Good evening everyone. My name is Stephanie Bonija and I am your co-chair for capacity and utilization committee. I will be introducing my co-chair Mr. Craig Spencer and he will be doing interpretation
announcements. >> Happy Wednesday everybody. Hope you're all safe and well. It's a beautiful day outside. First Wednesday of spring. I'm proud to be the co-chair of the uh citywide council for district 75 capacity and utilization committee.
My name is Craig Spencer. I'm a former co-president of this committee. My daughter's a proud graduate of uh Brooklyn Studio School. uh 2023 and I'm happy to be here uh and in support and making sure what's works best for my daughter works best for
everybody that comes behind. At this time um we're going to um just off first and foremost we're going to have a presentation from folks from Bronx facilities just so you guys know what we're we're what our agenda is for tonight. And before we do so we're going
to introduce our interpreters because English is not the only language. So, uh, blind folks in the Spanish line, can you please introduce yourselves and put yourselves, uh, your information in the chat? Thank you. saych. announcement. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Flores. Thank you for your time and your consideration and your support for our community. Uh folks in the Mandarin line, please introduce yourselves and put your information in the chat. Thank you. >> Good evening everyone. Here's the mandarin announcement. How
ID Fore announcement complete. >> Thank you so much Miss Child. Thank you for your time and your consideration and support for our community. Bang Bangley uh Bangley Interpretation, you guys are up. Thank you so much for your time once again and put your information in the
chat. Bengali announcement is completed. >> Thank you, Miss Hussein. Thank you very much once again. Uh and uh our information in terms of contacting this committee uh the email address is ccd75capacitygmail.com.
uh you know, reach out to us with all your concerns. Um I'm going to turn it over to my fellow co-chair uh second vice president Boner to introduce our presenters for today. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Spencer. Just to note for
the record 607 interpretation started. Now I would like to make a announcement and a introduction. I would like to introduce Bronx Division Building Facilities, Miss Alexandra Cruz
and Mr. Carman Ferrer. >> How you doing? >> Good evening, everybody. >> Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening. First and foremost, um Stephanie, thank you so much for this opportunity to to
highlight the Bronx team and what we're doing here in in you, Alex. >> Well, for right now, I'm going to be sharing my screen with you guys. I do have a presentation situated for you guys, but best believe that I will be meeting with you guys whenever we need
to take a look at a school. if there's any concerns, I will be one of your go-to people to help you and support what's going on in our school communities. So, you will see my face more than maybe you might like to, but I'm here for you guys, but allow me to
get this opportunity to bring my presentation up on the screen for you all. >> No problem. Thank you so much again for your time and coming today to um be able to give this information for our our parents.
Absolutely. Um I do have separate from uh Carmine, our burough director, I have another colleague of mine, Joshua McGinness, who's on here. But I just for the sake of everyone's time, I just want to take this opportunity to present to you who we are, what we do, and some of
the areas we are focusing on as a unit to improve our schools and building operations. So just so that way we are a better understanding of what's going on between DSF and SCA because you guys know
there's a lot of activity in our buildings when it comes to construction, maintenance, and repairs. So just so everyone is aware, the Division for School Facilities, this is our mission statement. We are dedicated to providing a safe, clean and comfortable environment that is conducive in
educating and nurturing our children in the most economical and efficient manner possible. We are p excuse me we are primarily responsible for maintenance repairs and the safe efficient operation for all of our facilities under the New
York City school system. So how does that different us differentiate us from the SCA? Let me just clarify that for you guys. Now again, we are part of the school community just like the students, the
staff, the principles, the admin. We we are on site with you guys. We are handling the day-to-day maintenance operations, the repairs doing minor improvements. We have our staff that's in the building. We'll do short-term fixes, ongoing building
operations like, you know, maintaining our heating systems, maintaining our cooling systems, our ventilation, our overall cleanliness. And this is all confined within an operating budget. Whereas the school construction authority, they do the large-scale
construction, they do these big, massive capital projects, they'll build the new schools, they'll do the major renovations. Um, and this is all coming from capital funding. The rule of thumb for the most part is we are responsible and
maintaining what the SEA constructs or installs. So, the DSF has multiple people that are managing various different repairs and projects at our schools. Let me break it down to you guys. So, as an overview, I
know we're focusing specifically on their D75 sites, but just so everyone is aware, any New York City public school building, we are managing. And we are comprised of one burrow director, we have a maintenance planner, we have a
burough contract manager, you have our lovely deputy directors who for the most part for for parents and principles are the go-tos to make things happen at our buildings. And then we have our custodian engineers who have our cleaners, handymen, firemen, and
engineers that are actually in the bo the buildings itself. Now, all of these employees are unionbased. We have some that are part of the local 94, 32BJ, and local 891.
