FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com NOVEMBER 10, 2016 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11 Board 2 conditionally approves Sunnyside school BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected] /@AngelaMatua An abandoned building in Sunnyside that the School Construction Authority (SCA) wants to turn into a school received approval from Community Board 2 on Nov. 3 but not without stipulations. The property at 38-04 48th St. had been a billiard hall as recently as 2013, but it was originally constructed in the 1920s as a parking garage by award-winning architect Clarence Stein, who also designed Sunnyside Gardens. Though Sunnyside parents said they are desperate to have a zoned school to send their middle schoolers to, others argued that the building should be preserved due to its historical Lisa Ann Deller, chair of the Board 2 Land Use Committee, said the members of that committee voted in favor of allowing SCA to purchase the property 5 to 1. But there are fi ve stipulations that they required SCA to follow. The community board must be included in an advisory capacity for the programming and design of the school and must also have a separate advisory committee of members who communicate regularly Deller also said that the school Photo courtesy of “Sunnyside Gardens, A Home Community,” by the City Housing Corporation The School Construction Authority is planning to turn this building into a 600-seat middle school. should be a zoned school for District 30 with preference given to students who live closest to the school. The SCA should also incorporate the historic Stein building into the new school and the design should be “architecturally consistent” with the structures in the Sunnyside Gardens community. When choosing an architect for the project, the community board asked that 50 percent of the bids be from preservation architects and that all of the bids should have options for preserving not just the facades but the building as a whole. Only one member, Stephen Cooper, voted against the recommendation. SCA representative Michael Marisola attended the meeting to give the board some basic information about the proposed school. The SCA does not offi cially own the property yet so they have not made an initial designs. The approximately four-story school would serve about 600 middle school students in a 40,000-square-foot space. The agency will have to work with the New York State Historic Preservation offi ce to discuss designs since the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Marisola said that school is about three years away from being completed because it will take the agency about a year to create the design, and construction typically lasts 18 to 24 months. Mary Chang, a Sunnyside resident since 1972 who lives adjacent to the building on 39th Avenue, said she is concerned about a construction “For the last 26 years I’ve lived on 39th Avenue,” Chang said. “When I look out of my backyard I see a two-story brick, ivy-covered building. I am utterly terrifi ed by the possibility of an open construction site for 18 to 24 months. I am for you keeping the original structure to minimize the impact of having that so close to my house.” Photo courtesy of “Sunnyside Gardens, A Home Community,” by the City Housing Corporation The School Construction Authority is planning to turn this building into a 600-seat middle school. Celebrate With Us! Complete Checking Plus 1.00% 0.51% APY1 For the first 90 days On balances of $5,000 or more signifi cance. with the city agency. site so close to her house. Join the Grand Opening celebration of our new Flushing Bank location at 61-14 Springfield Boulevard. 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