Location on 48th Street
Sept. 8, 2016 By Christian Murray
The School Construction Authority has entered into an agreement to buy a property on 48th Street that once housed a pool hall and gymnasium in order to construct a middle school.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said that the school would provide hundreds of middle school students with seats, although he said it was too early to provide specifics. Education sources say the number of seats could be as many as 800.
Van Bramer said that the current owners of the 38-04 48th Street property have agreed to sell the property. They were initially reluctant to sell, he said, wanting to keep the property for investments purposes.
“I would expect that the community would be thrilled that an abandoned eyesore will be transformed into a beautiful state-of-the-art, desperately-needed middle school,” Van Bramer said. “It’s a huge victory for everyone.”
Barnett Avenue viewing
He said that the construction of a new school is a much better outcome than, say, the property being rented out to a noisy club.
The property has been empty since 2013 when the billiard hall closed. Pulse Fitness was also located inside the building but abruptly closed in 2012.
Deborah Alexander, co-president of the Community Education Council 30, said that the School Construction Authority had been looking for a site for some time.
She said that residents Deborah and Sean McGowan played a key role in bringing much needed attention to the lack of middle school seats in District 30, which covers sections of Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Astoria, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona.
“They have done so much and they never gave up,” Alexander said, whether it be holding rallies, starting petition drives or calling the SCA themselves. They also formed the Sunnyside Woodside Middle School Project, the group that propelled the movement.
“They showed what a difference two people can make.”
Deborah and Sean McGowan, with Ty Sullivan, at a rally for a middle school in 2015
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163 Comments
I used to live on 48th street down by the middle school, now i live in the gardens. I gotta say, it really did suck when class would let out and the area would be flooded with loud moronic kids. Also, they used to meet a few blocks down to fight over by the cemetary next to the warhouse. Yes a massive residential building would suck there but I see problems on the horizon with this too. It’d be nice to have some kind of decent business there since since everything is such a walk to skillman or elsewhere. PS. I couldn’t care less about parking spaces.
How many of the people complaining on here about the school opposed the Phipps development because the schools are overcrowded? Schools are only noisy for the two hours/day that kids are arriving and leaving; they will be very quiet on nights and weekends. And yes for the safety of the children schools are supposed to be in residential areas not on boulevards of death like Queens Blvd or Northern Blvd. Btw I live right next to PS 11. I enjoy the sounds of kids playing – it means the neighborhood is alive.
For all those that were wondering what to do about the location. Let’s have our feedback considered. Submit your concerns by Nov. 4th:
https://dnnhh5cc1.blob.core.windows.net/portals/0/Community/New_School_Sites/Barnett%20Avenue%20-%20Notice%20of%20Filing%20and%20Attachments%20-%2009202016.pdf?sr=b&si=DNNFileManagerPolicy&sig=po7odvG0c92Y2SXEoimvb%2Bz06NZdGTbnxtfyB4ChqQ0%3D
What’s wrong with the huge property that the sports authority was on? Yes it’s on northern Blvd but there is access on the side street. Seems like the perfect location for a middle school that is easy access to both Sunnyside and woodside.
Ny is south america now
A prison would be more appropriate for these kids!
Sunnyside Gardens is now South American Gardens.
South Americans are wonderful people.
And one day it will be someone else’s gardens, and then years later it will change hands again, then repeat. Welcome to New York, what’s your point?
Josh take your meds, its not residential . Look what was there,look across the street. Open your eyes
MIKE- It’s not residential? Um, when there are houses abutting the proposed area and the main street (48th) has houses lined up all the way to Queens Blv most straight thinking people would call that residential. At least the intelligent ones.
I’m most concerned about the lack of opportunities for supervised open space for kids around the proposed school… it’s just a very constrained site…middle-school kids especially need social space. I’ve watched and have been horrified by cops with bullhorns breaking up groups of IS 125 students who were merely talking to one another after school. I’ll take the kids any day over that on my street..
I like the idea of using the areas of the buildings on Barnett for student outdoor space and parking….the vacant restaurant etc. I know, too. that Academy Upholsterers has sadly lost two family members and will soon close…..
I had hoped for housing (or any sensitive development—including a school) around an interior courtyard for the site.
The worst part if this, for me, is the apparently secretive way this was planned.
Our comments, suggestions, and alternative plans should not have been relegated to this site!
The people who worked with Van Bramer have a reputation for their way or the highway. Not good.
