Parents at a Cobble Hill public school are fighting an asbestos abatement project that’s about to start while their kids are still in class.
Angry parents at PS 29 said they only learned about the project late last week, and started pressing Dept. of Education officials to postpone removal of the hazardous substance until school’s out for the summer.
“We are so upset; no one has given us any details about how long this will go on,” said Julian Stysis, 34, a Cobble Hill resident whose 9-year-old child is a 4th grader at the Henry St. school.
Stysis plans to keep his child out of school if the asbestos work goes forward — and says many other parents plan to do likewise.
Stysis said a School Construction Authority official told him the asbestos work won’t be postponed at PS 29 because that would “set a bad precedent.”
DOE spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said the asbestos removal will begin Friday after school hours when all students have left the building. She couldn’t say how long the removal would take.
“Like similar projects across the city the area will be cordoned off and student safety will be our highest priority,” Feinberg said in a statement.
The abatement, scheduled for school nights starting around 6 p.m. when after-school programs end, is part of an 18-month construction project that began in March.
Parents charge the construction frequently spews dust on windows, the schoolyard and playground equipment.
“They’re risking our children’s health; it’s reprehensible,” said Michael Nigro, 45, of Cobble Hill, whose daughter, 11, is a fifth grader at PS 29. “Kids are complaining of sore throats and itchy eyes. Is it allergy season, or is it the dust?”
The city School Construction Authority project involves the demolition and rebuilding of exterior walls and the replacement of the building’s roof and parapet. Asbestos will be removed from around the building’s windows.
“You don’t have to be a scientist to know asbestos is toxic,” City Councilman Brad Lander (D-Cobble Hill) told the Daily News. “Parents don’t have any assurances their kids will be safe.”
Lander called for the asbestos work to be postponed until the school year ends.
So did parents who massed outside the school in protest Monday evening.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who met Monday with a group of PS 29 parents, called for the abatement to be postponed.
“We can’t ever leave parents in the dark when it comes to a child’s safety,” De Blasio said in a statement. “Before the abatement moves forward, let’s get the Department of Education and health experts to sit down with parents this week to lay out the precise steps the City is taking to avoid any health risks.”
lcroghan@nydailynews.com
