Sunset Park residents demand more schools

Sunset Park residents renewed years' worth of efforts to get the city to build new schools in the neighborhood at a community meeting Tuesday. Some schools are filled well above capacity, causing some

News 12 Staff

Nov 25, 2015, 8:44 AM

Updated 3,319 days ago

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Sunset Park residents renewed years' worth of efforts to get the city to build new schools in the neighborhood at a community meeting Tuesday.
Some schools are filled well above capacity, causing some to complain that closets have been used as classrooms. Some community members say the area needs as many as five or six schools to accommodate the overflow of students.
School Chancellor Carmen Farina says the city hasn't found suitable space for new schools in the neighborhood, something that has residents grumbling after developers have built up hotels and high-rises nearby.
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz says that while overcrowding is an issue all over the city, it's particularly a problem in Sunset Park.
He says many young families move into the neighborhood because it's both safe and affordable.