Bd 7 Calls For New School Site Bill

Councilmember John Liu, speaking at the March meeting stated, "In some cases, we've had schools wind up on contaminated sites." Under state law, any proposal for a new school requires a site plan and an environmental review. In addition, the community board and the City Council must both review the proposal. But not when the site is leased.

The need to relieve overcrowding and provide new facilities has the Department of Education (DOE) planning to lease 35 existing buildings citywide to turn into schools, according to the latest five-year capital plan. That's 31 percent of all new capacity seats in the DOE's $13 billion plan.

"This is a huge loophole," said Councilmember John Liu, speaking at the March meeting of Community Board 7 in Flushing. "In some cases, we've had schools wind up on contaminated sites."

In 2003, The High School for Information Technology opened at 21-16 44th Rd. in Long Island City at the site of the former Gould-Mercereau warehouse. DOE leased the property for more than $1.5 million a year and spent $20 million converting it.

In September 2007, Fox 5 News aired a report about increased levels of contamination found beneath Info Tech H.S. in Long Island City. Info Tech had just graduated its first class in June.

"Our concern is obvious," said David Palmer, a staff attorney for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYPLI) at the Board 7 meeting. "Toxic chemicals can cause learning disabilities and cancer with low level exposure over long periods of time."

"Residents were alarmed that the city would choose to put a school where there [formerly] was a metal-plating factory," said Chris Johnson, a community organizer for NYPLI. "We want to see more schools built but it just has to be done safely."

Responding to the concern, Assemblymember Catherine Nolan sponsored a bill (A.8838) that would apply to leased proposals the same law that currently applies to new school construction: notice to communities via community boards and to the City Council, and requiring all leased sites to be subject to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

The bill was passed in the state Assembly by a vote of 150 to 0 in June, 2007. The state senate also passed a bill but that bill (S.6393) "falls far short of what will be necessary to protect the health of New York City schoolchildren," according to several opposed groups, including NYPLI.

Sponsored by state Senator Frank Padavan, S.6393 requires no notice to community boards or community education councils, no requirement to submit applications to the city council, and instead of SEQRA, just looks at the property's history and tests of soil, groundwater, and air quality, exactly what the city currently does.

Moreover, if the city decides to go ahead with the lease and remedial cleanup plan, S.6393 places the burden of holding hearings on the remedial plan on community education councils, something they are currently not empowered or able to do, said Palmer.

The School Construction Authority (SCA) should be the agency that conducts hearings on their remedial cleanup plans and should also be required to consider community acceptance and to respond to community comments, say advocates for a revised S.6393.

Community Board 7 unanimously passed a resolution calling on the state senate to amend S.6393 to pass a "same as" bill to A.8838, following the lead of Community District Education Council 26, which also voted unanimously to pass that same resolution in January.