The School Construction Authority does not consult the community when it decides to open a school. The board learned about the acquisition of property at 39th Avenue and 58th Street by the SCA only when I saw it on a real estate report. There is also a high school for problem kids on Skillman Avenue and 49th Avenue that was opened without informing the community. That school was not a property acquisition but rather the long term leasing of the old Roadways building.
There is no doubt children need a good education. They are the future of the world. However, the SCA doesn’t consult because it knows no one wants to live next to the racket a school full of our Blessed Offspring create. They are loud and messy creatures.
well I live in the Gardens but I live btw 43 and 44th Street so no skin off my nose I say go ahead and build. week very, very good HMMMMMMMMM.
THIS IS BAD NEWS.
A SCHOOL SQUARELY IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. UNREAL. SO DUMB.
WAS THERE NO THOUGHT PUT INTO THE IMPACT ON THE RESIDENTS OF THE AREA? THE KIDS WOULD HAVE TO WALK COMPLETELY THROUGH WHERE PEOPLE LIVE TO GET TO AND FROM THE SCHOOL.
INCREDIBLY STUPID.
Schools are square in the middle. PS 150, PS 11, PS343, IS 125, have ALWAYS BEEN square in the middle of residential streets. That’s sort of the point…
on the basis of your comment and the rest of the comments on here, the residents of this area are apparently a bunch of incredibly selfish, frightening people.
Well, Wee Willie, if we scare you, call your mom to come and get you.
was hoping for a dodgeball center or an apple store but whatever dudes
What a tragedy! Get well soon.
BTW you people complaining about your property value going down. Your property is at a peak right now. Overvalued! Its not worth the money its valued at its over priced. Your grandfather bought the house for 20k back in the day and you probably inherited it for nothing. Take your 1.2mil and get out now while its high or shut up. Same old story, crybabies, like the lady who has 2 hams and is crying she has no bread.
Awwww your poor little private park. Keep the big bad kids out. They should level that park and make it a parking lot so you can stop crying about parking. All sunnyside folks do is complain and cry about change. Well too bad, we are here now so leave if you dont like it or cant afford it. Oh, and if you dont have your precious little park or parking spot. Get real
L train is shutting down completely for 18 months, yes you heard me right! wait until the hipsters start packin in. Pat Dorfman and her anti- gentrification will be swiftly crushed and well need more apts hipster housing.
Personally, I was hoping it would be a Columbian chicken restaurant to take over vacant buildings. There seems to be a need for something new. With angry workers who don’t think you understand their insults because they assume you don’t speak Spanish.
I can’t believe that censorship is being practiced here on the Sunnyside Post . I left a brief comment about this new School and our local councilman and it was taken down.
I would love to know why , Christian
-Celticparker Because you’re a stupid blowhard who lives in dump of an apartment complex. It really went to hell after the airline people moved out back in the 70’s.
a school being built to teach kids and people still oppose, My theory is correct that half of the people will oppose anythjng no matter what.
JESUS himself could walk the streets of Sunnyside curing the sick and feeding the hungry and you’d people still find something wrong!
a scholl being built to teach kids and people still oppose, My theory is correct that half of the people will oppose anythjng no matter what.
JESUS himself could walk the streets of Sunnyside curing the sick and feeding the hungry and you’d people still find something wrong.
I live in Sunnyside Towers. I do think the area needs a middle school and I am very happy one is being built. I am happy about that. I do think the parking and issues with roaming tweens are real issues. It would be great if the planning team for the school could address those issues. If you look at a crime map of Sunnyside all the crime happens on Queens and Northern Blvd, where there is a lot of food traffic. One suggestion is that parking on the other side of the bridge be developed.
I’m just wondering if the people complaining about the parking, vandalism, 800 students, noise etc… are aware that it’s going to be so much worse than what you’re anticipating?
The fact that they’re building a school there only means the nightmare of the new Phipps building is going to be built !!! JVB will finally get the concessions (pocket stuffed) he says is good for the residents, then he’ll give it the green light.
Remember, JVB doesn’t care about his house in Sunnyside Gardens, he’s expecting to be living in Gracie mansion as the mayor for 8yrs while he either sells or rents his house.
JVB has big plans/dreams for himself, and none of them include Sunnyside!!
HAHAHAHAHAH GOOD PUT A HOTEL FOR THE HOMELESS INSTEAD. GOOD PLACE FOR IT. THEY GOT HOME DEPOT AND N.LIQUIDATORS TO PANHANDLE IN FRONT OF. HAHAHAHA, AND YOU WORRY ABOUT SCHOOLS HAHAHA
Better have the 108 on speed dial for these Lil monsters when they run amok through the neighborhood.