Now, let's take this as an opportunity really to highlight the people that are going to be your go-tos when it comes to advocating for your schools. Now, our de our deputy directors lead with purpose. We again I don't want to
you know use the same words over and over but ultimately we are going to be the voice for you guys when it comes to any major improvements, any major renovations, any upgrades. We will be the ones to align the resources and
drive the work that ultimately transforms our schools into the safer, stronger learning environments that we're all trying to accomplish. But I do want to take this as another opportunity to to focus on the fact that we are under new leadership separate
from the fact that we got a new chancellor. You know that org chart has kind of changed. I understand that we have a new D75 superintendent. But I want to highlight our new Bronx director, Carmine Ferrer, who again is on this call. He is a Bronx native who
rose through the ranks of the New York City public schools and he represents what's possible when dedication meets opportunity. I've been working in operation building operations for quite some time and one of the things that I love about his
leadership is that he leads with a purpose and he has personal ties to the burrow cuz he was born and raised here. He's part of the school system and he is so adamant about making the necessary improvements to not just create stronger
and safer learning spaces for every student, but making sure that it's aligned with the school community. What another thing that I love to highlight about him is that he has a deep mechanical expertise and a proven ability to build strong relationships
wherever he goes when it comes to every single school. He's he previously was in district 8, so some of you guys are are already aware of some of the work and and the things that he's accomplished in district 8, but at this time as our new director, he is leading the work directly from the front and setting a
new standard for impact across this entire burrow. Now, that comes with a great team at the same time. I will talk a little bit about myself. I am a proud Bronx resident with nearly seven years of service within the
New York City Department of Education. My background comes from healthc care operations where you already know the department of health is getting involved, the state is involved. Things are super critical. I transitioned into school facilities because ultimately I believe our schools are more than just
buildings. There are second homes for our students. Now, what makes this work especially meaningful is that the many of the schools I now support are the same ones I attended as a student. It's kind of surreal. It's a full circle moment that deepens my commitment to this work. And I'm driven to invest in
the future of the Bronx communities by ensuring our learning environments are safe, functional, and built to support every single student's success. So I have a lovely picture of a few of my other colleagues that are in the
district throughout the burrows. Um some of you guys have already seen them in action working with your principles collaborating some of the efforts or the projects that we can accomplish at your schools. I have for district 7 Joshua McInness.
