Councilman Eric Ulrich shares his enthusiasm for Ozone Park while SCA President Lorrain Grillo looks on.
A little over 4 years after he proposed an Ozone Park site as the potential location for a new primary school, Councilman Eric Ulrich was joined by School Construction Authority (SCA) President Lorraine Grillo and representatives from the DOE and other local elected officials for the official ground breaking of PS 316 on Tuesday morning.
In delivering the opening remarks, Grillo focused on the primary goal of her agency: building schools wherever the opportunity to do so arose and credited Councilman Ulrich as a pleasure to work with and as being responsible for getting this project off the ground.
Artists’ renderings of PS 316 and the full-scale playground just across the street from the school building.
“It was 2009 when I recommended this site to the SCA, DOE and the Brooklyn Diocese,” said Ulrich, “and it has come to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. This is just the latest piece of the puzzle for what I like to call the Renaissance/rejuvenation of Ozone Park,” the councilman continued.
In 2009, Ulrich initiated the brokering of the deal between the city and the Brooklyn/Queens diocese for the purchase of a parking lot on 101st Avenue at 89th Street and the site of St. Stan’s Catholic Elementary School a half block away, with the idea of securing a new school site in order to alleviate some of the overcrowding in his district.
The city paid $4.2 million for both pieces of property and will build a playground at the 89th Street former parking lot site and a school building on the next corner. The new school will be located at 90-07 101st Avenue and will house 444 students in grades K-5. The total estimated cost of the project is $38,340,000 with anticipated completion date of September 2014.
We are going to provide excellent educational opportunities in Ozone Park in a small school setting. This is just the latest piece of the puzzle for what I like to call the renaissance of Ozone Park. The parking lot will raise property values and drive crime rates down.
Actually brought this site to the attention of DOE and SCA. 4.2 million dollars. Parking lot will be transformed into a playground.