Having taught middle school for a long time, i understand the psyche of crazy 12-14 yr olds. There will be a big uptick in vandalism & fights, 2 staples of the middle school experience. There will also be older kids attending the school, having been left back before. Noise, the pungent odor of idling buses and inconsiderate parents blocking streets to pick up their spawn will create more problems. Yes, we need a middle school, but which of these folks that pushed for it actually live close enough to be affected by it? My guess is none.
The people in the picture are about 7 blocks away on a one way street flowing away from the school. Probably won’t notice much uptick in their part of the hood.
man, i am really glad there are teachers our there that call 12-14 year olds “crazy” and referring to them as “spawn”.
I HAVE A GREAT IDEA. SPORTS AUTHORITY JUST WENT OUT OF BUSINESS ON NORTHERN BLVD.
THAT PIECE OF LAND IS BIGGER THAN THE BARNET LOCATION. BUY THAT PIECE OF LAND AND BUILD THERE.
WIN, WIN. SCHOOL GETS BUILT AND SAVES THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
Great for the neighborhood. All those saying it’s bad are really nuts!
Not looking good for wee Jimmy after reading these posts ,CB2 had no idea this deal was taking place behind their backs. If they build this School – build the Phipps.
Vote for me and I will make the most beautiful Sunnyside community you have ever seen folks.
I will bring the jobs back to Sunnyside. Not hipster jobs. Real jobs folks. I’m going to take care of the hipsters, believe me.
What I am going to do for Sunnyside, it’s going to knock your socks off.
Big league.
Fred Trump built Sunnyside Towers. In doing so, he leveled at least 100 garages.
I didn’t know about the garages. Would love to see a picture of it. Can they rehabilitate the historic garage and build back the beautiful tower that came down. Then build the school on top of it? That would make people feel better.
Geeze, didnt realize how many old farts live in Sunnyside.
It had been a nice, calm, settled community with people of all ages, income brackets, etc., before you arrived. It was nice. Now it is like every other place in the city: the civic fabric is torn apart by a mammoth surge of people of one demographic and one age group. Nobody is an old fart. That is a figment of the imagination of younger people who are still under the illusion that they know better than everyone else in the world. That phase passes by the time you are 45 or 50. Then you look back and realize how green you were and wish maybe you had been a little less brash. If you live long enough you will get there.
just wondering, how do you know when this person arrived? I have lived here my entire life and i disagree with all of the grumps and all of the people who somehow believe they are immune to change. I have seen many different phases in sunnyside including sunnyside gardens being kind of dumpy, if you stroll around you’ll notice that there are still a lot of houses that look like complete crap.
I don’t know where I sit on the younger/older boundary in your mind, but regardless, I’d like to remind you that it’s a SCHOOL, and that being against a school doesn’t really make me think you’re very neighborly. I didn’t agree entirely with everyone when they were up in arms about Phipps but jesus christ why the hell are you against children having a place to learn? and doesn’t it help the “civic fabric of the neighborhood” to allow younger children to flourish in it? or should we all just do things the way we’ve always been doing them, day in and day out. So who is it that really thinks they’re better than everyone else?
Nobody dislikes a school. They just dislike living near one.
Check the stats on how well people like living near a school. It is one of those things we all agree we need, but many people would rather not have it right on top of them. Especially a middle school, or so I read. Be realistic, not idealistic, people will look much more like people than grumps or old farts or other negative connotations people project onto those whose point of view they don’t understand.
If you are someone who lives in western queens and truly understands how our city works you would be able to wrap your head around the need for schools, and the need for them to be in residential areas. All of the schools I have attended in sunnyside and woodside (all public, all wonderful, and all built in the 1930’s) were in residential areas, and I had the luxury of being able to walk to school, rather than taking public transportation or school buses. Our neighborhood is growing, for better or for worse, and it’s grown considerably since the last huge round of schools were built in the city. It’s not crazy that we need new schools, it’s just the natural progression of things. I did not call anyone an old fart, but I do think that the title of grump is pretty spot on when you encounter so many people opposing something beneficial. So many people on here are anti-everything, especially the sunnyside gardens crowd. I can understand wanting to protect your property, but I assure you you will be safe from harm because at the end of the day the students are just kids.
“School” doesn’t always necessarily mean a good thing. Good for children and teenagers, sure. But lets understand the specifics of why this school is suggested at this location.
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How many kids are there in the neighborhood? Enough to fill 800 seats? Does this community have difficulty placing kids from it’s own neighborhoods? I assume kids are being bused in and brought from other neighborhoods, and this is simply economics and the availability of a location big enough to accommodate students from other areas.
