By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Parents laid eyes on the new P.S. 8 annex for the first time Wednesday evening at a PTA meeting, when officials from the School Construction Authority (SCA) and Bostwick Purcell Architects unveiled renderings showing a building closely matching the existing structure in height and feel. P.S. 8, the popular and increasingly overcrowded elementary school in Brooklyn Heights, will be increasing by 18,000 square feet, which will provide roughly 172 new seats.

The annex will be located off Poplar Street in the area currently being used as a parking lot. The bricks will be closely matched and the details will be similar, though slightly more modern, said Mikhail Terushkin, project manager for the SCA, speaking at Wednesday’s meeting.

The annex will include a 2,500-square-foot gym, three classrooms on the first floor, three classrooms on the second floor, and three rooms on the third floor — one classroom, a library and a room that could be used for either a classroom or a science room. The basement level, holding the kitchen and cafeteria, will be reconfigured as well.

“There will be a net gain of seven classrooms after all is said and done,� P.S. 8 Principal Seth Phillips told the Brooklyn Eagle yesterday. “Plus two resource room spaces and one office, and the bathrooms. There will also be an elevator installed which will allow for handicap access.�

“I think that it’s a wonderful compromise,� he said. “We would love to have a little more space but we’re fortunate to be getting the exercise space we need. We’ll be more inclusive, with handicapped-access, and we’re adding more capacity. There will be fewer children per classroom and we’ll probably gain back some of the rooms we’ve lost over the past three years — the science, music and art rooms.� Phillips said facilities in the building, such as the heating system, would also be updated.

“We’re downright fortunate,� he said. “But it comes with a price. The construction will take three years; we’ll be losing a parent room and the art room, there will be dust and noise. It’s going to be a couple of hard years; we understand that. But the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term issues.�

The School Construction Authority estimates the cost to be $15 to 20 million.

Plan Deals With Overcrowding

P.S. 8, once shunned by local parents, has been increasingly popular since Phillips and other new staff members were appointed in March of 2003 by then-Deputy Schools Superintendent Carmen Fariña, in fulfillment of a firm pledge, made at an annual meeting of the Brooklyn Heights Association, to turn the school around.

Now, as State Assemblywoman Joan Millman said in July when the annex was announced, “People are banging down the doors to get into P.S. 8.�

SCA officials said that construction could start as early as August — but an exact date could not be nailed down as the project is still in the bidding process.

The entire project, which will take place in three stages, should be completed by July 2011. Noise abatement procedures will be put in place to minimize noise, but students will lose their outdoor play area for at least a year, SCA officials said.

“When they break ground, it will be terrific,� said P.S. 8 PTA co-president Joanne Singleton. “The PTA and the school administration are being very proactive. The project will get us to where we have to get to and make sure everything is there for the kids.�

The PTA’s executive board met with the SCA and was told “There’s a safety person who keeps a close eye on things,� said Singleton. “They’re very concerned about some of the issues we are concerned with. It will take a lot of coordination — the faculty and staff are very aware what’s required for them to make this as unproblematic as possible.

“It’s a win-win for the children,� Principal Phillips said. “It will be a tough couple of years, but what’s nice is that everything’s being done for the kids.� Phillips said it was “great working with the people at the SCA and the architects. It’s all centered around the kids.�

Last summer Councilman David Yassky pushed to build an annex large enough to house a much-needed middle school at the same site. Since DOE already committed to build an annex at the site, “Why not try to build P.S. 8 as big as you can?� said Jake Maguire, spokesperson for Yassky.

But School Construction Authority President Sharon Greenberger, at a July press conference revealing plans for the new annex, announced the city’s support for a middle school at Dock Street in DUMBO instead.

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