Parents Of Sickened J.H.S. 67 Student: "We Need Answers"

For Syed and Ambareen Rizvi, the last few months have been filled with doctor appointments, a near-dizzying list of medications and a sense of dread that their 6th grader's place of learning may be the cause of his recent health problems.

According to school principal Zoi McGrath, water has been leaking into at least five basement classrooms at J.H.S. 67 in Little Neck since November 2008.

And with the status of a permanent fix , the Rizvis this week nervously awaited the results of air quality testing to determine whether any contaminants resulting from the leaks — such as mold — could be causing what they called their son's sudden asthma-like symptoms.

"My concern is that this has been dragging on so long that it's going to be increasingly difficult to get answers," Ambareen Rizvi said on Monday.

Ambareen Rizvi reported their her son, who like many J.H.S. 67 6th graders takes either music, dance or jazz lessons in one of the school's five below ground classrooms every week, began exhibiting signs of respiratory distress a few months ago.

The J.H.S. parent said their son's doctor later prescribed an inhaled medication, Albuterol, commonly used by patients to reduce the frequency and duration of asthma attacks. Their son also takes a steroid, Qvar, along with a nasal spray and the over-the-counter medication Claritin to manage his symptoms, she said.

As a student in violin and flute, the Rizvis claim their son became ill only while attending classes in the part of the school affected by the water leak.

At a meeting of the Community District Education Council held Dec. 15, an employee of the city Department of Education said air quality testing in the classrooms would occur last Friday.

As of Monday night, the Rizvis still awaited the results of the air quality report.

A representative of the United Federation of Teachers for District 26, which includes J.H.S. 67, confirmed air quality tests had been conducted at the school but that results had not yet been released.

In the meantime, the Rizvis continued their search for other possible causes of their son's illness, with the 6th grader most recently going through a series of allergy tests in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the problem.

"What I'm most afraid of," Ambareen said, "is that this acute thing will become chronic in nature."