Construction Starts On 795-Seat Cardozo High School Annex

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Officials on Friday celebrated the start of construction on a 795-seat annex for Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside.

The upcoming annex is an effort to alleviate overcrowding at Cardozo High School, which is at 149 percent capacity, according to the city's School Construction Authority.

"Cardozo is one of several schools built in eastern Queens in the 1960s that are now bursting at the seams, and now is the time to meet the increasing demand for seats as our communities continue to grow and prosper," Lorraine Grillo, the School Construction Authority's president and CEO, said in a statement.

The three-story building will house 25 classrooms, two special education classrooms, a teacher's workroom, a STEM lab, a robotics lab, a mock court room, a media center and production room, three locker rooms, bicycle storage and a shower and changing room for bike riders.

The annex, which will be fully accessible and air-conditioned, is scheduled to open in September 2022, according to a press release.

School Construction Authority staffers are responsible for the building's design, and Arnell Construction Corp. has a $47.8 million contract to build the annex.

Work started in August, according to the School Construction Authority.

"Cardozo High School has set a standard of excellence and success for years," New York Assembly Member David Weprin said. "It is important that we do all we can to support our top performing schools, alleviate overcrowding and invest in our schools for their continued success."

Cardozo's 3-story annex will open in 2022 and will include 27 classrooms, a Science (STEM) Lab, Robotics lab, Court Room, Media Center and Production Room & will help alleviate overcrowding at the HS which is at 149% capacity. #newseats #newtech #newdreams @DozoHSPrincipal pic.twitter.com/ATyPNjCPir
— New York City School Construction Authority (@NYC_SCA) December 20, 2019

With today's groundbreaking at Cardozo HS we now have nearly 1700 new schools seats under construction in @NYCCouncil District 23 with nearly 2500 planned. Many thanks to @NYC_SCA President Lorraine Grillo for making this possible. Great things are happening in #EasternQueens. pic.twitter.com/V4QC04Vqcj
— Barry Grodenchik (@BarryGrodenchik) December 20, 2019