Borough President Steers Millions To Brooklyn Schools For Upgrades

Ned Berke -

Brooklyn schools, including our neighborhood’s P.S. 249, are receiving major funding for repairs, upgrades and improvements as part of a $3.1 million allocation by Borough President Eric Adams to education institutions across the borough.

The beep this week unveiled 16 school-related capital projects that will benefit from the allocation, which was packed into the city’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

“If you look around Downtown Brooklyn, something new is rising up every day and this is an exciting time for the borough and this area, as education and schools represent the vibrant energies of what’s coming up at this time,” said Borough President Eric Adams. “This budget spans the far reaches of the borough; from Metrotech to Midwood and from Bed-Stuy to Bath Beach, we are leaving no school behind. Our goal is education, education, and education.”

The allocations are largely for technology upgrades, although some schools are receiving it for more general improvements.

In our area, P.S. 249 (18 Marlborough Road) received $52,000 for improvements to STEM curriculum.

Other schools in the borough are slated to receive the following:

  • $400,000 for the Fabrication Laboratory, a 3D printing lab at City Tech;
  • $257,000 for disability access improvements to Memorial Hall at the Pratt Institute;
  • $200,000 for classroom technology upgrades at St. Francis College;
  • $550,000 to the Brooklyn Kindergarten Society to convert a former NYCHA space into a community center;
  • $350,000 to James Madison High School for upgrades to the school’s library and media centers;
  • $300,000 to repair the sound system in the auditorium used by the five schools at the Wingate Campus;
  • $225,000 for improvements to the library at Sheepshead Bay High School;
  • $200,000 for classroom technology purchases at Joseph B. Cavallaro I.S. 281;
  • $150,000 for classroom technology purchases at P.S./I.S. 262 El Hajj Malik El Shabazz;
  • $133,000 for the roof greenhouse project at P.S. 84 the Magnet School for Visual Arts and Sciences;
  • $100,000 for classroom technology purchases at P.S./I.S. 73;
  • $100,000 for classroom technology purchases at P.S. 169;
  • $50,000 for classroom technology purchases and improvements for STEM curriculum at P.S. 325 the Fresh Creek School;
  • $50,000 for improvements to STEM curriculum at P.S. 315K;
  • and $50,000 for classroom technology purchases at Brownsville Collaborative Middle School.

Elected officials joined Adams during the announcement to celebrate the funding.

“I am delighted to support the capital funding that has been secured for important projects at P.S. 249 and Wingate Campus, schools that I proud to have a as part of my council district,” said Council Member Mathieu Eugene. “As the Chair of the Youth Services Committee, I have stated repeatedly that the very best investment we can make is in our children. The funding that has been allocated to these schools provides resources that will make the learning process better and more enriching to the students, and keep them on a path towards achieving success when they reach adulthood.”