Last year, Council Member Holden submitted a proposal for a District 75 special needs school at 78-16 Cooper Ave believing that not only was School Construction Authority Commissioner Lorraine Grillo in favor of the site for a new school, but she also wanted to close PS9, a District 75 School in Maspeth, despite it being in the middle of a $14M renovation. The Council Member also stated at our October 2018 meeting that a deal to build a new school at Cooper Ave was 90% done, and that he was just waiting on Mayor de Blasio’s signature for the project to start winding its way through the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Process. But on August 9th, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza dropped a bomb via a letter to Holden, stating that after having visited PS9 he decided that it would remain where it is and that DOE would spend an additional $16M to make it more handicapped accessible, provide a total renovation of the basement and build new music, sensory, and computer rooms. JPCA has been in favor of schools at both locations because we need more school space in general, especially in District 24. Holden continues to search for a location for a new D75 school.