Science Annex construction will alleviate overcrowding in Midwood High School. On December 15, 2004, the City Council approved a proposal by the New York City School Construction Authority for the construction of a three-story, 45,476 sq.ft. science annex for Midwood High School in Brooklyn. The project site is a 67,600 sq.ft. parcel of City-owned property located across from the existing school on Bedford Avenue. It is currently used as an informal parking lot and play area.

The annex will alleviate the overcrowded high school by providing 340 seats of additional classroom space, as well as updated laboratories and a new library. In 2003 the Independent Budget Office ranked Midwood, operating at 163 percent of capacity, as one of the ten most overcrowded high schools in the City. The project proposal, whose funding is available in the Department of Education’s Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2005-2009, also includes interior modernization of the existing school, renovation of the 49,800 sq.ft. adjacent school yard and a two-story pedestrian bridge connecting the existing school to the annex.

Approval Process: The School Construction Authority, as lead agency, issued a final environmental impact statement on November 1, 2004. Under a State law expediting the City’s school construction projects, only one public hearing before the affected community board is permitted. On December 10, 2003, Community Board 14, the Department of Education’s Office of Community School District Affairs, and the School Construction Authority conducted a joint public hearing, after which Community Board 14 recommended against the construction. Terry Rodie, District Manager for Community Board 14 reported to City- Land that the Community Board was not against having the annex built, but rather against the proposed construction site because it would take open space away from the community. The Planning Commission submitted comments recommending approval.

Council: Midwood High School (December 15, 2005) (Stephen Fried, HLW International LLP, architect). CITYADMIN