 |
Flushing residents are giving the Department of Education failing grades for planning two 500-seat high schools on crowded Linden Place. “It’s appalling to put two high schools at that site. The area is so congested as it is, and the traffic is outrageous,” said Arlene Fleishman, president of the nearby Linden Towers 4 and a former president of the now-defunct District 25 school board.
“We found out about it secondhand through a Community District Education Council 25 meeting,” she said.
The building, at 30-48 Linden Place, is currently the Department of Education’s Region 3 headquarters. It was announced at the meeting that the offices had to vacate the building by Aug. 31. The plans are to demolish the six-story office building and replace it with the two high schools in 2011.
Margie Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, confirmed the project, but said plans were very preliminary. “There is no design yet and we will talk to local leaders when we have more detailed plans,” she said.
Since the education department has decided to eliminate school regions, Feinberg noted that closing down the offices at the end of August should not present a problem.
But local leaders want the project stopped before it goes into the design stage. They have heard that the plan calls for four themed centers in the two schools.
They say the neighborhood already has two elementary schools, a pre-school and Flushing High School. The location is one block from the Whitestone Expressway service road and abuts the Whitestone Lanes bowling alley and Pathmark shopping center.
“Linden Place is narrow with one lane of traffic in each direction. It’s not the place for a school,” Fleishman said. “We are not going to let this happen.”
The Mitchell Linden development includes 14 co-ops and some private homes.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) is in favor of additional public schools, but not on Linden Place. “This school plan will bring even more congestion,” she said. “I am against the project at that location.”
Judy Karlan, president of the Mitchell Linden Civic Association, is concerned about the well-being of students, senior citizens and residents. “We will monitor the project closely,” she said.
Herb Stark, president of Embassy Arms co-op in Mitchell Linden, thinks the project is not feasible for the area. “They should put it in College Point,” he said. “The roads are a zoo around here in the morning.”
He believes there is not enough room at the Linden Place site for a high school athletic field or for staff parking. “Where are they going to go?”
Hilda Grabiner lives in Linden Towers 4 and, as a senior citizen, walks to stores. She is worried that more schools will make it unsafe for pedestrian traffic, while Bernard Chenkin, president of Linden Towers 3, can’t envision 1,000 students “floating around the area and hanging around the shopping center.”
Because of the community’s concerns, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott has agreed to participate in a public meeting on May 31 at P.S. 214, 31-15 140th St., at 7:30 p.m.
Fleishman noted that although the Department of Education owns the Linden Place site, it still has to get variances to add schools there. “This plan does not improve our quality of life,” she added.
