UPPER EAST SIDE — Residents and neighbors of Robert Wagner Middle School threw their support behind a plan to close East 76th Street to traffic for roughly 18 months as a play street while the school finishes renovation work.
► Read more: 76th Street Should Be Closed to Become Play Street, School Officials Say
Members of Community Board 8 voted unanimously to approve a resolution supporting the closure in front of the 220 E. 76th St. school during its full board meeting Wednesday.
"This is wonderful news and we are very pleased about the ruling," Neslí Ciner, a co-president of the school's PTA, told DNAinfo New York on Thursday. "Our students at Wagner Middle School very much appreciate the support of the community members. This will make their recess and lunch extra special."
If the Department of Transportation agrees to close it, the street would be shut to traffic between Second and Third avenues, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., during lunch time on Mondays through Fridays through the end of 2017, when construction is expected to wrap up, according to school officials.
The school started renovation on its brick facade and roof this summer, and the school's courtyard, where students used to play, will have to close while the work continues.
And using the gym for recess is not possible because while some kids are having lunch and recess, physical education classes are going on in the gym, she said. The school serves 1,500 students total, she noted.
If the play street is created, residents and businesses would still have access to the street, parking and a garage, she said. School staff would also make sure the play area is blocked off safely.
"The school wants kids to have playtime outside and they wouldn’t have it if they didn’t have this place to," Chuck Warren, the chair of the board's transportation committee, said on Wednesday.
The Department of Transportation must still approve the change. Earlier this month, a spokeswoman said the DOT would review the school's request.
But some readers took to Neighborhood Square to voice concerns about the closure, including reader Maxthecat, who writes "Kids don't belong in streets and they should not be encouraged to play in them. Can you imagine the ongoing noise level? "