I have I am now overseeing district 8 and 11. We have Guy Benhatreat who's in district 9. Kurt Muscarelloo who's in district 10, Tony Howard, which Stephanie you're very much familiar with because you've been working with him. Um
he oversees some schools in district 11. And then Anthony Rayo who is in district 12. I'm putting all the contacts here, but I can also share that in the chat with everyone. But if you're ever not sure
who's the right person to contact for which specific location, cuz I understand that D75 schools are in multiple places, so you might be in various different districts. I can always be the go-to to support you at whatever location and get you into the
right contacts for the right appropriate people. Now, I don't want to talk about citywide initiatives and the things that are going on as far as in other burrows. I want to just take this as an opportunity to talk about what we're doing here in
the Bronx. Now, with our new leadership, we're collaborating effectively with city agencies. We have developed a very talented team and we're doing whatever we can in exhausting all of our efforts possible to create better schools every
single day. It's a daily conversation that we're having and we're always prior see let me let me just clarify our primary focus are always on the students but we have a strong emphasis for our D75 students. So, I want you guys to
understand, yes, although we encompass everything when it comes to school facilities, we like to emphasize what we can do for our special needs students, which for the most part Stephanie can share with you some of the things that
we've collaborated on in district 11 and now we're just trying to take this burrowwide. So, some of the areas of focus now again, we are looking at >> how we started a little bit our relationship We can talk about that in in in the next few minutes when I talk about the
examples. Yeah. >> Yes. Because that was the examples that that how we got to where we are. >> Yeah. And honestly, I think this collaboration between you initially with district 11 and then now citywide, I
think we're going to make even better things happen for for as many schools as possible. Some of the things that we've talked about, you and me, Stephanie, are some of the areas of focus that we are emphasizing burrowwide. I know it was brought up the safer
access installations. I can talk specifically about in the Bronx. In the Bronx, for right now, we're about almost 100% completed with this week. Two additional D75 locations. There was a new one that opened up on White Plains
Road. They are in the process of getting their safer access completed this week. And then the main site for 12, which is located in the Westchester Square area, they're getting an additional safer access to support the
schools because of the school buildings because it's it's a little bit different. It's a little bit intricate the way that things are that the kids can't go to both sides of the building. So, we're supporting and getting safer access installed here. Now just so everyone is aware this is one thing that
it is citywide when it comes to safer access. The safer access is getting installed as DSF we are providing the opportunity and the access to get the installations completed. Part of the installations being completed does
include staff training. Once the completion and the the installation is done, this now becomes under the jurisdiction of DOE IT services. So if we run into a
situation that we feel that the safer access has been completed, but we're having problems with it, this is when we need to get involved with it. Now, if you're not necessarily sure, we can always find out for you what's the status and what's going on. Just reach out to us. We're happy to support
getting you guys any of the necessary information that you may or may not need. And bear with us. We know schools based off of the building code. We may not necessarily know the or code. So, as long as you give us the address of the school location in question, we can
support it. Now, as you see here, we have a few different areas of focus. One of the things that again I just want to make sure that everyone understands we are emphasizing the D75 schools. So safer access installations we we already
know that that the gened schools are are are okay but being that Stephanie had brought it up to my attention that this was something of a concern for the CEC. All of us deputy directors we reviewed all of our D75 locations. anything that needed to be modified as far as repairs,
we are supervising and making sure that they are completing the installation as designed with respect to the fact that the staff are being trained appropriately. Separate from working with IT and the the DOE initiative to provide safe
access, we are also working with space planning to help with the restructuring of coll-located buildings and doing what we can to convert the instructional spaces that D75 needs so that way it can be conducive to the actual instruction
that's going to be taking place in such space. Now staff development. We are in the process of getting new custodians for for our D75 locations. Not all of them have a permanent custodian right
now. We are working to make sure that we have the appropriate people that are tra uh trained and developed to actually manage appropriate their locations. Now, as far as sustainability initiatives, you guys already know for the most part, New York State is trying
to be zero emissions. So, we're creating ways to improve our older buildings and seeing how can we optimize or improve the equipment separate from just lighting. Um, and this means, you know, getting better boilers or if we need to
get better ventilation or or better cooling. We're we're looking at different ways to try to be efficient when it comes to our energy usage in our buildings because that's part of our future too and our students. Now again, there are some things that
happen citywide that impacts our schools tremendously. And that means we have to get creative with partnering up with some of these city agencies that can ultimately disrupt our day-to-day like for example
like KED with power outages or anything like that. So, we are working to connect with the appropriate people within these city agencies to build great relationships so that way we can make sure that we are not shutting down schools because of loss of some type of
utility. And I'm going to and I have an opportunity to share with you guys some of the ways that we've gotten creative with emergency support with city agencies. Now, one of the things that uh Stephanie has been very adamant and vocal about are bathroom upgrades.
