THE ASSEMBLY

STATE OF NEW YORK CHAIR

Committee on Cities
ALBANY
COMMITTEES
Health
Judiciary
Rules
Ways and Means
EDWARD C. BRAUNSTEIN
Assemblyman 26TH District
Queens County

December 3, 2021

Ms. Meisha Porter, Chancellor

New York City Department of Education
Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Re: Geographic Priority for Queens High School Admissions

Dear Chancellor Porter:

We are writing regarding the Department of Education’s decision to eliminate geographic

priorities in the high school admissions process, effective this coming admissions cycle.

As you are aware, Queens high schools are the most crowded schools in the City of New
York, currently exceeding capacity by nearly 9,000 seats. In Northeast Queens, Bayside
High School is operating at 134%, and Benjamin N. Cardozo High School at 141%,
according to data released by the DOE in the 2019-2020 School Year Enrollment,
Capacity & Utilization Report. While the recent addition of an annex at Cardozo did
alleviate some of the overcrowding, more needs to be done to increase seat capacity in
Queens. This includes the construction of new school buildings at appropriate sites
throughout the borough in order to best serve Queens families.

In addition to the shortage of high school seats in the borough, limited transportation
options remain an issue in Queens. In the eastern portion of the borough, there is no
subway access, and city buses provide lengthy commute times and often unreliable
service. With over 12,000 Queens high school students already commuting to other
boroughs for school, many Queens high school students report commute times of
upwards of two to three hours. Longer commutes impact a student’s ability to participate
in sports, clubs, internships and other extracurricular activities that are important to their
social development and career planning.

DISTRICT OFFICE: 213-33 39TH Avenue, Suite 238, Bayside, New York 11361 • 718-357-3588 FAX 718-357-5947
ALBANY OFFICE: Room 842, Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248 • 518-455-5425 FAX 518-455-4648
EMAIL: braunsteine@nyassembly.gov
 THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK CHAIR
Committee on Cities
ALBANY
COMMITTEES
Health
Judiciary
Rules
Ways and Means
EDWARD C. BRAUNSTEIN
Assemblyman 26TH District
Queens County

The Queens High School Presidents’ Council and Community Education Council of
District 26 (CEC26) recently submitted formal opposition to the decision to eliminate all
forms of geographic priority from the high school admission process, citing many of the
same concerns. All Queens families should have the option to enroll their child in a
school close to home.

With these factors in mind, it is clear that this change disproportionately impacts Queens
students, who are already confronted with overcrowded local schools and longer
commute times. Therefore, we urge the Department of Education to reconsider their
decision to eliminate geographic priority for students in the borough of Queens. We thank
you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Edward C. Braunstein John C. Liu

Member of Assembly Member of Senate

EB/sm

DISTRICT OFFICE: 213-33 39TH Avenue, Suite 238, Bayside, New York 11361 • 718-357-3588 FAX 718-357-5947
ALBANY OFFICE: Room 842, Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248 • 518-455-5425 FAX 518-455-4648
EMAIL: braunsteine@nyassembly.gov