Times Newsweekly: Community Headlines

STARTING IN SEPTEMBER
Getting Ready For Opening Of R’wood Early Childhood Center

story and photos by Robert Pozarycki
Preparations for the opening of a brand new early childhood school in Ridgewood this September were the focus of a joint meeting of the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood and the 104th Precinct Community Council held on Monday, Apr. 28 at St. Aloysius Church.

Representatives of the Department of Education addressed a litany of concerns raised by CBR as well as local residents regarding the anticipated opening of P.S. 305 (formerly named P.S. 245), which is currently under construction at the intersection of Seneca Avenue and Stockholm Street, across from St. Aloysius School.

Ridgewood residents and parents at Monday’s Citizens for a Better Ridgewood meeting in St. Aloysius Church listen as the civic group’s president, Ann Maggio (standing at table) introduces members of the Department of Education and the 104th Precinct prior to the start of the session. The DOE officials discussed the September opening of P.S. 305 at the corner of Seneca Avenue and Stockholm Street while also addressing concerns raised by the community.

Attendees were assured by DOE representatives that the campus would be locally zoned to educate students living in the Ridgewood area. Even so, parents and civic members called for safety improvements along roads in the vicinity of the school prior to its opening.

Officers from the 104th Precinct also provided an update on local crime in the area and addressed concerns raised by attendees regarding activity at Grover Cleveland Park and a local café.

Inside P.S. 305

The session focusing on P.S. 305 was coordinated jointly by CBR and City Council Member Diana Reyna, who was represented by Antonio Reynoso. The panel of DOE officials were Matthew Berlin, executive director of the Office of School Transportation; Marty Barr, executive director of the elementary division of the Office of Student Enrollment; and Sandy Brawer of the Queens Integrated Support Center. The principal of P.S. 305, Lynn Botfeld, was also in attendance.

Barr detailed the design of P.S. 305, which is being developed as part of a previous DOE Five-Year Capital Plan. The school was built to relieve overcrowding at nearby P.S. 81 on Cypress Avenue near Menahan Street, which he noted continues to use temporary trailers located in its schoolyard as classroom space.

Currently under construction, P.S. 305 will open in September 2008 as an early childhood center educating youngsters from the Ridgewood area. Though it will initially have pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade classes, the school will eventually included classes through the third grade.

“Overtime, if in fact the population stabilizes in this community, it may be possible to” remove the temporary classrooms, Barr said. “But for the time being, because the population has not shown a reduction, we really need to maintain all of the facilities available in order to ensure that we can reduce the population in the main building at P.S. 81.”

When completed, P.S. 305 will have a total of 18 classrooms, two of which will be reserved for special education classes. Though this option could leave some class spaces unused in the first two years, Brawer said that some of the rooms could be used temporarily for “overflow” classes from pre-kindergarten through third grade should the need arise.

At the onset, Barr explained, the school will register and seat students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. Second- and third-grade classes will be created and enrolled in the following years as these students are promoted.

Some parents questioned whether the school could eventually be expanded to accommodate students in advanced grade levels. Barr replied that the school is being constructed without large-scale facilities a larger elementary school would need, such as a gymnasium and library.

Brawer added that the early childhood center would have everything necessary to help youngsters at each grade level succeed, including a multi-purpose room for physical activities and small reading rooms.

Zoned locally

As for which students will attend P.S. 305, he stated that any student residing in the same zone as P.S. 81 will be eligible for enrollment. Generally, the zone is bounded on the north by Woodward Avenue, on the south by St. Nicholas Avenue, on the east by Palmetto Street and on the west by Willoughby Avenue.

“Every parent has a choice,” said Barr, who advised those interested in enrolling their youngster in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten or first grade classes at P.S. 305 this September to visit P.S. 81 to receive a registration form.

“We will send all of the parents a letter informing them that if they have any interest in this new school if they are eligible, based on where they live, they should make contact at P.S. 81,” he said. “This school is designed to serve this community.”

Since students attending P.S. 305 will likely move on to P.S. 81 four fourth- and fifth-grade, Botfeld said that the school will plan events and work under the same curriculum as P.S. 81 to ensure a smooth transition as students are promoted.

Traffic concerns

Though it is projected that most students attending P.S. 305 will live within walking distance of the school, Berlin stated that the DOE will provide free busing for children that live over half-a-mile away. Depending on where these students live, he noted, locations of designated school bus stops will be adjusted accordingly.

