CB 11: City Snubbed Us In Bayside School Site Selection

Community Board 11’s leaders say they feel as if they have been left out of the process of constructing a new school in Bayside.

The School Construction Authority presented plans to CB 11 in May for a 416-seat school that would be constructed on property owned by Keil Bros. at 48th Avenue between 210th and 211th Streets.

The board voted 25-3 against the proposal and a terse exchange followed the meeting between CB 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, who accused the board of allowing two SCA employees to be mistreated by audience members.

Now, Iannece has written a letter to Walcott to complain that the community board had been left out of the process of constructing the new school in the community.

“They are supposed to notify us of things that are transpiring,” Iannece said. “It seems they are trying to punish the community board for whatever reason, but I’m not surprised. When any other city agency comes to us for a hearing, they notify us about the next step. Not only were we not notified by the SCA and the DOE, we were misled.”

In a statement, a DOE spokeswoman said the agency met with elected officials on Tuesday to discuss the plan for the school.

"There is a need in this community for an elementary school to alleviate overcrowding," the statement read. "We prioritized funding the Capital Plan to address the needs of this community and have been looking for available land for a new school building for some time."

Iannece said the board had been told that the proposal for the new school would not go before the City Council until August, but a hearing had been planned for July 22.

The SCA eventually removed the Council hearing from the calendar with the option that they would return following a meeting with northeast Queens elected officials, which is scheduled for today.

“Not only were we not told about the City Council hearing, but we’re being left out of any further discussion,” CB 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld said. “Generally, with a public process, the board is told when there are further hearings.”