Whitestone Residents Protest Proposed High School
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Whitestone residents spent part of their Saturday afternoon passing around a petition and protesting a project that is being considered by the Department of Education.
Two-hundred protestors were on hand in the otherwise quiet enclave of Queens. They loudly suggested the mere suggestion of a new school in their neighborhood, CBS 2's Steve Langford reported.
"This is an inappropriate place for a high school," one protestor shouted.
The consideration of a high school in the tight-knit East River community has been cause for alarm.
"I think it's a terrible idea. I mean I think that we do need a high school. but I don't think we need it here," Lucille Seeto said.
A plan by a developer to build homes on the property appears to have stalled.
"You know what's going to happen. They're going to start busing people in from all over the place and you know this just not the neighborhood for it," Ronnie Mund said.
The Department of Education told CBS 2 that it always conducts a preliminary survey in places where schools are needed.
"This is just one area in the city we are surveying. We go through a public process before there is any approval on a particular site. There has been no official decision to build a school at this site," a department spokesperson said.
For some, even a survey has been too much.
"My home, I put $800-thousand in my home, I knocked it down when it should be worth $2-million. I'm offered $900-thousand, they feel it's a fire sale now," Kevin Shields said.
But, not everyone was opposed to the idea.
"I don't see nothing wrong with it. What's wrong with building schools?" said a person who asked to remain unnamed.
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