Parents Of Forest Hills Students Protest School Closures

FOREST HILLS, NY – Parents of Forest Hills students gathered Wednesday afternoon with parents from neighboring school communities to protest the closure of area schools due to an uptick in coronavirus cases.

The Facebook event, titled "Kids Belong in Class" is a call to action for parents of students in Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens, according to organizers Corey Kanterman and Ifat Golan Orgad.

"We believe in science and in safety protocols that have been successfully put into place by NYC DOE and private institutions," the organizers wrote on the event's "about" section. "We believe children belong in the classroom and parents belong at work."

The event organizers said they do not have faith in the data being used to determine the school closings.

The closings are part of new restrictions, which target coronavirus clusters by looking at coronavirus cases by address. They will go into effect no later than Friday.

In the plan, Governor Cuomo has outline three colored zones in and around clusters, a red central cluster, an orange ring covering its surrounding area and a yellow zone forming a perimeter.

In red zones, mass gatherings are prohibited, schools are restricted to remote-learning only, and dining is restricted to take-out only.

Parents gathered at the Grand Central Parkway School Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Attendees were asked to wear masks and maintain social distance.