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Plan Dropped to Co-Locate Tech School at Long Island City High School

 The DOE dropped a plan to co-locate a new career and technical school in the same building as Long Island City High School.
The DOE dropped a plan to co-locate a new career and technical school in the same building as Long Island City High School.
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DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

LONG ISLAND CITY — The Department of Education is withdrawing a controversial plan to co-locate a new Career and Technical Education school in the same building as Long Island City High School, officials said Thursday.

The plan, which was approved by the DOE's Panel for Educational Policy in November, is one of nine school proposals from the Bloomberg administration that is being withdrawn after a review by new Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The former administration had proposed opening the new school in the same building as LIC High School at 14-30 Broadway in September of 2014, gradually reducing enrollment over the course of four years to make room for the new school's students.

LIC High School students, parents and elected officials had slammed the proposal, saying it would set back progress the struggling school has made in recent years, forcing them to compete with the new school for resources and space and threatening their existing programs and extracurricular activities.

According to a spokesman, the DOE is now proposing that that new CTE school open at the Murry Bergtraum campus in lower Manhattan instead, where the DOE had previously proposed opening a K-4 Success Academy charter school. That proposal was withdrawn on Thursday as well.

In a statement, state Sen. Michael Gianaris — an LIC High School alumnus — praised the DOE's decision to ax the co-location plan as a "victory" for Long Island City.

"This is a win for all of us in the community, but most of all for the students who only want the resources they deserve to receive a proper education," he said.