P.S. 51
The Elias Howe School
520 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
Phone 212 757 3067 Fax 212 582 8661
Principal: Nancy Sing-Bock
Assistant Principal: Cathy Myers-Jusko
April 14, 2011
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
The School Leadership Team (SLT) and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Executive Board are thrilled to be getting a new school for our community. Our administration and parent leaders have worked with the SCA, Turner, DOE and Gotham to help design and implement this unprecedented project. The task force comprised of all stakeholders has worked tirelessly for months to address basic concerns of safety and use of the public playground for our students. However, as time has progressed, it has become increasingly clear that relocation is the only solution to ensure the health, safety, and effective learning environment for our children and staff.
This is an unprecedented construction project where the existing P.S. 51 will be the only remaining building on the construction site during the 3+ years it will take to build the new school and 9 other buildings on the block. At the peak period of construction, the City expects approximately 1,000 construction workers to be working on this site.
The complexities and scale of this construction project including, but not limited to toxins, noise, dust and debris, machinery, and increased traffic, puts our school community at risk. As was the case with the relocation of P.S. 133, “the use of a temporary space would avoid the disruptive effects of construction as well as eliminate the need for a variety of protective measures that would otherwise be required to protect the existing school community during construction.”
Children are uniquely vulnerable to and affected by toxic exposure as their organs and nervous systems are still developing. We have a significant number of children with asthma and are anticipating that students’ heath issues will be exacerbated due to exposure to the dust and debris from the site. Children in our CTT classes are also particularly at risk from construction disruptions. Our teachers will have to compete daily with construction noise to effectively engage our children in learning.
The City’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) reported levels of toxic contaminants including lead, mercury, trichloroethene (TCE), and tetrachloroethene (PCE) in soil and groundwater samples taken from the new school project site that exceed New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation standards.
We’ve already had issues of dust entering the lunchroom just from the construction of a barrier fence that sent several children to the nurses’ office. This is only the beginning of what we will be faced with if we are forced to remain in our current location.
To ensure the safety, health, and quality of education at P.S. 51, we urge the DOE and the City to postpone construction until the current P.S. 51 school community is moved together into a swing space. The swing space should be ready for the Fall 2011 school year so that there is a smooth transition for our students, teachers and staff. The City and the DOE, along with Gotham, should guarantee that the new school construction and all construction surrounding the school be completed by September 2013. The DOE should move P.S. 51 in to the new school building after the construction surrounding it is completed. We urge the DOE to ensure that P.S. 51 continues to serve our diverse Hell’s Kitchen community.
Thank you for your support,
PS 51 School Leadership Team
PS 51 PTA Executive Board
cc: Congressman Jerrold Nadler
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal
Assemblymember Richard Gottfried
State Senator Tom Duane
Speaker Christine Quinn
Borough President Scott Stringer
Chancellor Dennis Walcott
NYC DOE Department of Portfolio Planning
Community Board 4
Children First Network 203
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