FYI: CB6 Committee Meets Tonight About Plans For 180-Student Pre-K Center In Gowanus

The Youth/Human Service/Education Committee of Community Board 6 will meet tonight to discuss and formulate a recommendation concerning a proposed Pre-K center for approximately 180 four-year-olds.

The meeting is open to the public and will take place at the Prospect Park YMCA at 357 9th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) on the 9th Floor.

The announcement by Council Member Brad Lander about the proposed project came on November 3. Proposed by the NYC School Construction Authority, the school would be built on a currently vacant lot near the American Legion post (193 9th Street) on 9th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues.

The proposed school is part of an effort to avoid overcrowding in School District 15, which is an area booming with new residential construction.

One potential issue that may come into play has to do with the history of the site. DNAinfo reported that the “SCA wants to build the new facility on an empty lot that some believe is a burial spot for the Maryland 400, the storied group of Revolutionary War soldiers who held off British forces while George Washington retreated in the pivotal Battle of Brooklyn.”

Council Member Lander’s office previously announced that “the SCA [NYC School Construction Authority] will continue to accept public comments on the proposal until December 13, 2015.”

Comments should be submitted to:
New York City School Construction Authority
30-30 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, New York 11101
Attention: Ross J. Holden