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Construction began at a Brooklyn elementary school four years ago to make its building more accessible for students with disabilities.
A new entrance ramp was among the projects at Red Hook’s P.S. 15, where more than 62% of the students have disabilities.
But the seemingly straightforward construction project has not yet been completed. The first attempt had to be ripped apart after it did not meet federal standards. And the replacement ramp is still under construction, said Katina Rogers, a Brooklyn mom and president of the local parent education council advising on District 15’s needs.
Parents were frustrated that the city paid $11 million for the project, which included window replacements and exterior work, despite the work remaining unfinished — and building conditions were worse than when the project started, they said.
“For that to be happening in an underserved community, it’s really a problem,” Rogers said.
The failed ramp project at P.S. 15 is just one example of lengthy delays, shoddy work, and cost overruns for projects overseen by the School Construction Authority, according to more than a dozen interviews with parents, a former high school student, and elected officials. The problems at the agency have sparked widespread concerns among parents and educators. Over the past two years, at least seven elected parent boards have called for stricter oversight or asked the City Council to create a task force to reform the agency.
Many parent leaders worry the agency is buckling under the weight of its responsibilities: Beyond building improvement and renovation projects, the School Construction Authority is managing an estimated $18 billion effort to add seats to help the city comply with the state’s class size reduction law.
Another ramp at a Manhattan school had to be fixed four times in less than two years. And a Queens school has been waiting for more than a year for a building inspection so it can install air conditioning and fix auditorium chairs.
Manhattan’s District 3 Community Education Council, covering the Upper West Side and part of Harlem, said in a resolution last year that School Construction Authority delays have left many of its schools under scaffolding for years, “negatively impacting student learning, school operations, and community wellbeing.”
Because school leaders don’t have authority over these projects, it leaves “principals and families uninformed and without recourse.”
The Community Education Councils, volunteer boards whose duties include recommending improvements to school buildings, say vacancies at the agency have hobbled its operations.
The mayor is responsible for appointing all three trustees to the agency, but Mayor Eric Adams didn’t appoint the final member for nearly two years. The agency announced Elizabeth Bergin, former vice president of capital plan management at the SCA, as its third appointee in April. The agency has more than 90 vacancies, representing less than 9% of its total headcount, officials said. More than half of the vacancies are roles that require specific technical knowledge, including certain licenses. Officials said the agency is actively recruiting to fill the open roles.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has pledged to fill empty positions at the agency, saying the vacancies make it difficult to address overcrowding in schools.
Agency officials said they look for ways to save time and offset unplanned delays of their capital improvement projects, whether the work is for exterior or interior upgrades and other necessary capital repairs. They also noted that construction must take place after school hours, typically from 4 p.m. to midnight, for safety reasons.
“The SCA works diligently to complete this work as efficiently and unobtrusively as possible, while maintaining the highest standards of safety for students and staff,” SCA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said in an email. “In instances where [capital] projects experience delays, they are often due to the discovery of additional repair needs or unforeseen field conditions that impact the project’s scope and timeline.”
SCA oversees a huge portfolio with thousands of contractors
The School Construction Authority was created by the state in 1988, replacing the Board of Education’s Division of School Facilities, as an independent authority responsible for construction projects at public schools. There still is a Division of School Facilities that is separate from the SCA and oversees routine maintenance and smaller repair projects. (Charter schools do not rely on SCA to complete construction projects.)
The SCA tracks the progress of its capital improvement projects, which could include building a new single-occupancy bathroom, upgrading a swimming pool, or constructing a ramp. In 2024, more than half, or 57%, were not completed on time, according to public data.
In contracting projects, SCA chooses the lowest qualified bidder (and the contractor can find a subcontractor) that will finish the construction project. The SCA currently has roughly 2,100 contractors, according to NYC OpenData.
Depending on the size and type of project at a school, the School Construction Authority conducts routine inspections. That process has resulted in lengthy delays and complaints from school communities.
Queens resident Shirley Lee has fond memories of attending P.S. 21 almost 30 years ago. Today, the school’s auditorium bakes in the heat and has jagged metal sticking out of some of the chairs.
Lee, vice president of the Community Education Council in District 25, said funding was approved more than a year ago to install air conditioning and fix the chairs, but the School Construction Authority has yet to inspect the place.
“They do kindergarten graduations there,” she said. “How is that safe?”
Roughly 10% of the over 100 auditorium chairs are damaged, with cautionary tape blocking them off, Queens mom Christine Huang estimated.
“We were never able to get a straight answer for why nothing was being done,” Huang said about the SCA. The delays in school construction projects angered her so much, she decided to join the district’s education council and push for changes.
Noah Harlan, a member of Manhattan’s Community Education Council in District 1, said his daughter and other students have been unable to use parts of the playground at NEST+m, a school on the Lower East Side, for nearly two years because of multiple construction projects.
The construction authority has renovated the school’s ramp, which lines the building’s entrance, four times in less than two years, Harlan said. But blocking off the ramp disrupts dismissal for roughly 1,600 K-12 students. He noted after-school pick-up can get chaotic.
“When the ramps are closed, [the students] are all forced into the same areas, and it’s not ideal to have 12th graders and kindergarten students all transiting the same space,” Harlan said.
Parents demand more transparency and oversight
Parents and education council resolutions have proposed the School Construction Authority create a public dashboard to track progress and delays for projects. There are currently over 6,000 planned or ongoing projects, according to the agency’s spokesperson.
Council member Vickie Paladino said her colleagues on the City Council haven’t done enough to address issues with the construction authority. Her office has earmarked roughly $15 million since 2022 for school projects, and she wants a better accounting of the spending.
Rita Joseph, who chairs the Council’s education committee, told Chalkbeat she plans to convene a hearing about the agency next year.
“We will continue to push to make sure that there’s transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility as well,” she said.
Rogers’ Brooklyn parent council suggested the agency participate in community listening sessions. Another parent council in Manhattan believes the construction authority needs to appoint a coordination team to improve communication between schools and families.
The agency said it’s looking into engaging with school communities early in a project to develop “realistic and flexible” plans.
Ananya Chetia is a reporting intern with Chalkbeat NY. Contact the team at ny.tips@chalkbeat.org.
