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RT03172016

6 TIMES • MARCH 17, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Overcrowded P.S./I.S. 128 in Middle Village will get a needed addition BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Opened less than a decade ago, the four-story P.S./I.S. 128 in Middle Village will soon be expanded to accommodate its bursting student population. The decision to build the expansion came after Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley wrote a letter to the School Construction Authority (SCA) President and CEO Lorraine Grillo, opposing the organization’s original plan to do ground-testing at the site for the construction of a self-standing Universal Pre-K (UPK) center in the school’s playground in September 2015.Since it opened in 2009 to replace an adjacent one-story schoolhouse, Crowley said, P.S./I.S. 128 “could not contain its student population, forcing kids to use the annex across the street” that had been previously opened to accommodate students at the school. The former one-story schoolhouse accommodated children from kindergarten through fi fth grade; its newer and larger replacement serves students up to the eighth grade. The playground was built in the footprint of the former schoolhouse. “I have continually called attention to the need for new schools and more education space in my district, and P.S./I.S. 128 was not provided the proper amount of seats from its inception,” Crowley said. “I am so pleased the SCA recognized this and P.S./I.S. 128 in Middle Village will be getting an expansion to help alleviate will move forward with an addition, rightfully bringing all of the school’s students back into one building and alleviating burdensome overcrowding.” Grillo listened to Crowley’s concerns, and went forward with a feasibility study on an addition to the school building itself, designated for the local school community, instead of using it for a UPK site. “We are committed to working together with all stakeholders to reduce overcrowding” Grillo said. “This new addition will allow us to continue our work to address overcrowding in School District 24. We are proud of our strong partnership THE COURIER/Photo by Anthony Giudice with local leaders that has enabled us to provide more school seats for our students.” Currently, P.S./I.S. 128 is at 123 percent capacity and houses fi rst- and second-graders in the annex building across the street, which lacks a gym or a computer lab. Some of the classrooms also do not have windows, according to Crowley’s offi ce. “I am looking forward to working with the school community on the details of this project so it can benefi t everyone,” Crowley added. “When our children are in the best environment to learn, they are given the best opportunity to succeed.” overcrowding at the school. BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Now you can easily view the crimes committed in your neighborhood thanks to a new handy NYPD website. Precincts across Queens and New York City have recently introduced CompStat 2.0, a website dedicated to giving a comprehensive overview of major crime statistics throughout the city. It gives users an interactive experience in seeing where crimes have happened in their neighborhoods. Captain Mark Wachter, commanding offi cer of the 104th Precinct, gave the community a fi rsthand look of this new technology during the session at I.S. 77 on Tuesday evening. “Over the last two years under Police Commissioner Bratton, our technology in the police department has advanced 1,000 percent,” Wachter said. “So now, what I see on my computer screen, you will have available every Wednesday.” The CompStat 2.0 website allows users to see crime stats for the entire city, or to select a specifi c precinct and get a detailed look at the major crimes for that precinct over a determined period of time that can be adjusted from a one-week period to a time frame of 10 years. “You can look at crime in the last week, the last 28 days, the last year, you can go back 10 years,” Wachter explained. “Basically, you can see trends up and down … you can log on every Wednesday and you can see exactly where crime is in your community.” The map shows the type of crime committed, when it took place and the location to the nearest intersection, indicated by a blue dot. The charts on the site can be changed to different styles, such as a bar graph, line graph, column graph or pie graph. “It’s very easy to use,” Wachter said. “It is a very good tool. It’s good if you live in the community. It’s good for members of the media, too. You can fi gure out where crime is easily just by looking at it.” Wachter commended another piece of technology that has recently been introduced to offi cers: the smartphone. With offi cers carrying smartphones, they can now be alerted to crimes immediately, as well as disseminating information to thousands of offi cers within seconds of that information being available. “This phone, I’ve been doing this for 20 years and this is probably the best equipment I could ever carry,” Wachter said. “This gives us instantaneously 911 jobs or wanted posters.” The 104th Precinct also awarded two offi cers with the Cop of the Month Award at the meeting. P.O. Brenda Hyatt and P.O. Edwin Collado were selected for the award for their continued efforts in bringing down crime in the precinct over the last year as crime prevention offi cers by going out into the community and bringing public awareness on how to prevent crimes. These offi cers were also involved with caring for Wilbur Hoffman, the Glendale resident who was unoffi cially adopted by the precinct after he was the victim of multiple robberies in his home Ridgewood gets a crash course on new crime- ghting technology Photo via NYPD CompStat 2.0 Capt. Mark Wachter of the 104 Precinct explains the CompStat 2.0 website allows users to see crimes and trends taking place in their neighborhoods.


RT03172016
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