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Nearby Construction Brings Worries to P.S. 234 Parents

by Etta Sanders

Cranes, dump trucks and pile drivers are coming soon to the lot behind P.S. 234, and parents want to know how their children will be protected from the noise, dust and increased traffic that will come with the impending construction.

"P.S. 234 is going to need reassurance about what measures are going to be taken. We've got our children right under there," said Catherine Weinstock, mother of a first grader at the school.

Construction on a 300-foot residential tower on Site 5C is slated to begin by late winter or early spring. A second development on Site 5B, the lot to the south of the school, could be under way by next spring, putting the school in the middle of two large-scale construction sites.

P.S. 234 principal, Sandy Bridges, said she is getting questions from parents taking the tour of the school for fall enrollment. "They want to know when it's starting and if the children will still be able to go outside," she said.

Bridges and PTA president Kevin Fisher hope to meet this month with Scott Resnick, the developer of Site 5C. Bridges said she wants to know when the work is going to begin and if they will lose the use of the school's back playground. "There has to be a safety buffer," she said.

They will also ask for an abatement of construction during periods of standardized testing. A similar arrangement was worked out when construction projects were going on near P.S. 89 in Battery Park City.

Resnick could not be reached for comment.

At a Dec. 16 PTA meeting, George Olsen, former P.S. 234 PTA president and a Community Board 1 member, also cautioned parents that the developer of Site 5B, Edward Minskoff, is looking to nearly double the height of a building-from 70 feet to 135 feet-directly across from the school on Warren Street.

Under a Sept. 2004 agreement between the city and Councilman Alan Gerson, the height of that building can be increased only with the approval of CB1. But the agreement also dangles a carrot-one-third of the city's increased proceeds from allowing a larger building will go towards the fit out of a new community center to be located on Site 5C. That could represent as much as $1.5 million to $2 million, nearly 40 percent of the money needed for the center, according to Gerson.

Olsen said raising the height of the buildings would be detrimental to the school's air and light. "You go to 135 feet, you're basically shutting out the sun," he said.

Gerson plans to meet with school parents to see what would be acceptable across from the school, but protecting the students and teachers was the highest priority, he said. "One thing is absolutely sure. It cannot cast any shadows on the school or on Washington Market Park."

A public "scoping" session for Site 5B to determine what will be studied in a required environmental impact study will be held on Jan. 5. (See Community Calendar, page 16). Olsen urged parents to attend and to voice their concerns, not only about the short-term construction issues, but also about the long-term effects of several large new buildings, such as where the garages, loading docks and air conditioning vents will be located.

"This is a crucial moment," he said.