Proposed Sunset Park School Pits Parents Against Preservationists

• Pictured: the former police station at the corner of 43rd and 4th in Sunset Park. Photo by John V. Santore

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — A new school could be coming to the empty, medievally inspired former NYPD station at the corner of 43rd Street and 4th Avenue.

However, the fate of the red castle, complete with its distinctive turret and rosary windows, remains the subject of fierce debate.

At a contentious meeting Monday, representatives from the city's School Construction Authority (SCA) presented their proposal for the old station to members of Community Board 7 and Community Education Council 15, which together represent the neighborhood.

All those at the meeting agreed that Sunset Park is in chronic need of thousands of new seats for its students.

To help ease congestion, the SCA has suggested building a 300-seat school at the long-vacant police station.

Councilman Carlos Menchaca, who represents Sunset Park, kicked off the meeting by encouraging public input on the project.

But he also warned that a new school would likely mean the demolition of the existing building — which has been designated as a historic city landmark for years.

SCA officials Tamar Smith and Michael Mirisola said they couldn't comment on the landmarking issue specifically, as their city department answers to state regulators on such questions.

At 12,500 square feet, the property is relatively small for a school building, Smith said. But the officials said that of the numerous locations they've scoped in the the neighborhood, the parcel at 4302 4th Ave. is the most promising for a school.

Smith and Mirisola said the property where the former precinct sits, as well as an adjacent lot, are both in private hands. Their owners have agreed to sell, they said, meaning an eminent domain acquisition won't be needed.

If the building's landmarking designation is indeed overruled and it is demolished, the officials said they hoped to model the new structure off the police station's architecture, much as they did at Brooklyn's PS 133 and PS/IS 30.

See also:

• Sunset Park Parents: Turn Sex Hotel Into Schoolhouse

Camille Casaretti, a member of the local Community Education Council, spoke for many in the room when she said she felt the building should be preserved as-is.

Casaretti said she was "embarrassed" that the city would propose demolition.

The old police station, she said, shows children "there are still architectural beauties in the world."

Local business owner Peter Kruty agreed, saying the structure "fires the imagination" of those who see it.

"Of all the buildings that could be demolished, you're going to knock down the police station?" Kruty said. "Unbelievable."

On the other side of the discussion, Superintendent Anita Skop — head of School District 15, which includes Sunset Park — threw her support behind the proposal.

Skop said that while she loves historical architecture, Sunset Park's schools face a "desperate" level of overcrowding. Neighborhood kids, she reminded the crowd, are currently being bused around the city to less packed schools in distant neighborhoods.

"These are children who are the silent majority because nobody speaks about them," Skop said. "When its a toss-up between preserving a building and giving kids a chance to go to school a little closer to home, I say we give them a school."

Elena Romero, another member of the Community Education Council, addressed the room while holding one of her sleeping daughters.

"If I had a choice, I would love to have my children close to the house," Romero said.

City planners should to try "preserve as much of the building as possible," she said. But in the end, Romero argued that a new school was the neighborhood's biggest priority — especially considering how rapidly the area's population is growing.

"Those new gentrifiers are going to start reproducing," Romero said.

Parent Nick Nyhan, a member of the PTA at MS 442 in Carroll Gardens — also included within District 15 — said he backs a school at the site.

However, he pointed out that it would only take care of a small piece of a larger problem. (Nyhan cited a recent SCA report to the City Council finding that New York will need to create 83,000 new seats for students in the coming years.)

"We're letting these fights be fights at the wrong level," Nyhan said, urging the city to force private developers to finance more school space.

The city will be taking public comment on its proposal for the former police station until July 15.

Comments can be directed to: New York City School Construction Authority, 30-30 Thompson Avenue, Long Island City, New York 11101, Attention: Ross J. Holden.

They can also be emailed to sites@nycsca.org, although snail-mailed comments are preferred.