If you plan on raising kids in LIC, you might want to start building a school.
A high school in Dutch Kills, Long Island City
We’ve been noticing in LIC lately, there definitely seems to be a huge baby boom. Don’t freak out - it’s not Park Slope, it’s not even Williamsburg… but our little friends in LIC are certainly growing in number. Well at some point, the tater tots are going to have to go to school…and coincidentally, here’s some bad news about the NYC Public School System:
“In a 114-page report to be issued on Friday, William C. Thompson Jr., the city comptroller, derided the school system’s capital planning process as “broken,” concluding, “There are far too many neighborhoods with overcrowded schools and no hope of relief for at least several more years.”
Mr. Thompson said in the report that the city’s School Construction Authority did not sufficiently account for new residential construction projects when it estimated how many seats would be needed in which school districts.
He pointed to neighborhoods like the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Long Island City and Flushing in Queens, Downtown Brooklyn and Dumbo in Brooklyn, and Soundview and Throgs Neck in the Bronx, saying he was concerned that residential construction in those places was outpacing new schools.“
Not enough schools in transitioning neighborhoods? [NY Times]
Find a school in LIC [NYC Dept of Ed]
There is another school coming in the next three years, I believe. Rockrose is building it, if I remember correctly.
I too have been noticing how there are more children here. And dogs.
schools are boring. the only thing i care about in this neighborhood is where i can get a good meal and a glass of wine.
no. 4, seems like you are in good company. Go read the Blend threads.
There is a new school in the next Rockrose building. Also HPS has plans for at least one new school. The problem isn’t the new residents. Its all of the people from outside of LIC decending on the new schools.
#4 Yes, we are here just to please you.
KARMA
#7, you are fighting a losing battle. Narcissism is what living is all about in the New LIC.
Total aside…does anyone know what happened at the check cashing place on Vernon? There was police tape up there on Saturday morning (around 11am) and it was swarming with cops.
# I heard they were robbed. I’m not sure if they were open or closed.
#8 I know, I know I feel you pain! It is such a shame. LIC is a wonderful place and it’s just slowly being ruined by people who are not community oriented.
10 - Do you care to elaborate on how exactly LIC is being “ruined”? Lots of new residents, great new buildings, parks, stores, restaurants, streetscapes, schools - yes, sounds like it is in ruins.
The new schools in Rockrose and in HPS will not be completed for at least 5-10 years (if ever since developers love to not build what they promise). This means that all of the kids who are currently in overcrowded classrooms will have no options. Can you imagine what it would feel like if you had a child who had to participate in a lottery for kindergarten in their own neighborhood with no other viable options close by? Yes you can send your child to Sunnyside, if you get a variance but those schools are overcrowded as well. It is amazingly poor planning on the city’s part to not build the schools in tandem with the all of the buildings.
Also LIC is not the only place this is happening, Tribeca, Battery Park City, the West Village and even the Upper East Side.
There is an amazing, small and little known NYC public high school in LIC one block from QB Plaza, consistently rated one of the best in the city, the Academy of Amercan Studies. But it looks to me like most of the people moving in have little ones and elementary and middle school are going to be more the issue.
Yes #13 good school. It is across the street from the photographed school above (The old LIC H.S.)
#13, You’re right, they’re across the street for some classes but they also have the whole 4th floor of the old LIC building seen above. There are 650 kids in the school. My kid transferred there when I movd here and I couldn’t be happier, it is an awesome school, more like a private school than a typically overcrowded NYC high school.
School is definately a problem. PS 78 got some extra space Citilights and as far as I can see some of it still not build out.
PS 78 is good. My son went there for 6th grade. The problem is middle school. There is no decent middle school anywhere close to Hunters Point.
#4, you seriously have your head up your ass. Schools and hospitals in LIC are severely lacking. I agree. Go back to the blend threads and keep whining about restaurants. The rest of us who are busy raising families and caring about our children’s future will post about very unimportant topics like local education and health.
Am I the only one picking up on #4’s sarcasm?
#4 was being a sarcastic. sorry.
the outrage, hundreds of comments, and calls to rally in support of a restaurant struck me as funny (and depressing) in proportion to the 3 previous comments that trickled in about nyc schools. its not surprising though figuring that many people posting on this site have an obvious disregard for teachers and would rather have a barnes & noble rather than a library.
P.S. 78 in the Citylights building, is from prek thru 5th grade, not 6th. A middle school is needed.
I think an interest in schools will grow as more families move here. A lot of the newcomers are singles with dogs. Tons of dogs I’ve noticed. And tons of dog shit everywhere.
It is annoying though to note the fervor over a restaurant vs basic necessities. Has anyone noticed we also don’t have a hospital?
We had a hospital until they replaced it with the Citi bldg.
23, Eventually one will come. This is the good thing about the changes taking place here. You need people to justify a hospital, library, school, etc. as well as money to support them. You may be upset about the resturant, but the truth is that you need more condos filled with people to justify the existence of any of these things. Without the develpoment taking place LIC would never get the services it desparately needs.
You should all read the Hunters Point South EIS to understand how the city allocates these kinds of services. According to the study’s methodology, the neighborhood already has sufficient health care and library services. But the new population from HPS and other developments will cause significant impacts on public daycare, elementary schools, and intermediate schools.
What about requiring all new buildings to include school space for the NYCDOE? They are making their money, so perhaps they should give back.
NYC has some great schools - just have to do your research