SUNNYSIDE — Plans are underway to build a new middle school in the neighborhood, following a campaign by parents to get more local school space to keep up with the growing number of kids in the area.
The new middle school is slated for 38-04 48th St. off of Barnett Avenue, according to the School Construction Authority (SCA). The lot is currently home to a vacant former pool hall.
The exact size of the school and a construction timeline has yet to be determined. But parents say they are happy to hear that a new school is in the works for the Sunnyside and Woodside area, which has long been known for having overcrowded schools.
"We're very thrilled with the news," Debra McGowan, a mother of two who runs the Sunnyside Woodside Middle School Project — a campaign she and her husband Sean launched last year to get another middle school built in the neighborhood.
While new elementary schools have been constructed in Woodside and Sunnyside in the last few years — and P.S. 11, where McGowan's own two children are enrolled, is also getting an expansion — the city has yet to build more middle schools to keep pace with the growth.
The area's existing middle school, crowded I.S. 125, already serves more than 1,500 students, according to its website, and is slated to get a 600-seat addition next year to accommodate more kids.
"These neighborhoods are among the fastest growing in New York," said State Sen. Michael Gianaris, one of several elected officials pushing for the new school.
"We have a tremendous need, and this fills a part of it, but by certainly no means all of it," he said. "The number of kids is growing faster than anyone realizes."
McGowan said they're pleased with the location the SCA selected for the new school, though their first choice had been a city-owned lot on 37th Avenue and 48th Street a short distance away.
But the 38-04 48th St. site is good because it's within walking distance to both P.S. 150 and P.S. 11, two of the most popular elementary schools in the neighborhood.
"The kids in the area, that live in the area, get to go to school in their area," she said. "It's on a bus route, so there is public transit very nearby."
But she and other parents have some concerns about the location, including how a new school there would affect parking and traffic nearby.
"That's something that’s got to be acknowledged and has to be worked through," Sean McGowan said.
The location still needs to go through the city's site selection process, which will include getting input from the public, the local community board and Community Education Council and approval from the City Council.
The SCA did not immediately have a timeline for when that process would begin.
