Justice Sotomayor Visits Dedication Of Namesake School In Yonkers

YONKERS, NY — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a special guest at the brand new school named in her honor.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, the Yonkers Board of Education, and Superintendent of Schools Aníbal Soler, Jr. along with local and state officials welcomed Justice Sotomayor on Monday for the opening of the school district’s newest school.

The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School, located at 121 McLean Ave., serves over 600 students from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade and the local community. The new school opened its doors to students on September 5, and is the first of three new schools to be constructed as part of the city's plans to rebuild the aging infrastructure of its public schools.

Built on the site of the former St. Denis Catholic School, the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first Yonkers public school constructed since 2000 and is designed in compliance to the city's strict green building standards.

The school’s sustainable features include photo voltaic solar panels, green roofs, high-efficiency electric heat pumps (no fossil fuels used for heating), extensive natural daylighting with sunshades, low water use plumbing fixtures, fresh air ventilation with MERV 13 filtration, LED light fixtures, recycled content in materials and low VOC interior finishes and furnishings.

"The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first of its kind in our District and is a model moving forward as we continue to rebuild our schools," Spano said. "Our local schools are the heart of our neighborhoods and should be made accessible not only for educational enrichment, but also for the benefit of the families who live in the area. We are fortunate for the opportunity to welcome and dedicate a new school in recognition of the positive change Justice Sotomayor represents to our students and District."

The new school is the first phase in implementing the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction and Modernization Plan, which began in 2016. The average age of a Yonkers public school is 75 years old with many as old as 100 years old, making them some of the oldest in the state, according to school officials. NYS passed legislation for the creation of the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction Board, which bonded for the cost of the new $75.6 million facility. The state allocated $53 million for the project’s total cost.

"Today would not be possible without the commitment of the Yonkers State Delegation, our State leaders and school stakeholders in supporting our efforts to improve the environments in which our children learn," Spano added. "Let’s keep up the momentum in fighting for the needs our students and their families deserve."

Sotomayor was born in the Bronx on June 25, 1954. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit where she served from 1998–2009. President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009.

"The naming of a school is an awesome task for a community and we chose to name this school in honor of Justice Sonia Sotomayor because her legacy is an extraordinary example of resilience, of rising above adversity, of breaking barriers and lifting others as she rises," Yonkers Board of Education President Rosalba Corrado DelVecchio said. "This school stands as a tribute to her unwavering commitment to justice, education, and community. It will not only serve as a place to inspire academic excellence in two languages, but also as a center for the entire community, where students and families come together to thrive. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Spano with the Trustees, and the dedication of everyone involved, we have created a lasting foundation for the future, where generations of Yonkers students will be educated to empower themselves and to make their own mark on the world."