By Cyrus Storlie
The School Construction Authority (SCA) and Queens Borough President Donavan Richards Jr. made it clear to Queens community leaders that efforts are being made to address concerns over limited capacity in public schools as housing development in Queens ramps up. They met with Queens Community Board Chairs at Queens Borough Hall on Tuesday September 15.
Salua Baida Chairs the community board for Forest Hills and Rego Park. The schools in her district are already some of the most crowded in the city. Borough President Richards Jr. referred to Forest Hills High School as “The most crowded school in Queens.” Baida wants answers on how new projects are chosen in anticipation for the uptick in housing projects in her district.
“We also have development consistently coming and knocking on our door these days,” Baida claimed. “How does the SCA and other entities determine where schools are needed in relation to development?”
Danielle Schaaff, manager of the community engagement unit for South Queens for the SCA, responded that progress is being made on a new school in Forest Hills.
“We also just awarded a new contract there.” Schaaff announced. “I do not anticipate a new build start until probably after the new year.”
Planning where to build new schools is an exhaustive endeavor for the SCA. They work in tandem with New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), the office of district planning and elected officials. They analyze trends and forecast needs, deciding where to best allocate funds for schools that will take years to build.
Without the tethers of bureaucracy, private housing developers are able to move quicker. Outpacing these projects is just not realistic for the city government. Therefore, the decisions on where to put these new schools often comes down to finding available real estate and economics.
“Real estate is really what drives us, the available real estate, the feasibility of the site, the consciousness to purchase a particular piece of real estate with respect to our tax payers,” Schaff explains.
The SCA spent $6.13 Billion of its $21 Billion annual budget in 2025 on new capacity for students. Schaaf highlighted the opening of The Queens Innovation Center in 2025. This was the SCA’s largest ever project; bringing 3000 new seats for students in the borough. In Far Rockaway, Lighthouse Elementary School is getting a revamp. The current building has a capacity of 127 students. The new building, set to open September 2029, will have space for 547 students.
Unfortunately, not everyone was promised swift action. Rev. Carlene Thorbs chairs Queens Community Board 12, representing much of Jamaica down to JFK. She too has concerns about new development in her district outpacing available seats for students.
“Are we slated for any new openings, as we are slated for nine new apartment buildings in downtown Jamaica?” Rev. Thorbs asked.
Both Borough President Richard Jr. and Ms. Schaaff assured that they were looking into possible sites for acquisition, however, no concrete actions have been taken towards constructing a new school in the area.
Though the majority of the meeting was focussed on these large “capital” projects. It seems NYCPS has found recent success in streamlining its process for smaller maintenance and improvement projects.
Deputy Chancellor of the Division of School Operations, Kevin Moran explained that improvements were needed. At one point they had 736 jobs backlogged in their system. He explains that their payment system was based on reimbursements, which constantly left them playing catch up and regularly led to issues with contractors not being paid or being overpaid.
They have recently switched to a “dollar for dollar” system where contractors are paid in real time. The backlog has been almost entirely cleared and they are moving with more efficiency than ever before.
“I want to thank you, we’ve gotten a lot done really rapidly,” Borough President Richards Jr. said. “I’ve just never seen move[ment] at this pace in my 24th year in government, it’s very powerful.”