Windows Crash Down Into I.S. 201 Classroom [Updated]

Students at a Dyker Heights middle school had quite a scare this morning when part of a wall came crashing down in the middle of class.

The collapse of two large windows on the fourth floor of I.S. 201 (8010 12th Avenue) appeared to be caused by fallen scaffolding from ongoing construction at the school, a parent who asked not to be named told Bensonhurst Bean.

The mother said she received a phone call from her son a few minutes before noon, but has yet to hear a word from school administrators.

“What I’m most upset about is that they didn’t call the parents,” she said. “Our kids had to call us, and of course we have no official word, just lots of rumors and freaked out kids, who apparently weren’t even told why they were being evacuated from their classrooms until well after the fact.”

All classes have been cancelled for the day and students are watching movies in the cafeteria and gym, according to the parent.

No one was injured in this incident, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Education [DOE].

“Officials from DOE immediately went to the school and they are working to assess the situation and make necessary repairs as quickly as possible,” said DOE press secretary Jason Fink.

The middle school has been under construction for more than a year for multiple issues like leaky light fixtures, subpar electrical wiring, and the building’s worn-out exterior stonework and ledges, according to data from the city’s School Construction Authority.

This is a breaking news story. The post will be updated as we know more.

Update [7:30pm]: A source who asked to remain anonymous tells us the incident happened in a science lab which was large enough for the students to move to one side of the room. A quick-thinking teacher heard the wall cracking and managed to usher the students to safety before the wall fell.

Update [8:44pm]: P.S. 201 will relocate 6th, 7th, and 8th grades tomorrow so that the building can be inspected, according to the school’s website:

Grade 6:
McKinley Intermediate School 259 – Students enter on 73rd Street
7301 Fort Hamilton Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11228

Grade 7:
Christa McAuliffe Intermediate School 187 – Students meet in school yard
1171 – 65th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11219

Grade 8:
New Utrecht High School – Students enter on 80th Street Main Entrance
1601 80th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11214

All students are to report at 8:00 a.m. to the above listed sites, where they will meet their teachers and grade Assistant Principals. Yellow Bus service will be provided as usual.

Update [April 21, 11:40am]: Councilman Vincent Gentile spokesman Justin Brannan reports that the school will be reopened tomorrow and has shared details on the inspection from the SCA:

All windows are being inspected and secured.

Each room will be signed off by a structural engineer.

We worked throughout the night and expect all windows to be secure by early afternoon with engineer sign off and then inspected by FDNY and DOB.

We expect the building to be reopened tomorrow.