PS/IS 437 Coming to Caton Avenue in 2015

A new school is coming to the district in 2015, but will it be enough to compensate for overcrowding or a need for more middle school seats?

The lot at 701 Caton Avenue, which was previously considered as a site for a nursing home or an apartment building, was approved by the City Council last month to become PS/IS 437. Brownstoner notes today that the lot was purchased by the School Construction Authority (SCA) for $8.8 million.

Community School District 15's new PS/IS 437 will house 757 primary and intermediate school students, is projected to require 76 teachers and staff, and construction is expected to begin in July 2012.

District 15 is in need of more seats, especially going forward. In the 2009-2010 school year, primary and intermediate school facilities operated at 93% of their target capacity. The city’s Capital Plan calls for an additional 2,233 seats in the district at those grade levels to address overcrowding, forecast changes in enrollment, and the Department of Education’s policies to reduce class sizes.

While overcrowding in primary and intermediate schools in the district needs to be addressed, the DOE argues that middle school quality, not quantity, is more important at the moment.

“District 15 is in great need of additional elementary seats in order to keep pace with student population growth,” Marc Sternberg, Deputy Chancellor for Portfolio Planning, DOE, wrote in a letter to Councilmember Brad Lander. “The district’s middle school needs, however, have to do with improving the quality of instructional programs rather than increasing the total number of middle school seats. Both of these needs are always at the forefront of planning decisions for the District 15 community.

"The K437 building is being built to accommodate elementary and middle school grade levels," he continued, "and we will take the community’s desire for a middle school into consideration when making planning decisions.”


The SCA plans for the lot include three playgrounds around the five-story school.

The five-story building, including the cellar, will have 106,175 gross-square-feet, plus three playgrounds on the site: a 4,300-square-foot playground on the north end, a 7,600-square-foot general playground on the southeast end, and a 4,275-square-foot early childhood (pre-K and kindergarten) playground on the southwestern portion.


According to a supplemental environmental study by the SCA, they estimate the school, during peak hours, would generate 184 vehicle trips in the morning, and 159 in the afternoon. An analysis of Caton Ave at Coney Island Ave showed that this would create a significant impact to traffic, but they believe adjustments to the signal timing at the intersection during those heavily-trafficked hours will ease the impact.

Anyone familiar with that intersection may disagree that signal changes will be enough. Jeremy Laufer, District Manager of Community Board 7, notes that the board is concerned about how the changes will affect pedestrian safety.

“We have asked the Department of Transportation to be involved and to look at pedestrian-friendly infrastructure changes (such as improving sight lines on the turn in Caton Avenue),” he wrote to us in an email. “We do not see the truck route as an impediment to the school, as the majority of the schools in CB7 are along 4th Avenue, but we do believe that extra safety precautions must be implemented.”

Parking will also be impacted, especially during alternate-side parking regulation hours. As part of the traffic plan, proposed changes to parking include:

* South side of Fort Hamilton Parkway between E 3rd and E 5th Streets: Change the parking restriction from Tuesday, 9:30-11am to Thursday, 11:30am-1pm.

* North side of Caton Avenue between E 3rd and Ocean Parkway: Change the parking restriction from Tuesday, 11:30am-1pm to Thursday, 11:30am-1pm.

If you live in that area, how is parking now, and how do you think it will be impacted by those changes, and by having a school at that corner?

Besides this new school, there are other spots in the area that are available, or still in the works, to add much-needed seats to the neighborhood. When Immaculate Heart of Mary merges with Holy Name, their building will be rented, and the DOE is reportedly one of the parties considering the space. Additionally, the DOE's Five-Year Capital Plan has two other school projects listed for District 15: PS 333 at 4222 4th Avenue, which was previously St. Michael's School (closed in 2005), would add 332 seats; and "Project #2," which has no site identified yet, would add 406 seats.

More seats in nearby in District 22 may also ease some crowding. Two schools are planned there as part of the Capital Plan--including the 757-seat PS/IS 338 on Coney Island Avenue at Turner Place, which we wrote about earlier this year, and which we're told has been approved. The other project is another one that has no site, and it would add 397 seats to that district. The Capitol Plan is subject to change, though, so we'll keep you posted on all these proposed schools.

The DOE will begin looking at the potential uses for the new PS/IS 437 in the coming months, and they will make a final determination when the building is closer to completion.