You generalize, you minimize, you dismiss other points of view. That is not conversation, negotiation or even a good loud discussion. It is patronizing drivel. Put your assurances away. No one here needs them. We know better.
Has any one looked into the Environmental Issue!!! The Jet fuel pipe Line that runs pretty much right next to the building. in the future all the kids that attend the school may end up with cancer.
Oh man. The noise is going to be outrageous. The cigarette smoke is going to going to be sooooo bad. The traffic on 39th Ave is going to be stopped.
If anybody wants to sell their House over there, let me know!
Well they have to make Barnett one way all the way, it’s stupid that street is not one way already. Also they have to tear down the buildings across the street, the old strip bar, the car repair place, the warehouse looking ugly building, tear those all down, and make a parking for the school, there, are you happy now?
Kids don’t smoke cigarettes any more. Weed, yes
I will talk to my board.. the end. There will be many restrictions that everyone will get a ticket for.. LOITERING , horn honking No slow dows, quiet zones.. we will see how great this plan really is.. FU BRAMER
Sounds like you enjoy all those things, loitering, horns, loud people?
Wonderful news even that my child will be too old to attend.
I’m just so disappointed and ashamed of my neighbors from what they’ve been posting in here. Everyone goes to the CB meetings and yells about any new residential buildings, saying they shouldn’t build them because of the already-overtaxed infrastructure — no parks, overcrowded schools, the 7 train, etc.
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well your representative that you hate so much has been listening to you. here we are getting a new park on 39th Ave, two new schools in the area (including the one on Skillman) and the 7 train is (hopefully) almost done with a complete overhaul, including a brand new signalling system and an almost entirely replaced trackbed, which is an enormous undertaking.
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and yet here we are complaining again. if they build a residential building, you say it’s stupid because the schools are already overcrowded. so they build a school for you, and you say that’s stupid too. and somehow, it’s still JVB’s fault. for what? listening to his constituents?
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quick question for ya: what did you think the billiards hall was gonna become? did you think it would remain vacant forever? it says in the article that the owner was planning to sell it to a real estate developer. if they had built a high-rise luxury condo building, would you have supported that? that was the only other option.
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i usually try not to get involved on here because i know the vast majority of people in this neighborhood aren’t like the commenters here. i just don’t understand what would make some of you happy other than freezing Sunnyside in time 5 years ago. then you could keep parking outside this blighted building until the Sun goes supernova.
and before anyone asks, yes i’m a homeowner, about 3 blocks from here. on a street that will probably be one of the main routes to/from the subway for these kids.
3 blocks away well you are lucky, would you feel the same way if it was up against your property, I don’t think so!
rose – like i said, the owner was gonna sell it to a real estate developer and they were probably gonna build a high-rise condo next to your property. is that any better?
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our neighbors go to every community board meeting and try to stop new developments like that, and the new Phipps development, by saying how overcrowded the schools are. well, people have been listening.
Yes would much perfer a high-rise condo. I worked long & hard for a long number of years to live in Sunnyside Gardens as did all residents. We do not want 800+ tweens running wild in the gardens distrubing the peace
I didn’t know that property developers had a sacred right to make an obscene profit on every building that they buy. Condos wouldn’t be right for the area and a large school is not either. Normal business like the ones that the current owner through out would be fine. This is what happens when your council person is paid for by the RBNY.
They should build a parking garage
48th – are you being serious? that’s how private property works. this is a free country and a property owner can do whatever they want with their property provided it follows zoning regulations and other codes. you say you’d prefer a business, but it’s very obvious that no businesses were interested in this space, since it was vacant for so many years. it’s far from the subway, there’s little foot traffic, and no parking whatsoever. what kind of business could have paid for such a huge building and made a profit with no parking? and why wouldn’t that business just move into the old sports authority space or somewhere else along NB?
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rose – judging by everyone’s reaction to the Phipps development, i have to doubt that a large condo building in your backyard would have been accepted by the neighborhood.
Three blocks- big deal. How bout living on 48th. This is a travesty.
In reality- yes, I would rather have a development. Because they would have a vested interest in the area staying nice. Shuttling kids in from other areas is a recipe for disaster. Kids that age don’t care about their own homes, what do you think they are going to do running unfettered up and down 48th Street.
Thanks for ruining my neighborhood Jimmy and McGowen’s. Very irresponsible.
you’re one of the only people who makes sense on here. reading this stuff really makes my blood boil.
thanks. you’d be happy to know that i very rarely encounter people like this out in the neighborhood. my neighbors are not like this at all (though we do all love to complain about the parking). the commenters here who get upset about this kind of thing are just a minority. a vocal one, but a small one.