Bathroom upgrades are something that we are collaborating with SCA, the office of accessibility, and Carmine is helping us get creative in more ways than one to ultimately improve the bathrooms that we
have for our students. Separate from that, our PA spaces. It's not just for for our general students. Our our students need to make sure that they have access to these spaces and it and it works out for them as well. So, we're looking at cafeterias,
auditoriums, gymnasiums. Some of the other things that we've noticed that have been stagnant ever since the pandemic are some of these resoas, these grants that these principles are acquiring for their schools. We are slowly but surely
getting a couple of these projects to manage ourselves directly so that way we can actually make them happen. SCA referrals. So again, going back to what I talked about previously when it comes to how do we differentiate from
the SEA, we have a maintenance budget. They have capital funding, but we will be the ones to put a focus or put an emphasis on something that is needed at a school. We will get our trades, we
will get our contractors, we will get our deputy directors involved with investigating and creating reports to share with the SCA how important it is to get these repairs or something replaced in a building. And so far with
our new leadership, we're making a lot of these repairs or installations or upgrades happen. One of them includes a school um X160 in District 11. um where we have routine power outages
in in that neighborhood. So, fortunately with my director, we were able to create a referral to to to the SCA to let them know that we need to make sure that we create an emergency lighting system with a generator to support that school in the event that they're run they're
losing power because of the type of neighborhood that it is. And we we keep that school running without any interruptions. And again, that goes into our emergency support. Not only are we trying to emphasize certain capital improvements
needed to the SCA, we're also talking to the city agencies about what is needed to support us in maintaining the operations at those buildings. And then on top of that, we are getting creative ourselves to figure out ways that we can make sure that we do not impose on the
students and what they're trying to learn at their second homes. I like to consider schools second homes because that's where the students are spending a lot of their time. So that's the that's the attention and the care that I give it. That's their second home. So from power disruptions to system
failures, we are focused on creating solutions that not only make sense but ultimately keep us going. So, as you can see here, because of some of the work that we've been doing with ConEd, we had schools
recently where manholes exploded or, you know, the the the wire the electrical wiring outside on the street has caught on fire and that completely turned off all the power and everything at a school building. the way that my team is
currently running, we are doing whatever we can to make sure that the next school day, you guys are fully operational without any hiccups. And as you can see here, we will work with KHED to get us a generator from
them to support the school. But separate from that, we're also looking at getting our own generators because at this point, the students are who we need to make sure are safe and they have a building that they can leverage to get what they need and we will do whatever
it can possible to make it happen. So Steph, this is where you and I talked about some collaborating our efforts, but I ultimately feel wholeheartedly that together we achieve more. And we value the voices of our school communities, especially the parents,
especially the students, especially the principles because the best ideas come from the people that are closest to the work that's happening. by listening, collaborating, taking action, whether it's I get a phone call late at night, Alex, I want to talk about this school.
