By Jeremy Walsh
Tempers ran high in a community that remembered well the strain and conflict of a school−siting process a decade ago as they discussed the possibility of the city seizing property in Maspeth to build a new high school.
The city is considering invoking eminent domain to claim the former Restaurant Depot property at 74th Street and 57th Avenue for the 1,100−seat high school. It held a public hearing on the subject last Thursday at PS 58, a school built in the neighborhood in 2000 after much controversy.
The high school project would require Council approval before the city School Construction Authority could seize the property. City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D−Middle Village) has said she will not vote in favor of the plan unless it includes local zoning for students in the Maspeth area.
The SCA withdrew the plan from Council committee hearings for a month to allow for more discussion with the community.
Most of the roughly 40 people who spoke at the eminent domain hearing lambasted the agency for holding the meeting at 4 p.m. on a weekday, when many homeowners were still at their jobs.
“You have virtually silenced the voice of the homeowners in this area,” Juniper Park Civic Association member Manny Caruana said. “This is the way the SCA operates. It is deceptive in the way they present things.”
Others criticized the school’s location only a few blocks from PS 58 on Grand Avenue and IS 73 on 54th Avenue.
JPCA Vice President Lorraine Sciulli said“4,000 kids will be running all over this neighborhood,”
She added, “You have to see them after school when you’re not around. They’re monsters.”
Supporters of the school project were outnumbered. The room became tense several times when parents in the audience asked speakers not to call their children monsters.
“If you’re against the school because you don’t want another school in your neighborhood, that’s a different argument,” said teacher Dermot Smyth.
One mother, Marge Kole, spoke in favor of the school, noting that parents in the community recommended the site to the SCA. She was shouted down by an angry Caruana.
“You’re hurting your credibility by creating a shouting match,” said Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano. “It’s embarrassing.”
The SCA also considered putting the new school at a number of other sites, including 55−02 Broadway in Woodside, which is still under consideration for SCA use, according to a document available at the hearing. The former site of St. Saviour’s Church at 57−40 58th St., was rejected, however.
One resident, Tony Moreno, suggested the city consider using eminent domain on a parking garage opposite the Queens Center Mall between 92nd and 94th streets in Elmhurst.
“This property cannot only accommodate the size, but it’s central to 11 bus stops and the subway,” he said.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