Amen!!! Well said! I’m a lifetime sunnysider, own my home in the gardens. Guess what people your overinflated value of homes that you have no intention of selling anyway will not decrease. Coops across from PS150 and the Celtics are at an all time high. Relax! Better a school than anything else
I’m with you, I completely acknowledge that parking does suck but it’s because we live in New York. Compared to brooklyn heights and park slope where everyone has to double park and leave notes in their cars and set up an elaborate system on alternate side days, we have it really good in sunnyside.
I don’t encounter these people in real life either and i grew up here and have seen many changes in the past 30 years, it’s just sad to see that some people are somehow still stuck in the 80’s.
The building is a parking garage. It was built for the cars Sunnysider Garden residents owned. Even back in the Thirties people needed a place to park. Turn it back to its original purpose. That would help solve the parking problem. People will pay very high prices for it but the property owner wants more. I wonder who owns it? Anyone know?
As a resident of Sunnyside Towers, I’d vastly prefer a luxury tower to a middle school.
This pretty much makes no sense. The kids will have to walk all over the neighborhood to get to the train. Rowdy kids will conflict with the private park for sure. Van Bramer is a sellout. How much do you want to be VB will coincidentally be up for a new seat that will be out of the neighborhood he sold when its all said and done ? I cant possibly believe a school on or closer to queens blvd wouldnt be the best choice. I just wonder when VB walks around if he knows everyone hates him ?
Typical joke comment from a NIMBY long time resident. If they built it on Queens Bvld you’d be complaining about the traffic danger. I agree this is in a tough spot that will slow down 48th during the school year, but there are no good spots! Point is this area needs a middle school, the City is actually doing something about it, and that’s a good thing.
I love how the folks raise the red flags. Lets take a look at the fact the most of the kids will be coming from PS 11 and PS 150. Both those schools have good reputation (my kids went to PS11) and most will walk to this new middle school. An 800 seat middle school is about 275 per grade, about the number of kids coming out of 6th grade at PS 11 and PS 150. Very few will be taking a bus or train, most will be walking to school.
I hope that is true!
I would be interested to know how much Grenier Maltz and the owner of the building have contributed to JVB. This is really a great deal for them. Not so great if you live around the school.
Jimmy,
I live about a block away. Can we put driveways in our front yards?
i am sure he will let you if you give him money under the table –
I would welcome a school there but I am wondering if the spot is large enough, unless a very tall structure is being planned. There is also vacant space on the other side of the tracks (opposite the stop n shop), which is really an eyesore. A school there would have the benefit of a big parking lot next door too.
Hopefully all they teach is english so these people learn the language
Wepa!
Good job JVB! YOUR GOOD FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
Man all you people do is complain. Move if you dont like it. Yes theres alot of schools being built, but theres alot more kids. I value education over parking. Like i said move if you dont like it. Its not your neighborhood anymore.
You have proved my point.
Another entitled dbag.
Another stupid hipster.
Gentrification really stinks. It feels like a swarm of over-confident, over-paid selfish humans decided to “improve” a neighborhood that worked just fine with the normal flow of residents in and out. They have destroyed the best things about living here. Modesty and thoughtfulness. Respect for others. Neighborliness. Quiet. Speaker in the picture wont a bloody war to the death in one group she is in. Smashed decades of diplomatic tradition. Laws mean nothing to these people. Do what they want to get what they want at any cost.
Because the 104 bus is not crowded enough??? Parking isn’t enough of a nightmare? Those of us that reside on 48th Street don’t have enough honking, screaming and noise due to thru traffic on a daily basis? Let’s add 800 12/13/14 year olds? Has anyone ever been on Queens Boulevard at dismissal time around JHS 125 ? Isn’t that pleasant? Bad enough my property is damaged due to graffiti artists and kids with nothing better to do. Now let’s bring on another 800 of them?? Where will the staff park? I guess Donatos and the deli on 39th Ave & 50tj Street will be thrilled! Oh, wait, just wait until they’re hanging all over the 48th street side of the beloved private park!!! Wait until the park property is vandalized! Then we’ll hear more. I do not understand how these things happen without it being brought to the community! Absolutely right, JVB is talking out of both sides of his neck!!!
I agree with you, we have to put a stop to this
We need to fight this
You people are insane. Be thankful it’s not a meth clinic or another hotel/homeless shelter! It’s a friggin school.
Rose, you have no chance. You think the public will support a fight against a school??? Not gonna happen. No politician is going to put his ass on the line to go against KIDS! This is a done deal.
