DOE Delays Opening Of Manhattan School Building After Electrical Explosion
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York City Department of Education has decided to delay opening a downtown Manhattan school building after an electrical explosion caused the building to catch fire.
A fire was reported at the Washington Irving Campus at 40 Irving Place on East 16th Street in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan at around 11 p.m on Feb. 25.
The building houses six schools, including Gramercy Arts High School, charter school Success Academy Union Square, Academy for Software Engineering, Union Square Academy for Health and Sciences, High School for Language and Diplomacy and International High School.
Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz called the closure of the schools "outrageous," and is calling for other alternatives -- like generators -- to be used to keep the schools open while repairs to the building's electrical system are taking place.
"They're saying school is closed on Monday and you know, potentially for another eight or nine days. It's outrageous, and this is an urgent emergency that needs to be dealt with immediately," Moskowitz told WCBS 880.
No injuries were reported and around 2,000 students were displaced. The students will be relocated to other locations as repairs are being made.