I'm I'm we're here. We turn feedback into real improvements that directly benefit our students. So, as you can see here, I've had principles and I've had parents come to me about how can we improve bathrooms? How can we incorporate travel training? How can we
incorporate just more personifying classrooms that my my kid is in? So, this is just some of the examples of the work that we'll do. Yes, we are within a budget. However, we will figure out ways to get creative as we advocate for the
capital funding to make it happen. So just so that way you guys understand for the upcoming spring break what we are emphasizing with you know respect and support with SCA office of accessibility
you and other city agencies like DOT we're going to be working on room conversions again making classrooms for D75 students more conducive to the instruction that they're receiving. Our director has been adamant about
trying to figure out ways that we can replace window units, especially in the D75 classrooms. Now, that can get a little challenging, but right now, we're trying to figure out a way to allocate some funding to support replacing window units in our
classrooms. We have some schools that have cafeteria flooring that is definitely in need of repair. We're we're prioritizing that during the break. Culinary classroom enhancement, we're working on that as well during the break. Auditorium floorings. And again,
just like I mentioned earlier, we're trying to close out all the safer access installations, at least for here in the Bronx. It gets challenging with some of these projects because we understand that your
schools are 12 months all year round. So, we have to get as creative as possible to try to still make it happen the things that are needed for the schools. Part of that, not just what we're doing in spring break. This is something that
we're constantly thinking about and it's constantly going on. But energy efficiency and sustainability, they're just embedded in everything that we're doing. We don't look to try to just do band-aid repairs. We're looking to optimize our equipment and our
buildings so that way we can just have daily operations not only better, but we want to make sure that it's conducive and it makes sense. we don't want to install or we don't want to do something that we think will be a good idea but in it
immediately impacts or disrupts your day-to-day and what your what your kids are trying to learn at their schools. So just for an overview don't want to get too in detail but if you ever have a concern or question pertaining to your specific school where your student is
please feel free to reach out to us. We will let you know any of the active projects that we're doing there so you have an understanding of what's next to come. Steam optimization. We're looking at ways to improve how we heat the buildings. How do we make sure that
we're doing it efficiently and safely? LED upgrades. We want to make sure that our buildings are fully lit. We're not impo impeding on the environment that our students are trying to learn in. But at the same time, we want to make sure
about energy consumption. So, we're also installing sensors and timers in certain areas. So, that way, if the space isn't occupied, the lights will go off. Electrical consumption, if there's a possibility, we will install solar panels at a school so that
way we can try to make sure we can create opportunities for different therapies, for different electrical equipment that is needed in the school. And we're not going to be tripping breakers or not have electrical capacity to get it done. We're we're we're
getting as creative as possible to help and support demand response. Ultimately, demand response is when we find the opportunities, you know, citywide. They will pretty much tell us, hey, we got to we got to reduce our consumption at our
schools, you know, because it's a it's a demand, a larger need. Like, for example, during cooling season, we get that a lot because everybody's running air conditioners. Once schools are doing this effectively or appropriately, they get opportunities for grants. So they get additional money to support their systems and and what
they have. Now again, New York State is trying to become emission free. So one of the other ways that we're getting creative is with our kitchens. We're trying to replace our gas equipment with electric. If there's a school that you're
concerned about or not sure if there's any movement or traction, reach out to us and and we'll definitely get you guys an understanding of what's impacting your school. So again, I just want you guys to understand this is our team from snow
removal to, you know, our boiler operations, almost every single facet. We are doing whatever we can to make sure that our buildings are safe. They're secure. We are all of our teams are especially the teams that are in the
buildings who are trained on the fire and life safety components. They're also the ones that are trained on the asbestous and lead paint remediation or even water testing. We are here for you guys. And
ultimately, I don't want you to feel that any of your concerns or anything that you feel can be beneficial for your campus, you do not have an outlet to talk to someone to try to make it happen. Please, I I'll put my my email
in the chat. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns. We are happy to be supporting anything that will be beneficial for you and your student. And if there's anything that we're missing or you think that we can improve on,
that's what we're here for. I appreciate the collaborative effort. I appreciate Stephanie so much. And I appreciate this opportunity for you guys to know who I am and what I would love to accomplish when it comes to working with you and your students. Thank you so much, Alex. We app
>> Absolutely. >> That was excellent. That was excellent, Alex. Excellent. Thank you. >> We love >> I appreciate all of the points that you was able to bring up and the concerns that we've talked about. Um, if I could
go over some questions in the chat. >> Absolutely. Um, President Angel had asked if you're able to explain what a orcs report is.
The or is that the ORS report? That that is usually managed or handled by the school admin. Um, so we don't get involved with that. What we do is we do something a little bit differently. Um, when there is a situation that happens
at a school that needs to alert anybody and everyone, we create a EOCC report. We're not familiar with the ORAS report. That's more of the school admins that handle that. We will handle an EOCC report.