Get ready. The kids will be everywhere. People in the gardens with alleys prepare for make out sessions and pot smoke. There will be garbage all over the place for sure. And forget about the cute little garden you have in front of your house! It will be destroyed. I’m a middle school teacher at a good school and I’ve seen the damage that can be done!
In a way I’m glad to see all you snobs get a kick in the ass. But I’m also bummed because I live next door to the building. Oh well.
Be careful. Karma is watching.
The school is a good thing. It might be even better if it included a large oarking lot. Same for the Phipps. And to counterbalance this, more protected bike lanes so people who do not really need cars are not encouraged to keep one.
Because we need more bikers blowing through red lights in Sunnyside.
i’m less scared of that than i am of drivers looking at their cell phones as they almost run me over.
You are out of your mind. Yes more bike lanes so let’s carve up 48th street some more and add bike traffic. Brilliant.
How is this a good thing for the neighborhood?????? It’s the worst thing and goes against everything this quiet enclave was meant to be!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel bad for the homes located on 48th Street and the homes located along 39th Avenue – The noise and behavior of 800 middle school students on their way to school, walking home and just hanging out on corners is going to majorly change the lifestyle around the area forever!
I agree with you Tony. I think we will lose value on our homes due to this. Van Bramer is selling out the residents of this lovely neighbourhood
The McGowans.
I agree with you Tony. We will lose value on our homes having a school here (800 kids/tweens). Van Bramer is selling out the residents of Sunnyside Gardens
I agree with you. We need to fight against this. Van Bramer is selling out the residents of lovely quiet Sunnyside Gardens. 800 tweens no way.
I couldn’t agree more tony….most of the students will NOT be from the neighborhood & will feel free to do whatever they damn well please..the only thing worse would have been some kind of half-way house/homeless shelter…& to agree with sunnyside local above…how do you oppose Phipps housing project and then think this is a good idea JVB? unfortunately the bottom line as always is Greed..maybe if the rents hadn’t gone so sky-high to the point of insanity, the local Catholic schools could have survived & the “need’ for a middle school wouldn’t be so “supposedly” necessary…a true disaster in the making
There goes the parking in Sunnyside! Between no parking bus lanes and over a hundred teachers driving everyday!
I totally agree with what Michael is saying. If we thought it was bad now. Forget it!
what school has one teacher for every 8 kids??
“100 teachers” he obviously dropped out of elementary school.. 100 teachers, LOL. People need to stop complaining about all this stuff. It’s a school, at least it’s not a strip joint or some other nonsense. At least this will limit the amount of bars people can open in the surrounding area.
When i graduate from there im going to get a job at Old Navy and move out n try and rent in sunnyside gardens, how you like me now. Just in case sunnyside garden people forgot its a free country.
Some people are born obnoxious.
This is great news. Our Woodside/Sunnyside kids need a middle school. Contrary to the grumpy beliefs of some, this won’t mean an increase of foot traffic. It will mean an increase of property value, an increase of educational wealth for our children.
There is a middle school in Sunnyside- IS 125 on Greenpoint Ave. Not up to snuff of some people in the area.
IS 125 is District 24. Sunnyside Gardens is District 30. I guess they are just finding out that District 30 Middle Schools enroll students from Queensbridge, Ravenswood, and Woodside Houses. Can’t have that, can we? How about we make the schools we have better before we create a Middle School to serve only 8 blocks of single family homes.
It will decrease our home value, how can you say increase the value of homes in Sunnyside gardens
well, even if that’s the case, your 600 square foot sunnyside gardens home already costs way too much.
f sunnyside gardens , you elitist shit holes
Lmfaooooooo
Just ask the people who live across from 125. Just ask the garage on the corner of 47th street and QB who had a car stolen by three middle schoolers from the nearby school. Just ask the local stores that lock their doors while school lets out. The event was reported in the Sunnyside Post and NY Post in June.
The car was stolen by high schoolers. The closest true public high school is on the other side of Northern Blvd. Maybe we should just make it an adults only neighborhood. Nevermind that most crime in the neighborhood is committed by adults.
Do you live next door .. I sure you are fat and grumpy just live further away . I’m sure also you would rather walk then drive to pick up your fat and grumpy kid
-Jack You sound like an under achieving troll who lacks the capacity to stay focused on the subject matter at hand. The very definition of an imbecile. Post some legitimate concerns and solutions or take your inferiority complex to another forum you insulting idiot.
