The School Construction Authority (SCA) plans to purchase the Bayside Jewish Center and transform it into a new public high school, according to Councilman Paul Vallone.
The new school will go a long way toward solving the issue of overcrowding in District 26 schools, which are at 130 percent capacity and currently short more than 3,400 seats. The new school is set to alleviate around 25 percent of that gap.
Vallone said that he is going to work with residents to lessen the impact that a new school would have on their everyday lives, including potential effects on parking availability and local traffic concerns.
“What is critical now is making sure that the community and community board are involved in every step of the way and that we work closely with the SCA to minimize the impact to the surrounding neighborhood,” Vallone said.
36 comments:
Wonderful, glad I sold my house 2 blocks away,should be worth 1\2 what I got very soon,bet a lot of residence will soon be calling local Realtors, can anyone say FIRE SALE!!
Paul Vallone needs to be removed from office.
First, he approves the school no one wants at Keil Brothers.
Then, he tries to put a school in Whitestone, but the neighborhood finds out and he beats a hasty retreat.
Now we know what the deal was: in exchange for not building a High School in Whitestone, they will build one on a tiny property in Bayside, four blocks from Bayside High School.
Imagine that - two overcrowded high schools within a five minute walk of each other.
Vallone did this without any communication with the residents, Community Board 11 members or any other interested parties. We had to find out from a local newspaper article. Real classy and very transparent behavior.
Don't worry, Paulie V. - this is absolutely not going to be forgotten come 2017 by the residents of Bayside.
People bitch and moan when the schools are overcrowded. People bitch and moan when you try to add schools. You just can't win with some people...
"can't win with some people..."
Why are the schools overcrowded ?
Why are they built so close together ?
Think about that then maybe you will understand why residents are unhappy.
Bus the asians out to those schools that don't have enough enrollment and stop over burdening francis Lewis and bayside high school. Yes, not enough enrollment does exist in some queens high schools. I read of one high school in queens that only had like 300 kids enrolled in the whole school. I think the government should start utilizing those schools and stop protecting the asians from other races! When I was younger, they bused the kids in from Jamaica and my cousins who lived in Bellerose went to Jamaica high school and they were the only white people in the whole school back in the 80s/early 90s. The city can not protect the asian kids forever so I say bus them out and force diversity on them the same way they did to white people who live in this city.
Dont worry, the Western Queens Gazette covers Vallone more than Costa. Its so stupid reading about something that goes on in Bayside while ignoring real news in Astoria.
I guess they want to keep that name in front of the people. Costa will get some hack job and Astoria gots another 8 years of Junior.
Isn't this like 10 blocks from Bayside highschool ?
Oh, Pauly Vallone in trouble again
Which bus lines will now be be over-overcrowded with rowdy adolescents?
Like the Kennedy's in Hyannis Port, the Vallones shit where they please, then retreat to their Jersey shore compound.
Only the voters can unseat Don Chooch Paulie Vallone.
The only ones dumber than him mare you voters who elected him in the first place.
How will Vallone be working with the residents? He does not work for the residents of his district now.
Hmmmmm....Paulie is gonna get some perks from the school construction authority, I guess.
Don Paulo is the builders' goombah as well as the developers' lobbyist. He's got very little talent as a lawyer in any other direction.
Paulie has nine lives. He will never be in trouble. He's a made man. It's the district that's in trouble if they elect this scheming wise guy again.
But Vallone got fireworks for Fort Totten.
Paulie giveth, then Paulie taketh away.
Who will be bused into this new high school?
Happy July fourth. Light a sparkler and celebrate the demise of democracy in Queens, if not America.
When a dynasty is allowed to rule since Judge Vallone, I say that a monarchy has no place in a republic...unless, of course, the voters allow it.
Synagogues, temples, and Jewish centers are closing.
These are buildings which will be finding new use.
Garden Jewsish Center, for example, near Mitchell Linden is gone.
Maybe a Korean church should take this one?
Oops, I think I made a faux pas!
