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Jan. 3-9, 2020
MUCH-NEEDED EXPANSION
Bayside’s Benjamin Cardozo High School gets new 795-seat annex to alleviate overcrowding
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Construction has begun
on a new annex at a Bayside
high school, which the New
York City School Construction
Authority says will help
quell school congestion.
The city agency unveiled
details for the three-story
795-seat annex at Benjamin
Cardozo High School as
part of a borough-wide plan
to create nearly 5,000 additional
high school seats.
The SCA staff designed the
annex and Arnell Construction
Corp. broke ground on
the $47.8 million project in
August 2019.
Cardozo is at 149 percent
capacity with over 3,700
students currently enrolled
in grades 9 through 12. The
new annex will have 25 additional
classrooms, two special
education classrooms
and will be fully accessible
and air-conditioned. It will
also feature a teacher’s
workroom and supervisory
offices on each floor.
Once complete, the annex
is slated to open in September
2022. According to Lorraine
Grillo, president and
Chief Executive Officer of
the SCA, the new annex
along with the one under
construction at Francis
A rendering of the annex at Benjamin Cardozo High School.
Lewis High School is part of
the agency’s efforts to create
over 5,300 Queens high
school seats by 2023.
“Cardozo is one of several
schools built in eastern
Queens in the 1960s that are
now bursting at the seams,
and now is the time to meet
the increasing demand for
seats as our communities
continue to grow and prosper.
This annex will help
Cardozo faculty and staff
provide a high-quality education
to all of the school’s
students,” said Grillo.
Other features at Cardozo’s
Courtesy of the New York City School Construction Authority
planned annex include
a STEM lab, science
preparation room, robotics
lab, mock courtroom, media
center and production
room, three locker rooms
for athletic field use, bicycle
storage and shower and
changing rooms.
As part of SCA’s Public
Art for Public Schools program,
a commissioned artist
will create a site-specific
piece for the annex’s lobby.
“Knowing that Benjamin
N. Cardozo High School students
have suffered with
overcrowding for decades,
I suggested that the School
Construction Authority look
at adding seats, and I am
so pleased that the agency
found a perfect spot for the
expansion,” said Councilman
Barry Grodenchik.
“Today’s groundbreaking
is a watershed win for the
school and its students; with
the new state-of-the-art annex,
one of New York City’s
best public high schools is
about to get even better.”
The New York State Legislature
formed the SCA in
1988 to “design and construct
safe, attractive and environmentally
sound public
schools” for DOE students.
Since its inception, the agency
has provided over 265,000
new school seats, not including
Temporary Classroom
Units (TCUs) and opened the
largest free Universal Pre-K
(UPK) network with almost
8,800 seats.
In addition, the SCA has
completed over 12,500 capital
improvement projects
that have repaired and upgraded
over 1,800 schools in
over 1,400 buildings.
“Cardozo High School
has set a standard of excellence
and success for years.
It is important that we do all
we can to support our topperforming
schools, alleviate
overcrowding, and invest
in our schools for their
continued success,” said Assemblyman
David Weprin. “I
am glad to partner with my
colleagues in the city and
state to break ground on this
state-of-the-art annex which
will serve our community
for years to come.”
For information on
this and other projects,
visit www.nycsca.org.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
Vol. 29 No. 1 36 total pages
THE LARGEST LANTERN FESTIVAL IN NORTH AMERICA
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