plans are expected to ease overcrowding at a school in Middle Village.
Queens City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and officials from the School Construction Authority broke ground on a building extension at P.S./I.S. 49 on Friday.
The new space will have 13 regular classrooms, an exercise room and an expanded cafeteria.
The kindergarten through eighth grade school has had to turn away some incoming kindergarteners in recent years because of space limitations.
"We're going to build an addition to P.S./I.S. 49…so parents won't have to hear that bad news that there's no seat for their child for kindergarten. Or that they have to go to a school much further away,” said Crowley.
"It's very exciting, like I said, to better serve the students. I mean anything we can do to improve the experience of students here at P.S./I.S. 49 better, I completely embrace, " said the school’s principal, Tom Carty.