5 Midtown Schools Shuttered Due To Ventilation Problems

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Five schools that share the same building in Midtown Manhattan will not reopen to staff Tuesday, after inspections revealed problems with the building's ventilation system.

Since last month, the city has been inspecting ventilation systems at all of its buildings to determine whether they are safe enough to reopen Sept. 21. Good ventilation helps prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and the city agreed to inspect each building after teachers and principals raised concerns.

The inspections found that 21 schools had problems in need of repair, including the five schools inside the Norman Thomas High School building, at 111 East 33rd St. in Midtown.

The following schools in the Norman Thomas High School building were temporarily closed:

• Unity Center for Urban Technologies
• Murray Hill Academy
• Manhattan Academy for Arts & Language
• Success Academy Charter School - Harlem 1
• Success Academy Charter School - Harlem 3

Staff, who had been slated to return Tuesday to prepare for the start of school, will instead work remotely until the repairs are complete, the city announced Monday.

Some of those repairs will be complete "within the next couple of days," the city said, but the city is also looking for alternate spaces if the repairs aren't done by Sept. 21.