As P.S. 150 Returns, Parents Express Concerns About Construction

By Ronald Drenger

P.S. 150 was scheduled to return to its Greenwich Street building in the Independence Plaza (IPN) residential complex on Feb. 4, but many parents said they were going back with as much anxiety as relief. They’re concerned about noise, dust and fumes from an IPN construction project on the plaza outside the school, and some worry about lingering environmental hazards near Ground Zero.

At the school’s insistence, the Board of Education provided a written commitment to protect students from the construction, with guidelines for handling complaints. But parents said the Board was slow to respond to their concerns, noting that they received the written assurances only on Jan. 29, the day before the school’s move was to begin, and that parents had to draft the document.

"The Board did what we asked, but only after we pushed and pushed," said Judy Levine, co-chair of P.S. 150’s school leadership team. "If they had paid attention in a timely fashion, the move could have been more joyous rather than laced with anxiety until the last minute."

Levine said she discussed work requirements, plans and hours with the construction foreman, while other parents met with IPN management and pored over pages of construction laws to come up with protocols.

"We have to take a lot of the initiative to make sure the school is safe for our children," said Kim Gerstman, who chairs the Parent Association’s political committee.

PTA board members said they expected fewer than 10 families to leave the school because they were reluctant to move back to Tribeca.

The school is still looking for alternate spaces for recess. The gym at the adjacent Borough of Manhattan Community College, which was to be available, is now being used for college classes. P.S. 150 will use the playground at BMCC and possibly Washington Market Park, and the Board of Education has offered to bus students to Pier 40.