A proposed elementary school on Franklin Street officially got the green light, the School Construction Authority shared in a recent press release. Construction will commence on a new school at 257 Franklin Street, a 20,000-square foot site that will offer 450 new seats.
For 15 years, the School Construction Authority has eyed the site for a future elementary school, but plans were halted to allow for remediation on the nearby NuHart Plastics Superfund site. As remediation wrapped up, the SCA revived those plans and presented them in community town halls and to Brooklyn’s Community Board 1. The SCA says that the site at 257 Franklin checks all the boxes that they need for a new school — street frontage on Franklin and Dupont that allows for easy access for families and school buses, and in a location underserved by local schools (the closest public elementary schools are about a 20-minute walk away). The Greenpoint Landing area has also seen massive population growth over the past decade.
“The building is expected to be a five-to six-story structure featuring a play yard, full air conditioning, ADA accessibility, along with an all-electric design to enhance sustainability,” the SCA shared. “Additionally, the school will serve as a valuable community resource, potentially functioning as a voting site, meal distribution center, and cooling center during the summer months.”
CB1 passed an unanimous resolution in support of the plan, but some community members still feel anxious about being so close to the NuHart Superfund site.
A hydraulic barrier was installed under the corner of Franklin and Dupont streets in 2023, which the SCA says prevents the migration of future contaminants from the NuHart site (which the SCA stressed were a negligible amount, due to the remediation). The SCA hopes to assuage fears by adding additional environmental oversight to ensure that the site remains safe and unaffected by the adjacent site.
“As the project commences, the SCA will voluntarily enroll the site in the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) Voluntary Cleanup Program,” the press release reads. “This program includes additional layers of regulatory review from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and public engagement, allowing for further oversight and input from all stakeholders.”
The project remains in its early stages, so we won’t see a school for another few years, but Greenpointers will bring you any updates to the story. In the meantime, you can check out the project’s website for additional documents and information.
Will there be public transportation nearby?
I think it’s irresponsible to locate a school so close to contamination.
The bottom line is that they will not be cleaning up the phthalates that are underground in the street because of the complexity of underground utility lines.
Given how the government agencies have protected the community in the past, I have little faith that they’ll protect us now. Right now everything is about real estate and money.
What’s old is new (except old & aging life-long Greenpoint resident like muself). There used to be TWO large elementary schools a half block away on Dupont Street, one a public grade school and the other a Catholic grade school (St. Cyril & Methodius), which had an all-nun teaching staff when I attended in the 50’s. Theyoung children, residents & employees alike were all exposed daily to the toxic emissions of the Harte Company Plastics plant for many, many years. No one cared. No one knew …except for the Harte employees and their cancer cases. Greenpoint was full of polluting industries, with a huge City garbage incinerator spewing ash (and who knows what else) on cars and residents alike. Ah, the NOT so good old days!
Children? What are they? All jokes aside they are going the way of the dodo bird in this country. In 2023 alone, New York City experienced a significant decrease of 9% in its under-20 population, a drop of over 186,000 people, even with immigration, marking the biggest decline in at least a decade.
There is no sign of a let up, with even greater drops coming. Why do we need another school? I can see for geo reasons but then close at least one or two of the other schools in the area.