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QUEENS WEEKLY, JANUARY 5, 2020
Bayside’s Benjamin Cardozo High School
gets new 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 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 planned
annex include a STEM lab, science preparation
room, robotics lab, mock courtroom,
media center and production
room, three locker rooms for athletic
A rendering of the annex at Benjamin Cardozo High School. Courtesy of the New York City School Construction Authority
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-theart
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 top-performing 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 email
at jbagcal@qns.com or by phone at
(718) 260-2583.
ASTORIA TIMES ■ BAYSIDE TIMES
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