Ready in 2010... just in time for Owen to enter Kindergarten.
A New ‘Green’ School for Lower Manhattan
The city will build a 950-seat elementary and middle school in Battery Park City, a recognition of the unanticipated surge in population in Lower Manhattan since 9/11, officials announced this morning.
At the morning news conference, community leaders applauded the announcement. Julie Menin, the chairwoman of Community Board 1, called it the “the best possible thing for the area, adding that she had lobbied city and state officials for a new school since last year. “We desperately need this,” she said. “The schools are literally bursting at the seams.”
The school, with about 125,000 square feet, is to be the “first entirely ‘green’ public school in New York City,” according to officials. Among other features, it will use occupancy sensors to turn off lights when rooms are not in use and photovoltaic panels to convert light into electricity. The construction materials are designed to improve indoor air quality, reduce the the emission of volatile organic compounds and conserve water. The Battery Park City Authority will contribute $3 million toward such “green” features.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that even the addition of 950 seats would not be enough. “We estimate 3,000 seats will be needed to cover this community,” he said. “The resurgence that Lower Manhattan has had right now has really been remarkable.”
“Lower Manhattan has become a premier residential destination, and that trend has also placed a toll on its public schools,” Governor Spitzer said in a statement. He said the new school would ease crowding and provide a “healthy sustainable environment where they learn and thrive.”
The school, to be built at 55 Battery Place, will be fully air-conditioned and have 40 classrooms, including 10 for special education students; a kitchen and cafeteria; a medical suite; an auditorium; a library; wireless Internet access; art, science, and music rooms; a 5,400-square-foot gymnasium, and a 1,500-square-foot exercise room with rooftop educational and recreational spaces. Construction is expected to begin in June and to be completed by September 2010. The new school is being designed by Dattner Architects.
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