MAYOR DE BLASIO, CHANCELLOR CARRANZA, AND BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT ADAMS ANNOUNCE CITYWIDE MEATLESS MONDAYS

Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, all schools will serve vegetarian menus on Mondays

   Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced all New York City public schools will have “Meatless Mondays” beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. The program, which was first piloted in 15 schools in Brooklyn in Spring 2018, will provide students with healthy, all-vegetarian breakfast and lunch menus every Monday.

“Cutting back on meat a little will improve New Yorkers' health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We're expanding Meatless Mondays to all public schools to keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come.”

“Meatless Mondays are good for our students, communities, and the environment,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “Our 1.1 million students are taking the next step towards healthier, more sustainable lives. Our students and educators are truly leaders in this movement, and I salute them!”

“I stood beside Mayor de Blasio and then-Chancellor Fariña in 2017 to announce that fifteen schools in Brooklyn were undertaking Meatless Mondays. In less than eighteen months, we can announce that Meatless Mondays has spread to more than one million children at every school across the city, putting us on the path to make our kids, communities, and planet healthier,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “I am grateful to Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza, as well as our incredible parent and student advocates who have made this a reality.  I could not be more energized by our progress and more ready to take on the work ahead.”

“Reducing our appetite for meat is one of the single biggest ways individuals can reduce their environmental impact on our planet,” said Mark Chambers, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “Meatless Mondays will introduce hundreds of thousands of young New Yorkers to the idea that small changes in their diet can create larger changes for their health and the health of our planet.”

“Meatless Mondays gives our patients – and now every Department of Education student – the option of a healthier meal choice,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. “I thank Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza and Brooklyn Borough President Adams for championing this healthy choice and allowing our youth the opportunity to add plant-based meals to their diet.”

“Congratulations to Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza, and Brooklyn Borough President Adams for the citywide implementation of Meatless Mondays in our public schools, which contributes to better food and health equity for our students,” said Director of Food Policy Barbara Turk. “Meatless Mondays is one of many positive steps the Department of Education is taking in their broader progress to provide healthy school food, which also includes their leadership in the administration-wide participation of the Good Food Purchasing Program.”

Meatless Mondays is a national movement focused on healthy, environmentally friendly meal options, and it was piloted in 15 Brooklyn schools last year in collaboration with Borough President Eric Adams, who has championed plant-based diets. This fall, the pilot was brought to schools across the City in in order to evaluate student feedback on a broader scale. Through evaluation of participation metrics—which has remained stable—and student feedback, the DOE has decided to officially bring Meatless Mondays citywide for 2019-20. The expansion will be cost-neutral, and the DOE’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services will meet with students to get qualitative feedback before the menu for next fall is finalized.

Meatless Mondays builds on the City’s efforts to provide free, healthy meals to all students.  This initiative will be part of New York City’s Free School Lunch for All, which launched in the 2017-18 school year and provides free, nutritious, healthy breakfast and lunch to all participating New York City schools. In the 2017-18 school year, more than 150 million breakfasts and lunches were served free of charge. Each summer, the DOE provides free breakfast and lunch to any New Yorker under 18 through the Summer Meals program.  Since 2015, New York Thursdays have provided schools with locally sourced or produced food.

New York City has also made strides in making cafeterias eco-friendly and sustainable, including compostable plates rather than polystyrene trays, and placing clearly labeled Recycling Stations in every cafeteria. Since the 2011-2012 school year, 761 schools now take part in the City’s Organic Collection program. The DOE’s Office of Sustainability supports these schools through training for students and staff on proper sorting of organic waste. Of the 761 schools, 108 are Zero Waste Schools, a partnership with the Department of Sanitation which seeks to divert all recyclable and compostable waste in five years, beginning in 2016. Since launch, 144 tons of organic compostable and recyclable waste have been diverted from landfills.

MAYOR DE BLASIO, CHANCELLOR CARRANZA, AND COUNCIL MEMBER BRANNAN HIGHLIGHT NEW BAY RIDGE PRE-K CENTER

New 250-seat pre-K center in Bay Ridge fully equipped with interactive white boards, community meeting room, and multipurpose room

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza, and Council Member Justin Brannan today toured a brand-new pre-K center in Bay Ridge. Opening for the 2018-19 school year, the new three-story, state-of-the-art building will offer seats to more than 250 pre-K students.

“Early childhood education has the power to put kids on the path to success, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “As a parent, I believe that it should be a right – not a privilege - and that all New York City children deserve that opportunity. This new Bay Ridge school is the brick and mortar proof of our commitment to expanding Pre-K for All and ensuring that every young New Yorker has a chance to succeed in school.”

“This building is a concrete testament to our investment in the education of our youngest New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Mayor Phil Thompson. “We are incredibly excited for the students in Brooklyn who will get to learn and play in this brand new space in just a few weeks.”

“Pre-K for All is a game-changer for young students and families across this City, and this new state-of-the-art building will benefit hundreds of Brooklyn students every year,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “In this amazing learning environment, our four-year-olds will get an early start to their educational career that will form the foundation of their long-term academic success.”