We all know how the vallones manipulate the press. What I think is funny is that paulie is boasting about getting a bus stop sign moved by tonys deli on 154st to give him two more parking spots for his gumbas. Now the bus stop doesn't meet the regulation footage needed for an official bus stop. And he's bragging that he got garbage cans in Whitestone village. Big deal. Try doing something that is good for all the residents not just your friends. But then again that's what your family did in Astoria for over 30yrs.
Corona General Assembly Approves School Building Lease
Published at 22:20, Mar 04 2015
CORONA – The General Assembly of the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox parish of Corona approved on March 1 the proposed lease terms for the school building to the NYC Department of Education (DOE) and also to continue negotiations.
According to proposed lease ordained by TNH, the school building would be leased for twenty years from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2034. Also the DOE “shall have the option to extend the lease by another five (5) years, for the period from July 1, 2034 through June 30, 2039.”
The terms of the lease have as follows:
$625,046.02 for years 1 through 5.
$675,100.96 for years 6 through 10.
$729,006.28 for years 11 through 15.
$787,403.71 for years 16 through 20.
Also there is the option term of $850,293.25 for years 21 through 25.
The General Assembly was held in the church itself because the renovations in the Church hall. The Assembly was attended by 44 members, of which 28 voted in favor, 2 against, and the rest abstained or departed prior to the vote. Costas Prentzas was elected Assembly Chairman.
TNH has learned that officials of the parish will visit Archbishop Demetrios of America in order to inform him and request from him to approve the proposed lease.
The school building was the home of the Day Greek School of the parish, which closed some four years ago. Attempts to make it a charter school were unsuccessful. It is reminded here that four Day Greek School closed the recent years in New York the recent years under the tenure of the current Archbishop Demetrios of America and Corona’s was one of them.
According to the proposed lease, the parish will be responsible for the external renovations of the building and the DOE for the interior renovations.
The DOE will pay for electricity, heat, hot and cold water, water charges and sewer charges, cleaning and custodial services. As far as real estate taxes and assessments, the premises are currently tax-exempt.
According to the proposed lease the DOE “shall have the right to terminate the lease five (5) years after lease commencement, upon 365 days prior written notice to the Landlord.”
Parish attorney Elias Fillas told TNH that “the church wants us to continue the negotiations with the Department of Education.” Parish Council President Penny Viennas did not respond to TNH’s request for comment.
Prentzas told TNH that “I am very happy with the outcome because we achieved a much-respected lease from the Department of Education, which secures the positions of our parish from $390, 000 to $625,000 the year for the first five years.”
When asked about the climate in the parish, Prentzas said “even those who had some doubts and questions they received answers and according to the outcome of the vote 90% voted in favor.”
Prentzas verified TNH’s information that parish officials will meet with Archbishop Demetrios. He said that “we follow the charter of the parish and also of the Archdiocese. We are going to inform the archbishop so we can go ahead and prepare the agreement. We are going to call a General Assembly again to inform the membership as to where we are and to make some corrections not only us but also the Department of Education.” He said the parish would respect Demetrios’ response, whatever it is.
Prentzas also verified TNH’s information that the consulting company Valone & Constantinople will be paid $18,000 and the East Hudson Realty $550,000. He said “the numbers you mentioned are correct, $18,000 for the consulting company and from what we know $550,000 the Realty which will get a certain amount upfront and the rest in installments.”
The parish elections have not been validated yet. Asked why the delay and if there is a problem, Prentzas said “I don’t think so.”
Source: The National Herald
I have nothing but contempt for Vallone, but he and Tony Avella did vote against the school at Keil Brothers. I think the School Construction Authority ultimately decides where schools will go.
Synagogues, temples, and Jewish centers are closing.
These are buildings which will be finding new use.
Garden Jewsish Center, for example, near Mitchell Linden is gone.
Maybe a Korean church should take this one?
Oops, I think I made a faux pas!
-------------------------------------------------------
You did. Why would a Korean Church be interested in a property that's not a private house? Nothing like removing private homes from the tax rolls!!!
