30 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens assemblywoman secures $125,000
for new community center in Corona
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas
joined Make the Road New York’s
(MRNY) staff in Jackson Heights recently
to present a check for $125,000 in capital
funding she allocated for construction
and outfi tting of its new community center
in Corona.
MRNY is an organization founded in
1997 that works toward securing justice
for immigrant and working-class New
Yorkers by providing free services primarily
Carranza urges state lawmakers to repeal SHSAT law
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
School Chancellor Richard Carranza
publicly pressed state lawmakers Tuesday
night to scrap a section of education law
requiring the Specialized High School
Admissions Test.
“All I need is for the legislature to get out
of the way, repeal that law and then hold
me accountable for the quality of those
schools, which I thought I had since I am
the chancellor,” Carranza said during a
Tuesday night town hall meeting at M.S.
113 Richard R. Green in the Bronx.
Last year, the mayor announced plans
to phase out the test and change admission
requirements for the city’s eight specialized
high schools amid calls for more
diversity. Although black and Latino students
make up 70 percent of the student
body, they make up just over 10 percent of
students in specialized high schools. And
those numbers are at risk of decreasing.
In 2019, Stuyvesant High School only
accepted seven black students to their
incoming class of 895. Th e year prior, the
school admitted 10 black students, and
the year before that, 13.
Carranza’s opposition to the exam at
the town hall comes as a stark contrast
to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s, who stated that
he was open to the idea of keeping the
SHSAT in September aft er a year of protests
from test supporters.
Th e proposed change would allow for
the top 7 percent of students at every middle
school a chance to attend a specialized
high school. Each student’s ranking would
be base off of a composite score based on
student grades, state test scores and attendance
compared to other students in their
school. Something that Carranza said
would diversify the schools overnight.
Assemblyman Charles Barron sponsored
a bill in support of the mayor’s plan.
He told Chalkbeat that he and other lawmakers
will try to repeal the law and take
the state out of the New York City education
system. Barron’s bill would do away
with the SHSAT failed during last legislative
session.
Th e yearlong protests came from test
supporters, including Asian-American
activist groups and parents who argue
that the admission change neglects Asian-
American students, and deep-pocketed
coalitions like the Education Equity
Campaign led by Brooklyn Tech graduate
and minister Kirsten John Foy.
In the end, Carranza remains opposed
to the SHSAT, but is willing to take recommendations
on possible alternatives.
“So, until I get a better proposal, I am
going to keep pushing this proposal,”
Carranza said.
for low-income immigrants and
their families.
Th e new Roosevelt Avenue facility,
which is slated for completion in 2020,
will be the fi rst permanent home of its
kind in New York City for immigrants
and people of color. MRNY broke ground
on the project last February.
“All immigrants should have access to
suitable spaces where they can develop
their skills for professional success,
obtain the resources they need, and nurture
their intellectual abilities,” Simotas
said. “MRNY’s community center will
be a place where they can achieve those
necessities.”
Th e new community center is rising
at 104-19 Roosevelt Ave. across from
Corona Plaza. Th e 24,000-square-foot,
three-story steel and masonry building
will include an expanded number of private
offi ce spaces, multiple classrooms, a
community gathering area, fl exible education
space, generous outdoor space, a
commercial kitchen and a shared dining
area. Th ere will also be green features
such as natural ventilation, non-toxic fi nishes,
low fl ow fi xtures and on-site rainwater
collection.
Th e new Make the Road Center will
more than double the organization’s space
for programs and services and enable
large and diverse groups to gather in one
space and build collective action to advocate
for fair services and policies in New
York and beyond.
“Th is landmark community center
will enable a dramatic expansion of our
programs and services to better meet
the needs of our communities,” MRNY
Co-Executive Director Deborah Axt said.
“We are extremely grateful to Assembly
Member Simotas for this support to help
make this dream a reality. In a time when
many from our community are living in
fear, this building is a sign of hope and a
place where we will all belong.”
Simotas noted that the community
center will be used for services such as
English language and computer literacy
classes, citizenship exam preparation, and
for healthcare and legal service resources.
She hopes that with this new facility,
more low-income immigrant families will
be able to gain access to services that they
have diffi culty fi nding elsewhere.
Photo by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
School Chancellor Carranza speaks at a town hall.
Courtesy of Simotas’ offi ce
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas presents a check for $125,000 in funding for the Make the Road New York community center in Corona.
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