The District 20 Pre-K Center at 369 93rd Street is fully ADA-accessible and includes:

•         14 classrooms

•         Interactive white boards 

•         An outdoor playground

•         An indoor multipurpose recreation room

•         A community meeting room

 “This new state-of-the-art school building will bring excitement and an eagerness for learning to hundreds our youngest New Yorkers,” said Lorraine Grillo, President and CEO of the NYC School Construction Authority. “This news space includes all the amenities we expect in a world class education facility, and we are thrilled to open this space up to Bay Ridge families.”

Parents with children enrolled in free, full-day pre-K save an average of $10,000 annually on childcare costs. Additionally, a 2017 NYU study found that Pre-K for All increases the chance that a low-income child in New York City is properly diagnosed with asthma or vision problems and receives screenings or treatment for hearing or vision problems. Independent research from the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity demonstrated high satisfaction with Pre-K for All: 92 percent of families surveyed rated their program as excellent or good, and 83 percent of families said their child learned a lot in pre-K. Across the board, the research shows that both students and families are seeing critical benefits from Pre-K for All.

Pre-K for All and 3-K for All are part of the Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda. Together, the Equity and Excellence for All initiatives are building a pathway to success in college and careers for all students. Our students are starting school earlier, with free, full-day, high-quality education for three-year-olds and four-year-olds through 3-K for All and Pre-K for All; and our schools are strengthening foundational skills and instruction earlier, with Universal Literacy and Algebra for All. Our schools are also offering students more challenging, hands-on, college and career-aligned coursework, as Computer Science for All brings 21st-century computer science instruction to every school, and AP for All works to give all high school students access to at least five Advanced Placement courses. Along the way, our schools are providing students and families additional support through College Access for All, Single Shepherd, and investment in Community Schools. Efforts to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms are central to this pathway.

MAYOR DE BLASIO, CHANCELLOR CARRANZA, BOROUGH PRESIDENT ODDO ANNOUNCE MORE THAN 1,000 NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL SEATS ON STATEN ISLAND

  Former private school building to be acquired by the City and will be converted into new state-of-the-art facility

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza and Borough President James Oddo today announced that the City will acquire the St. John Villa Academy Campus, which the School Construction Authority will convert into a new public school space. The new project is expected to provide families on Staten Island with over 1,000 new seats in the area. The SCA and DOE are working in close partnership to develop a proposal for an educational campus to open on the site in the coming years.

“Schools are sacred places that fundamentally help our kids achieve their full potential and bind our communities together,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This new state-of-the-art facility will allow more than 1,000 children the opportunity to access a high-quality education.”

“Today’s announcement is a big win for parents and students on Staten Island, and will bring hundreds of new high-quality seats to the area,” said Schools Chancellor Carranza. “I’m looking forward to working with the Staten Island community to develop new, state-of-the-art facilities that will create new and exciting learning opportunities for our students.”

“New school buildings are a vital investment in our communities, and I am thrilled that we are going to be able support Staten Island families with this new campus,” said Lorraine Grillo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York City School Construction Authority. “This campus provides seven acres of space for us to build new school buildings that will meet the needs of students and ensure they have access to cutting edge facilities.”

“This is a deeply bittersweet moment because the pain of the St. John Villa family is still palpable, and it will be that way for a long time. I recognize that,” said Borough President Oddo. “The closure of this school will never sit well with some, and I very much understand those deep emotions. As the person responsible to represent the 500,000 people of this borough, I knew what would be even worse than St. John Villa closing would be St. John Villa closing and this bastion of education reduced into an unwanted residential development. We have seen that regrettable scenario play out nearby in recent years. I am pleased the City has stepped up in a big way to acquire this precious space. I will do all I can to ensure the learning that takes place here in the future lives up to the rich tradition of educational excellence of St. John Villa.”

The approximately seven-acre property is conveniently located near the Verrazano Bridge. The DOE will conduct community engagement over the next several months to solicit feedback on the types of schools and programs that would best meet the needs of the district. The DOE and SCA will unveil a proposed plan and timeline for the new facility once the community engagement and final assessment of the condition of the current campus are complete. The City’s signed contract to buy the property is pending final statutory approval.

The City has invested significant resources to increase seat capacity across all school districts. As part of the current Capital Plan, we are investing $4.8 billion to create more than 44,600 seats in overcrowded areas, including 25 new DOE sites with 8,400 new seats since last year, and 14 new locations with 4,650 seats at the start of this school year. From September 2014 to September 2017, the City opened approximately 1,800 seats on Staten Island.

“While I know this is very difficult for the students at Villa, I hope that it gives you all peace of mind that it will continue to be an educational facility. Through this purchase, the legacy of Villa will live on through future generations of students,” said State Senator Diane Savino.

Council Member Steven Matteo said, “This is great news for Staten Island and the East Shore in particular. This purchase not only saves the site from residential development, but allows this facility to continue to be utilized to educate our children – a use for which the Borough President and I have been strongly advocating. I know this is a bittersweet outcome for those in the Villa community, but I hope they will take solace that the campus will remain a home away from home for Staten Island students.”

EDITOR'S NOTE:

  Yes that is great news for the tiny borough of Staten Island where the students are performing better than Bronx public school children. Kudos to the elected officials who represent staten Island which is one quarter the population of the Bronx. 

So Bronx elected officials while Chancellor Caranza admits that he and the mayor know that Bronx public school students are performing lower than the citywide average in overcrowded schools what are you going to do?