Notice how the Greek church/school deal was done by vallone yet the Catholic school in vallones backyard in Astoria didn't receive any offers, I wonder why......what's the connection????
will Paul be sending his kids there???
Fillas and Vallone work together. Vallone's name is on their letterhead.
Maybe it will be small and for problem kids,lol
There has to be someone at the church with ties to both Fillas and Vallone.......probably the negotiator for the church. Wasnt he a onetime astoria political wanna-be?
You people are so funny thinking Paul Vallone calls all the shots. And then saying he supports things he voted against - you can't even get your facts right.
The "voters will remember" promises are the funniest of all. You all know he will clobber anyone who goes up against him no matter what. Just like last time.
Nope, not a friend, not a supporter, not a builder, not a realtor, blah blah blah, just an observer. Sorry, but you're just impotent. Face it.
http://www.saccofillas.com/vallone-vallone/
Why not just build a new high school in Jamaica where they bus all these kids from!!
"You people are so funny thinking Paul Vallone calls all the shots. And then saying he supports things he voted against - you can't even get your facts right."
Hey dope, Paul Vallone wasn't in office yet when the Keil Brothers school was approved by the City Council. That was Dan Halloran, and Paul as council member elect was in on it.
Since you forgot:
“I think it is a disgrace that both the Council member and Council member-elect went behind the community’s back and made a deal to have the proposed school approved, while ignoring the will of the people who will be most affected by the new school,” Avella said. “I am afraid this just sets an extremely bad precedent for the duration of Paul Vallone’s tenure in public office.”
Council OKs school at Keil Brothers site
"Since you forgot:
“I think it is a disgrace that both the Council member and Council member-elect went behind the community’s back and made a deal to have the proposed school approved, while ignoring the will of the people who will be most affected by the new school,” Avella said. “I am afraid this just sets an extremely bad precedent for the duration of Paul Vallone’s tenure in public office.”
Just so we're clear, you're using a quote in the chronicle from the impotent career politician Tony "Follow the Buck" Avella as evidence of Paul Vallone's supposed approval of this school? This is a great example of the reason why no one with any influence takes this site seriously. Why don't you focus on blasting him for some of the actual crap he's done (trust me there's plenty), or perhaps focus your attention on the agencies that generally operate without any regard for the community or council member's wishes? Until then you're just pathetically trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator of wannabe political activist keyboard warrior.
- Long time reader
"This is a great example of the reason why no one with any influence takes this site seriously."
So why are you on this site arguing? Why would I not believe that Paul Vallone supported the school when I heard it from sources other than Avella?
"So why are you on this site arguing? Why would I not believe that Paul Vallone supported the school when I heard it from sources other than Avella?"
Like who? You should share those sources so maybe your claim can have some credibility. As far as I'm concerned Tony Avella is just another political hack who happens to be smarter than most..but that's another can of worms.
I'm here arguing because I respect what this site tries to do and love to see politicians held accountable for their crap. Consequently I hate to see you give people reasons to simply dismiss you.. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but you haven't convinced me otherwise.
It's funny that you say that this site is not taken seriously, because I have pals working in government who tell me that their colleagues check it every day to find out what damage control will be required.
I stand corrected - it was peter vallone who voted against the Kiel brothers school deal. But if there's evidence Paul was for it, I haven't seen it.
And though I don't think crappies perfect, and hate it when a comment I make isn't posted, I must say this site is taken seriously.
How's this for "proof"?
With many schools in School District 26 claiming they suffer from overcrowding, Vallone said the idea of a new school being built on the Keil Bros. property may be a welcome addition to Bayside. Plans for the facility have drawn opposition from nearby homeowners, who say the residential area is not right for a school, but Vallone said there are some benefits to it.
That's proof all right.
Not sure if it's this a good or bad thing.... bayside high already has a lot of students and recently overcrowded with students from jamaica... but just an observation..I observe a huge number of african americans there when school ends daily because one of their HS was closed down for some reason. If anything, they should start building HS in that area that is missing.
That jewish center looks small to even do anything. I would say a private school should be fine. But not a public one.
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