Bloomberg and chancellor Klein unveil construction and opening of 26 new schools; Managed by SCA and funded through $13.1 billion school capital plan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools chancellor Joel Klein opened 26 new school locations, adding more than 17,000 new seats for the 2010-11 school year. The new buildings, annexes and leased spaces represent the most new classroom seats to come on line in one year since the School Construction Authority (SCA) was created in 1988 - putting the Department of Education on track to add nearly 100,000 new school seats across the city by 2013. The 80,000 new seats already created since 2003 are reducing pockets of overcrowding and ensuring that students have the opportunity to learn in modern facilities fully equipped to prepare them for success. The mayor and chancellor were joined at the newly-constructed Mott Haven Educational Campus by Housing and Urban Development regional administrator Adolfo Carrión, Jr., deputy mayor for Education and Community Development Dennis Walcott, Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz, Jr., state senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., assemblyman Michael Benjamin, councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo, deputy chancellor for operations Kathleen Grimm and SCA president Lorraine Grillo. "Today we are reaffirming our commitment to the future of our city's schools," said Bloomberg. "Modernizing our schools is a part the bold education reforms that have helped turn around the public school system here in N.Y.C. Thanks to strong support from the state and city council, we are in the midst of the largest school construction effort in N.Y.C. history." "Since the beginning of this Administration, we've made it a top priority to fix how school construction is done in this city," said Walcott. "As a result, we've consolidated our school construction efforts to get the most value for taxpayers, and targeted our capital planning to the neighborhood level. It's thanks to these efforts, and the close partnerships we've fostered with local community groups and elected officials, that we are able to celebrate the largest number of new school seats coming online in over twenty years." "We've already seen historic levels of new school construction under the Bloomberg administration, and this year is no different," said Klein. "These new state-of-the-art school facilities will provide New York City students outstanding educational environments for years to come. I want to thank all of the dedicated staff at the SCA, as well as our partners in city and state government for providing the resources we need to keep building great new schools for our children." The Mott Haven Educational Campus covers nearly nine acres and is the largest public school construction project to be completed since the city created the SCA. The newly-constructed, 280,000 s/f facility will be the home to more than 2,300 students, most of them secondary school students. The campus includes three district high schools, two charter school programs for elementary and high school grades, and one District 75 special education program. New Explorers High School, Urban Assembly for Careers in Sports, Bronx Leadership Academy II High School, Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Academy Charter School, and the District 75 program will permanently stay on the Mott Haven Campus. KIPP New York City College Prep Charter High School will temporary locate on the campus until a permanent location is identified. Design efforts for the Mott Haven Educational Campus began in 2005 in close collaboration with South Bronx Churches - an affiliate of Metro Industrial Areas Foundation (Metro IAF). The campus includes multiple gymnasiums and science labs, an outdoor football field, and auditorium and cafeteria space that all schools will share. "This wonderful mayoral announcement of 17,000 new school seats at the start of the school year demonstrates the importance of education in this great city," Carrión. "It is no secret that high quality schools are an integral part of any healthy and vibrant community, and, as such, our most important investment. That is why today's announcement is so significant: it reconfirms the mayor's and chancellor's commitment to ensuring that our children receive the best education possible." "The New York City Council is pleased that 17,000 new seats are coming online in September as both replacement seats and to help address some of the overcrowding problems in certain areas of the city," said city council speaker Christine Quinn. "This is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to eliminate overcrowding and reduce class size citywide. I want to thank SCA, DOE and my colleagues for their continued collaboration and diligent work in improving our schools." "It is always worth celebrating the opening of new schools in the Bronx, and the announcement of four brand new, long-awaited high schools at the Mott Haven Campus is welcome news in this community and the entire Bronx," said Diaz. "These new schools have been a priority of my office for years, and I am happy that this long held dream of a vibrant Mott Haven Campus has become a reality. I thank mayor Bloomberg, chancellor Klein and the SCA for making the development of this new campus a priority, and I look forward to working closely with the schools that will be housed here." "It's another great day in the Bronx as we open the Mott Haven Education Campus. Mott Haven, The Eagle Academy for Young Men, and the other new schools opening across the city, are in response to the needs of New York families," said Benjamin. "As New York continues educate future American leaders, we will do so by building state-of-the-art, energy efficient classrooms. Mayor Bloomberg, chancellor Klein and the School Construction Authority must be commended for their ability to begin a school year with a record number of new seats." "By targeting out school construction efforts in the neighborhoods that need them most, we are able to relieve pockets of overcrowding and invest our capital dollars wisely," said Grillo. "The Mott Haven Campus, and all of our other projects opening this year, are a real testament to the hard work of our design and construction teams at the SCA, as well as our partners in the architecture and construction communities." "We are proud to partner with the Department of Education on the Mott Haven Educational Campus just as we are proud to partner with them on all development," said Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. "This project is just one example of the quality work we provide to build a city for future generations of New Yorkers to enjoy." Over the last seven years, the city has lowered the cost of building new schools, improved construction efficiency, and implemented a comprehensive capital planning process that ensures school construction keeps pace with student demand. Through these efforts, more than 80,000 new school seats have been constructed since 2003, including 19,198 in the Bronx, 18,900 in Brooklyn, 16,900 in Manhattan, 30,233 in Queens, and 4,669 in Staten Island. The city now projects school enrollment down to the neighborhood, taking into account pockets of population growth and housing development within school districts, so that taxpayer dollars are being effectively spent in the areas with the greatest need for investment. The SCA manages new school construction and renovation of the city's existing school buildings. Construction of these nearly 17,000 new seats was funded through the $13.1 billion school capital plan of 2005-09. Funded equally by the city and state, it's been one of the largest school construction efforts in New York history, and has enabled the SCA to renovate 86% of public school buildings throughout the five boroughs. Since 2002, the city has: * Reduced pockets of overcrowding in every borough * Reduced the price per square foot for construction by the equivalent of 28% (adjusted for inflation) * Implemented aggressive "green" building standards to ensure our new school buildings are environmentally-sound * Conducted renovations in over 86% of our school buildings * Funded the construction of 280 science labs Some of the 26 new locations will be new homes for existing schools. Others will house schools that are opening for the first time in September. The Mott Haven Campus, for example, will be home to both existing and new school organizations. There are also new additions or annexes for schools that are expanding.