P.S. 174 William Sidney Mount To Get Hundreds Of New Seats

REGO PARK, QUEENS — P.S. 174 William Sidney Mount will get a 432-seat expansion, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday night during a town hall meeting in Forest Hills.

The city's School Construction Authority plans to demolish two classroom trailers at the Rego Park elementary school later this year, paving the way for construction to start on the addition.

It would open in September 2024, barring any "unforeseen site conditions or other hurdles," School Construction Authority spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said in an emailed statement to Patch.

The addition will include new classrooms and a new kitchen and cafeteria, among other things.

Ortiz said he could not provide an exact timeline or specific design details because the project is still in an early stage.

P.S. 174 was at 128-percent capacity last year, according to a School Construction Authority report. The school can hold about 530 students, but 681 students were enrolled there during the 2018-2019 school year.

The 28th school district, which includes P.S. 174, is one of the most overcrowded school districts in the entire city, according to a 2018 City Council report.

The city added more than 1,000 new seats to local elementary schools at the start of the 2019 school year in an effort to cut down on the overcrowding.