Students at MS 210 in Ozone Park have to cross the street with faculty members because are so concerned for their safety. Photo Courtesy NYC Department of Education
Dangerous traffic conditions around MS 210 in Ozone Park must be changed – and soon, before the city has to react to a tragedy, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway) and the school’s principal said this week.
“I am concerned by the significant lack of traffic control devices to protect students crossing the street to and from school,” Goldfeder said. “The current situation is unacceptable and is putting our families and children’s lives at risk.”
Goldfeder sent a letter this week to the city Department of Transportation requesting a full traffic review of the area surrounding the middle school, which parents and school officials have said can become especially chaotic during dismissal and arrival hours. The assemblyman specified that the intersection at 93rd Street between 101st and 97th avenues especially needs to be examined by the DOT.
“There are not enough crosswalks by 210,” Goldfeder said. “It shouldn’t take a tragedy to get results.”
Because of concerns about students’ safety, faculty members escort their pupils daily across the busy intersection during dismissal and arrival times.
“The school administration has appealed to the DOT over the years to address this issue without any consistent remedy,” MS 210 Principal Rosalyn Allman-Manning said. “Unacceptable behaviors of adults getting out of their cars to argue and fight places everyone in danger. Our students observed this very behavior from adults who are supposed to set examples in conflict resolution and problem solving.”
Goldfeder stressed that the DOT should not look at MS 210 in isolation, but rather conduct a comprehensive study of hazardous streets surrounding a number of schools where parents and officials have cited concerns about safety, including PS 207 in Howard Beach, PS 63 in Ozone Park, and PS 232 in Lindenwood.
Last year, Goldfeder requested that the DOT launch a thorough investigation of roadways surrounding these three schools but said he has not seen any positive change.
“School officials, parents and community leaders have been fighting for safer streets for too long and should not have to wait for a tragic incident to get results,” Goldfeder said.
The DOT did not respond to a request for comment.
By Anna Gustafson