You are obviously clueless about the area around that proposed school. Very narrow sidewalks, packs of 12-15 yr olds. Of course it will lead to increased foot traffic. Ask the people on the other side of the Blvd that had a school dumped on them how they feel.
Mac just likes to insult people.
He is very liberal an knows better than everybody else what is right – in his own mind.
Hi, this is the Sean McGowan mentioned in the article. I’m glad to see more positive responses than negative ones. I actually do see the point of the people who are responding so negatively. As is the custom with internet postings they are writing in such a way that their families would be embarrassed to know them, but that doesn’t mean they are wrong. A new school will bring more people, more need for parking, and tweens who don’t live her. On the other hand a middle school is needed and this site has been an eyesore. It has not survived as a privately run businesses in decades. Also, we can try to fight people moving here but we will lose. People will keep moving here as long as Manhattan and Brooklyn are overpriced. I am all for building this school in this site. My hope now is that we can get involved in the design so that it is not just an ugly box that creates traffic problems. I think it can be designed to work with the community. Especially if the community is involved in the process.
Do you live in Sunnyside Gardens?
No.
Do you live in Sunnyside Gardens?
-rose Please inform your home attendant that you are posting the same messages over and over again.rose you’re one senile old goat.
Angela I am legally blind so wasn’ t sure if my comment to Sean M had gone through or not. Also I am only 37. I do hope if your parents or grandparents are still alive that you show them a lot more respect when & if they get old and senile as you seem to lack compassion.
PS hope the likes of you do not live in this lovely neighborhood. Now go away and grow up!
Hey Rose, if you’re blind you ain’t gonna see the school anyway. So don’t sweat it.
Angela is a bit of a beatch with her nasty comments.
I am glad that you got your segregated middle school. Congratulations!!!
That they won’t send their kids to anyway.
Sean McGowan – the typewriter ribbon factory was in that location for many many years. The problem with the more recent businesses in that location like the gym and billiards place were those places probably needed to be in locations with more foot traffic and closer to better transportation other than the 3 daily operating buses of the Q104. They were in a bad location for their type of business.,This is a terrible location for a middle school. Have you been outside 125 or in the vicinity when school lets out? Do you know how much vandalism is committed by the unsupervised students of that school on a regular basis? I have lived in Sunnyside for well over 50 years and can tell you 800 students will rip up that area. Just ask the homeowners on 47th avenue between 47 and 46 streets about their property value and the difficulty involved with selling their property because of the school across the street. What measures are being put in place at the site of the new school to prevent the same problems that have plagued the area around 125? People in the Sunnyside towers and houses around that area need to block the construction of this school. This is a terrible idea and will destroy your property value just ask any homeowner who has the misfortune of having a school near them.
Yes Billy we need to block this now as unbelievable it was ever even considered. I worked night & dat so that I could live in lovely quiet Sunnyside gardens, this is beyond wrong
YAS BILL exactly!!
Good schools raise property values throughout the entire area. I live right next to PS 11 and saw proximity to a park, school, and library as a plus when choosing an apartment to purchase. Families will like it because their kids can walk to school.
No I will call my board and argue this . I’m sure you wouldn’t be happy if it was next to your family bar . Same name I’m sure . Thanks for nothing
So now you are an architect as well as an urban planner? You want to be involved in the design as well? What makes you qualified to identify ugly? Are you going to pay for it and prioritize the budget? Will you pay for parking? Direct traffic and keep the neighborhood quiet while a bunch of teenagers run roughshod over the area, running over old ladies and pushing strollers into the street because they travel in packs? Why do you have such personal interest in bringing a school there?
Good point about the sidewalks in that area, they are especially narrow.
Selfish! I feel sorry for the people who live on 48th Street.
Sean- where exactly do you live?
Im sure you are fine putting a school in some else’s back yard as long as it’s not yours. As long as it’s a problem for others to contend with…sure, send your kids to the school and then go back to your home where it will be quite and there wont be buses, kids, traffic and loitering.
No, the McGowan’s live in Berkley Towers. Yet apparently their vote holds more weight than those who live in the gardens.
Anyone know how tall it will be?
So Van Bremer will fight the Phillips Development because it will bring too many people and too much traffic to the neighborhood. He then turns around and brings in a middle school that will put hundreds of kids wandering through the neighborhood from the subways and dozens of school buses on our already congested streets. Not to mention the idiot parents dropping there kids off and honking their horns twice a day. Let’s not forget that he also blocked the FDNY from installing an equipment warehouse in the commercial district on 43rd Street because of increased traffic. Can you say HYPOCRITE ? Can you say SELL OUT POLITICIAN ? Hey Jimmy Boy. Why don’t you let them build the new school on the urban blight Queens Boulevard site of Dime/Century Cinema/Horgan’s ? You know, the lot you promised us that would be developed quickly after you sold your future political career and and increased your war chest by pandering to the developers ? This guy has single handedly upended the neighborhood and has produced nothing more than a few luxury rental buildings. He needs to be voted out of office.
