Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2001
Release #151-01

Contact: Sunny Mindel/Matt Higgins
(212) 788-2958


MAYOR GIULIANI ATTENDS GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW
LAW ENFORCEMENT HIGH SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTER
TO BE BUILT IN SOUTH JAMAICA, QUEENS

$80 Million School to Feature State-of-the-Art Lab and other Facilities
First New School Facility Built under New Accelerated Funding Initiative
Construction Completion Date Pushed Up by One Year

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani attended a groundbreaking ceremony today for a new $80 million dollar high school that will prepare students to pursue careers in law enforcement. The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) and the New York City Board of Education (BOE) have entered into a partnership with the Police Athletic League (PAL) to build the 897-seat high school and community center. The new High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety/Police Athletic League (PAL) Community Center will be located on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and 116th Avenue in South Jamaica, Queens.

"This high school will afford our students with a unique opportunity to learn about the fascinating world of law enforcement. They will have first-hand experiences in the various disciplines of law enforcement, including the forensic sciences," Mayor Giuliani said. "With the accelerated funding plan I announced in January, this school will open one year ahead of schedule."

Joining the Mayor at the groundbreaking ceremony were Claire Shulman, Queens Borough President; Joseph J. Lhota, Deputy Mayor for Operations; Anthony P. Coles, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Education and Cultural Affairs; Robert M. Morgenthau, Chairman of the Board, Police Athletic League; Howard Wilson, Chairman, School Construction Authority; and John Lee, Superintendent of High Schools, Queens.

Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, who contributed $5 million dollars toward the construction of the school, said, "This is an exciting project that we have supported for a long time. Hopefully, it will give youngsters the opportunity to explore various careers in law enforcement."

Construction on the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety is scheduled to begin this spring, with a projected completion date set for September 2003. The high school was put on a fast track after Mayor Giuliani announced in his State of the City Address in January that funding was being accelerated for 12 new school facilities which are included in the Board of Education's 5-year Capital Plan.

"Nearly $360 million in funding has been accelerated to provide 6,800 new seats for our children," the Mayor said. "This is the first new school construction project to benefit from the new funding schedule."

"There is a trend in the City to build high schools with a theme. The goal is to expose students to potential career options early on," said SCA President and C.E.O. Milo Riverso. SCA is gearing up to build the High School of Law, Government and Justice in the Bronx, and a Hospitality Careers High School in Queens.

This is the first collaborative venture between the New York City School Construction Authority, the Board of Education and the Police Athletic League. The school will be a dual-use school, providing students with state-of-the-art facilities, including the first forensic science lab in any New York City school. The residents of South Jamaica will also get a new community center that will be open at night and on weekends.

The new high school will feature a forensic science lab that will contain an array of high tech equipment. It will be designed to help prepare students who intend to pursue careers in law enforcement. SCA will install equipment that is nearly identical to that contained in some FBI labs. Students will learn to work with The Fuming Chamber, which exposes latent fingerprints left on various objects; The Prep Station, which reveals fingerprints on objects dusted with powder; and The Gas Chromatograph, which analyzes substances and provides students with a breakdown of their chemical properties.

The High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety will also contain an EMS training room that will be equipped with the most up-to-date life-saving equipment. In addition, there is a mock courtroom, where students will experience the judicial process.

This is the first time a New York City school building will be home to PAL, a non-profit group. PAL is planning a comprehensive community center encompassing programs for children, teens, adults and senior citizens. Activities at the PAL center will include sports, education and performing arts. The facility will consist of office space; a boxing ring; a professional gym; and an auditorium, which will be shared with the high school. The Police Athletic League is contributing the land for the school.

"PAL believes that this combination of a high school and a comprehensive PAL center will prove to be a tremendous asset to this community and to the positive development of its youth," said Dr. John Ryan, Executive Director of PAL " It could become a national model."

SCA will also construct a quarter-mile running track on the roof of the school. This will be the first such running track in the City school system. It will measure approximately 100 feet by 70 feet and will have rubberized flooring.

The architectural designer, Jim Polshek of the Polshek Partnership, also designed the Rose Center at The American Museum of Natural History among many other buildings in New York and around the country. Design Principal Susan Rodriguez said, "The High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety and the Police Athletic League community center come together in a new model facility. Our design seeks to create a dynamic focal point for the neighborhood, while expressing the individual identity of each of the institutions. Collaborating with the School Construction Authority, Police Athletic League and Board of Education, we have created an environment that accommodates the specific programmatic needs of each institution, yet unifies these programs into an exciting new building for the South Jamaica community."

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