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They crossed the roof.
The seemingly endless roof repairs of a Manhattan school building cost millions of dollars and somehow dragged on for ten years-angry parents wanted to restrict the project.
The family of PS 165 on W. 109th Street in the Upper West Side said that since 2011, the School Construction Bureau has installed unsightly scaffolding on their 120-year-old building-without it, children in school would never have seen it. Past this building.
This ruined building also houses the junior high school Mott Hall II.
Parents told the Washington Post that roof repairs-estimated to cost as much as $17 million in the end-attracted pests and drug users who used scaffolding as cover after dark.
Family members say that it is a common sight for rats to run around when picking up and discarding drug paraphernalia at school.
“Roof construction has always been the direct cause of countless quality of life problems on the streets,” said his steaming dad Rodney Mendez (Rodney Mendez). "This should not be our students' first impression of school life. Sadly, this is their normal state."
Mendes pointed out that the U.S. Department of Energy promotes a commitment to the social and emotional well-being of children-but has been burdening students with this disease for many years.
"This is an elementary and middle school, not a random commercial project," Mendes said, adding that community meetings with SCA always end with unfulfilled deadline promises.
Another PS 165 mother said that the constant delays show disrespect for the community.
"They just feel that no one is watching and there is no responsibility," she said. "This is how you get a project that lasts so long. I believe we are not the only ones."
Mendes said SCA blamed the delays on the unique slope of the roof, from wind conditions to incompetent contractors.
Senior teachers just treat scaffolding as a permanent appendage.
"I didn't even notice it," an administrator said. "This has become a joke. It is the same thing for adults, but unfortunately children can't own an ordinary school building."
SCA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz (Kevin Ortiz) acknowledged the concerns of his parents and said that the agency's goal is to complete the project by the summer of 2022.
"This initial effort reveals other structural issues that need to be resolved," he said in a statement. "Masonry and roofing work requires additional contractors, including the installation of new structural steel on the building. We understand the impact on the school and are working hard to complete this important work by the summer of 2022."
Ortiz said that the triangular shape of the roof limits the number of workers who can climb onto the roof at the same time, and that COVID-19 has also caused delays.
He also argued that the rodent problem stems from nearby garbage accumulation, not from buildings.
A representative from the Manhattan Mayor Gale Brewer's office confirmed that parents have been complaining about the duration of the project for years.
A spokesperson said that they will try to contact SCA again.