I enjoy that you call them idiot parents then show you don’t know the difference between “there” and “their”
he is nothing but a liar and a sneak and a thieft — he has sold out everything for his own pockets —
Bazinga!
Im with you there , more parking spaces. Screw the kids and thier worthless education….
-Sunnyside Local Yeah he sounds exactly like a Republican. You hate Clinton because she plays the Republican way better than they do. You’re such a phony.
I was always worried this was gonna turn into a nightclub or a high-rise luxury condo. This really is a good outcome.
So more parking will be taken away from the gardens. Not to mention the staff taking spots and additional traffic the school will bring to 48th street and 39th ave…… At least this announcement will make the homes around the school hit the market. There goes the quite neighborhood!!!
I see the Sunnyside Woodside Middle School Project has joined together in a down vote brigrade.
I’ve lived near a school before and actually, it is easy to work with for parking. You know when the teachers will be there and they leave every afternoon. So, parking is magically freed up every afternoon. It will make it difficult for the stupid commuters to use the neighborhood spots (yes, people come in and park on our streets!). Of all of the things that could have gone in here, this isn’t the worst choice. It will also bring foot traffic to the area, which is good for safety.
If that’s your biggest worry,your ok,, you winey tch
i wish people would just stop complaining about their damn cars. when they repaved 46th street a few weeks back sunnyside gardens looked so lovely without all of the beat up cars parked on the street. why wouldn’t you want a school? because your right to have multiple cars is more important than a child getting an education? pathetic.
it’s so frustrating seeing how everything is a problem for the residents of sunnyside gardens… you do not live in a bubble you live in new york city.
Sunnyside is not NYC. Never has. Doesn’t want to be. Even when it was developed in the 40’s it was meant to be an enclave of single family homes, to be a contrast to Manhattan. That attitude and view of Sunnyside continues to this day. This is why it has remained stagnant as the other boroughs develop and evolve. Sunnyside holds onto the status quo with an iron grip. Change is forced and with much resistance. After all, Sunnyside doesn’t need cool shops, nice restaurants, variety, diversity in cultures and sub cultures. Hipsters keep away and take your cold brewed coffee and vintage shirts to Brooklyn. Upwardly mobile residents look elsewhere for your craft beer bars and restaurants that aren’t run by immigrants or corporate raiders and grocery stores that have better produce and products. You aren’t welcome here. This isn’t Manhattan. We prefer to remain in the 1950’s with the exception of immigrants from Central and South america. Wait. We don’t want them either because they are all illegal, right? Asians are ok because we like our crappy Chinese take out and dry cleaners. Irish are ok because we still love our brewpubs – so much that we’d like one on every corner. Leave the Boulevard alone. Nice things attract people. We don’t want people. We want to be left alone like middle America. Now you want to build a school to attract more outsiders? No way, jose. Nope. Get yer new yorkers outta here.
You have failed to understand.
i think crankypants is being a wee ironic…. the point ol’crankypants is making is valid…. the attitude is ludicrous (and moot) that so many people have on this blog that they prefer Sunnyside as it was when it was a farm or however they expect it to remain frozen in time. bring on more Alcove restaurants/bars… I prefer good food and good beers to the dank and dingy restaurants/bars that were here when i moved to Sunnyside from **gasp** Williamsburg in 2004.
Sunnyside was a rural hamlet mostly consisting of small farms and marshland. It was incorporated into Long Island City in 1870, and developed into a bedroom community after the Queensboro Bridge was completed in 1909. A large portion of the neighborhood is six-story apartment buildings constructed during the 1920s and 1930s.
This is pretty funny.
Yessssss I totally agree with this post it’s amazing lol fuckin hate this I love my peaceful walk to marshalls and stop and shop this is goin to be soooo annoying a million kids screamin ughh hello anxiety this sucksssssss and paradise was legendary i wish Steve never sold it ugh I hate middle schoolers they are the worst they don’t shut the fuck up this sucks so much so does those karate schools in sunny side so annoying waste of space and ridiculous vintage stores basically sellin over priced used shit and gross Asian food openin up everywhere what else la marjolaine closed down too now my Christmas cake traditions are over ugh they r destroying my beautiful neighborhood with all this b.s
Fantastic news!