SIGN THE PETITION

We are asking all concerned individuals to sign our petition. Each signature will have a direct impact with individual faxes and emails going out to all relevant city, state, and federal officials.

PETITION: SAFE PLAY FOR PS 290

On May 25th, in the wake of another horrific act of violence at an elementary school in Texas, NYC Chancellor David C. Banks addressed the parent community: “The safety of our students continues to be our highest priority.” As parents of elementary school students at PS 290, we recognize how important this priority is for our families and all across the public school system. If the city wants to achieve that goal it MUST find a safe place for our kids to have recess. The answer IS NOT an open street as it is today. The answer SHOULD BE a safe rooftop play space. We’re asking for your help to make it happen.

Recess on an unprotected city street makes our kids 95% more vulnerable to intentional and unintentional acts of violence than other students in the public school system. Yet, with a physical structure that was built in 1903, our school has no stand-alone gym, lacks a converted auditorium, and offers no dedicated indoor play space. To solve for the shortcomings of a century-old design, our kids have recess on the street. During recess hours, the street is OPEN TO PEDESTRIANS, offers LIMITED PROTECTION by the NYPD and school safety agents, and has just three MOVABLE PARADE BARRIERS to stem the flow of traffic.

The protection that a secure rooftop would afford our children is invaluable. Every community member would agree. As parents, we don’t fault the city for the age and design of the school. However, the city has been negligent in failing to take action. The parents of PS 290 have been told “it costs too much,” “the neighbors wouldn’t like it,” and “permitting is impossible.” The city has failed to provide us with bid packets and the SCA has failed to move the project forward for over a decade. We want TRANSPARENCY, we want ACTION, and we want it NOW before a tragedy occurs.

As we witnessed in Texas, tragedy conforms to no geographic bounds. NYC schoolchildren on every street, in every neighborhood, and in every borough deserve a safe place to play. We’re asking for the partnership of the Mayor, School Chancellor, DOE, and SCA to keep our kids safe. We also need the support of the City Council and State Legislature. The only thing worse than a horrific tragedy is to know that it could have been easily prevented. In the case of PS 290, a rooftop play space would SOLVE for the MOST OBVIOUS of security risks at the school.

As Chancellor Banks wrote in his May 25th email, “no parent should have to worry about the safety of their child when they drop them off for school every morning.” The parents of PS 290 ARE WORRIED. Thankfully, with DECISIVE ACTION by the city’s leaders, in response to the CLEAR and VOCAL DEMANDS of local parents, the problem can be remedied with an easy, straightforward, and long-vetted solution: a rooftop play space for PS 290.

Please see our website at www.safeplayforps290.com for more information.

Sincerely,

United Parents of PS 290