Long-Awaited New LIC School To Be Built Near Court Square, City Says

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A long-promised public school is finally set to be built in Long Island City to accommodate the neighborhood's surging population, city officials announced this week.

The new 547-seat school, serving pre-K through fifth grade, will be built on 43rd Avenue between 23rd and 24th streets, a few blocks north of Court Square, the School Construction Authority announced Monday.

Currently home to a five-story office building, the SCA will acquire the site and demolish the building, opening up the half-acre lot for the new school.

The city first promised a new Court Square school in 2018 as part of the "Long Island City Ramps" project, a development that will also entail two skyscraper apartment towers on Jackson Avenue and public open space under the nearby Queensboro Bridge on-ramps.

This week's announcement came only after the city did an "extensive, multi-year search in the neighborhood" for a suitable school site, SCA President and CEO Nina Kubota said in a statement.

As that search dragged on, then-Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer told Patch in 2019 that he wanted the city to seize private property by eminent domain in order to build the school, after the SCA struggled to negotiate deals with neighborhood property owners.

The timeline for starting construction will depend on the design of the new building and demolition of the existing one, SCA says. The project will also need to move through a monthslong public review process and be approved by the City Council, as with all city acquisitions of privately owned land.

Community Board 2 and Community Education Council 30 will be given the chance to weigh in this year, the SCA says.

Once built, the new school will include a kitchen and cafeteria, "gymatorium," a library, and rooms for music, art and exercise. It will also include a District 75 component for special needs students, according to SCA.

"We thank the community for their patience and their advocacy to continue pushing for this school to be built as promised since 2018," City Council Member Julie Won said in a statement.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said the school is badly needed, given Long Island City's explosive growth since its 2001 rezoning.

"This community needs additional educational infrastructure to serve its families with children in the school system," Adams said.

As for the rest of the Long Island City Ramps project, developers have begun construction on both new towers, while designs were reportedly progressing last year for the new public space below the Queensboro Bridge ramps.

Related coverage: Van Bramer Calls For Eminent Domain To Build New LIC Schools