Kensington, NY – Children Living Near New School Might Not be Able to Attend

Kensington, NY – Residents usually cheer when the city announces it will build a new school in their neighborhood. But that hasn’t been the case in Kensington, Brooklyn.

The Department of Education unveiled plans to the community last week to build a new 735-seat primary and intermediate school a few blocks south of Prospect Park on Coney Island Avenue. The problem for residents is that the school would primarily serve students living in a neighboring school district, and parents were angry that children who live near the school might not be able to attend.

“The overwhelming sentiment was against it,” said Yeruchim Silber, vice chair of the local community board’s land use committee. The community board voted against the project and asked the Department of Education to look for alternative sites for the proposed school.

“We’d rather save [that site] for a school that would serve our board,” Mr. Silber said. ”

The Department of Education’s plan calls for acquiring eight privately owned properties on the west side of Coney Island Avenue between Hinckley and Turner Places.

Since the proposed site almost straddles the boundaries of two school districts, it can be complicated to determine which students would be eligible to attend the school. Coney Island Avenue is the dividing line between two school districts, with District 15 to the west and District 22 to the east.

And although the school physically would be located within the boundaries of District 15, it also would be within the elementary and intermediate school zones of District 22.

The school is being built to meet the growing demand for classroom space in Flatlands and Midwood in District 22 and is being built with funds allocated specifically for that district. But the proposed school location would be within the border of District 15, which serves parts of Sunset Park, Park Slope and Kensington.

The Department of Education weighed four other locations for the school before proposing the site on Coney Island Avenue. An alternative site on Ocean Avenue is also being considered to build a 380-seat primary school for District 22.

Until Friday, the Department of Education will continue to accept comments on the proposed project and will then decide whether to proceed. If the Department decides to move forward, the project will be approved unless the City Council or Mayor objects.

The Department of Education is also planning to add several thousand school seats to District 15 in the near future.

“We’ve proposed major school construction efforts in District 15, including over 4,000 new school seats for this area of Brooklyn alone,” said Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld, a spokesman with the Department of Education.

Students from District 15 may still be allowed to join the proposed District 22 school, but exactly how many students will be able to attend hasn’t been decided, Mr. Zarin-Rosenfeld said. That will depend on the demand for the school and the admissions criteria, which has yet to be determined.

Some residents weren’t swayed by the Department of Education’s assurances. “It should probably be for us first and foremost,” said Maggie Tobin, a private school teacher from Kensington with a 9-year-old son who attends a District 15 school and an 11-year-old daughter in private school.

Additional school space will be needed to handle the influx of residents that are expected to move into the neighborhood after the newly approved affordable housing project called the Culver El Estates is built, Ms. Tobin said.

“We are desperate for more seats, and we have been for a long time,” Ms. Tobin said.

Video below of community board meeting. Credit: Shimon Gifter for VIN News.