But the parking of school and MTA buses in front of St. Aloysius School concerned the parochial school’s principal, Virginia Daly. She stated that the buses have been observed parking for several hours at a time in front of the campus, creating a safety hazard for her students and, potentially, for P.S. 305 students.

“The conflicting issue is right now, until it’s relocated, you have an MTA bus stop right practically in front of [P.S. 305],” she said. “There’s limited block distances for [the buses] to pull up. My concern is going to be for both P.S. 305 and St. Aloysius for evacuation purposes. [It] makes the presence of buses very dangerous.”

Reynoso indicated that Council Member Reyna is working with MTA officials to relocate the B38 bus stop currently located in front of the P.S. 305 site and would request that school buses stop along side streets. The legislator has also made contact with members of a nearby dialysis center to request that ambulettes serving the facility are parked away from the school site.

Several parents also demanded that the city install a stoplight at the intersection of Seneca and DeKalb avenues prior to the opening of the new public school. They claimed that the crossroads—which currently has a stop sign on the Seneca Avenue side—has become dangerous to cross due to the amount of traffic and speeders along the roads.

CBR President Ann Maggio stated that after the civic group requested the Department of Transportation to study the installation of a stoplight there, the DOT instead installed a speed bump on DeKalb Avenue.

“This light has been asked for [since] the year of the flood, and nothing has ever been done,” Maggio said. “When this [traffic study] was taken, it was taken when our children were not in school.”

Daly agreed, noting that the school and local parents shouldn’t “have to stand here and beg for the lives of children to be preserved and maintained,” adding that “we’ve got to do something in the interim that attempts to address the situation.”

Though there is a general waiting period of several years between requests for traffic control studies conducted by the DOT, a new study could be requested shortly after P.S. 305 is opened, it was noted. Barr said that the DOE will support efforts to bring a stoplight to the intersection.

Reynoso also indicated that the Council member would insist that the new traffic survey is conducted during the school year.

Coordinating entry, exit times

The principals of St. Aloysius and P.S. 305 also informed parents that they have been working together to map out a strategy regarding the arrival and dismissal of students of both schools each day.

Daly stated that children enrolled in St. Aloysius’ pre-kindergarten program will be dismissed prior to the dismissal of students of P.S. 305 to avoid congestion from waiting buses and vehicles.

Botfeld indicated that the new school, once opened, would also coordinate its arrival and dismissal times with St. Aloysius and P.S. 81. She stated that while the school is new, it is willing to work with the community to prevent large-scale problems in the area of the school.

“We’re new to the community, but we want to become part of the community,” she said. “We don’t want to make anything harder than it has to be. We have to do what we can to be supportive and work things out.”

Crime report

The executive officer of the 104th Precinct, Capt. Susan Maier-Smith, and P.O. Thomas Bell of the precinct’s Community Affairs Unit reported a general increase in robberies, grand larcenies and auto thefts throughout the area while warning residents to take extra precautions to avoid becoming the victims of cell phone thefts.

In a CompStat report ending on Apr. 27, the 104th Precinct saw overall crime increase by 15 percent in a four-week period and six percent year-to-date. Captain Maier-Smith noted that many of the reported robbery and grand larceny cases have involved the theft of cell phones taken from pedestrians walking on local streets.

She urged residents to be careful of their surroundings and to keep these devices out of the reach and view of potential criminals.

One resident questioned a recent soccer tournament held at Grover Cleveland Park that included loud music blared from portable speakers. Officer Bell stated that the event organizers had requested and obtained a sound permit from the NYPD for the one-time-only event.

He also addressed other concerns raised by residents regarding a food vendor that has continuously been observed selling food outside the park. Bell noted that police have summonsed illegal vendors at the site and will fine and/or seize their equipment if they continue visiting the area.

Another resident complained about activities at a café located at Harman Street and Woodward Avenue. She noted that groups of “kids” have been observed loitering around the premises with bottles of what is believed to be alcohol.

Officer bell said that the precinct and the NYPD Vice Enforcement Unit recently conducted an operation at the location in question and issued summonses to the management. Should further problems arise, he indicated, the command would petition the State Liquor Authority to revoke the establishment’s liquor license in order for it to be closed.

Citizens for a Better Ridgewood is scheduled to meet next on Monday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Aloysius Church, located at 382 Onderdonk Ave.

The 104th Precinct Community Council will meet jointly with the Farmers’ Oval Civic Association on Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Ridgewood Baptist Church, located at 64-13 Catalpa Ave. in Ridgewood. For more information, call the Community Affairs Unit at 1-718-386-2431.