Astoria, NY
Senator Michael Gianaris, a proud graduate of Long Island City High School, joined Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, fellow elected officials, students, parents and teachers to fight a DOE plan that would hurt the school. After attempting to close down the school altogether just last year, the DOE now wants to co-locate a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) school within LICHS.

Senator Gianaris wrote a letter to the DOE opposing the plan earlier this month, and he spoke at LICHS during a public hearing on the plan and at a rally beforehand to give a voice to the community’s opposition to this ill-conceived idea.

“After failing to close our school entirely last year, DOE is now trying to achieve the same result surreptitiously despite LIC’s steady improvement,” said Senator Gianaris. “We should be celebrating the improvements this school has made and working to make LIC the best high school it can be.
Putting tech programs in western Queens is a great idea; let’s make it happen in a way that helps our current students instead of cutting seats and making their classrooms even more crowded.”

“We've rallied in the past to keep LICHS open, and now it is a proud school on the rise,” said Assemblywoman Simotas. “Putting this impressive progress at risk by co-locating another school in the same building is unacceptable and unfair to current and future students. I am proud to stand with parents, teachers, students, and fellow elected officials to urge the PEP
to reject this proposal.”

Senator Gianaris has fought to make Long Island City and all of western Queens an innovation hub as tech jobs grow in New York City, and he supports the idea of CTE programs in our community as long as they are not at the expense of our current students. At the hearing he suggested DOE place a tech program in LICHS for existing students.

The Panel for Education Policy is expected to vote on this proposal on October 30th. Senator Gianaris urges the PEP to vote against this plan, and will continue to fight for Long Island City High School.

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