>> Okay. Thank you. >> Of course. Thank you. I just wanted to normalize not using the acronyms because some parents may not know what we on the other side may automatically assume as the norm. So I just wanted you to break down what that that meant. Thank you so much.
>> Oh, no worries. Ultimately EOCC is the emergency office committee. So ultimately that is the office that will make sure that every single organization that's involved at a school campus gets
the necessary communication and information pertaining to that specific location. So say for example I had a situation at X160 which is located at 4140 Hutcherson River Parkway East. We
had a power outage in the neighborhood. I reached out to the emergency office committee and I shared with them what was going on, what we are doing, and ultimately what is the plan to rectify the situation.
The EOC, the emergency office committee, ultimately will send that out to every single school organization within that campus. They will reach out to school foods. they'll reach out to all of our central leadership who may be able to get directly contacted to whatever city
agency is involved with the necessary repairs. So for example with this situation they reach out to KED directly to make it happen and that's where the communication gets sent out to the principles and the superintendent so that way they can communicate to you
what is going on. >> No problem. Thank you. >> Of course. >> Um, there was a question about if there's an up if you have an update on the HVAC system of 178.
>> So, right now we have actually started a lot earlier. Did was there something else, Steph? I'm sorry. >> I was just adding because of the summer, you know how it is usually. >> Correct. So fortunately for us, our new
leadership has created a team that has already started going to schools for HVAC seasonal startup. Separate from the fact that he is looking to replace any window units for some of your older buildings that don't necessarily have HVAC equipment. But at this point, we
already dispatched and mobilized four different contractors to start going to our schools to support us. And actually, I can say that at 178, we had two different contractors there this week, and we're still moving on it
completely. >> No problem. Can you just say what HVAC stands for? >> Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. >> Thank you for that. >> No worries. And I apologize. And please let me know whenever I say an acronym, what is it? I will get on that for you
guys. Not a problem. No problem. And Mr. Lewis Diaz has his hand up. >> Sure. You're able to unmute. >> Thank you, Miss Bonia. How are you
today? Um, I have a question. Um, and that was concerning I was the one who wrote the Hback system. I want to ask you, this pertaining to Miss Miss Christy Angel, why why did you delete my message? You know, it's a simple question. You
know, I truly do not understand why the message was deleted. It's a it's a it's a simple question about concerns about our children that's been getting cooked in the summertime and nothing has been done and there's always a problem. And
even though my son is in his home school because my son was physically abused in this in that school, >> but >> there's a lot of parents have been speaking to me about the situation >> about the Hback systems. Every single time there's a problem in the Hback, but
what my my question now question I will answer your question. the reason why I deleted the message and if I deleted um the the first portion of it incorrectly that's my apology if I if I can finish please
>> the first portion that if if I can finish please give me a moment I gave you the moment >> the first portion was deleted be second portion was because it was um antagonistic toward a principal and we do not do that in our council in our
meetings or in our committees we understand there may be bases. >> I don't think so. >> I don't think so, Miss Miss Angel because I did not do that. >> Bonita, you have the floor and you >> But this is you trying to limit my my questioning and silence me. This is not
right. This has happened and it has been recorded and you know what? I'm going to report you for that because this is ridiculous mention about the HCA systems. I'm sorry. I not that kind of person anymore. No, that's not going to happen. Email the council to let us know. That's
not going to happen. We're not going to do this in our >> You're not for the parents. You for yourself. Okay. >> I'm sorry for doing that message. That's ridiculous. >> Okay. For the principal, we don't do that. >> I was not voting for no principle. I just said good afternoon.
>> We will help you move forward. We will not fight in this space. Thank you for your feedback. >> What's the problem with that feedback? >> Why is that problem with that? We going to have actually you know what we going we going to have mediation. We're going to go down to D75 and speak to the
superintendent and the chancellor about this because this is what's happening. >> Yes. One sec. Mr. President. Okay. One second. We're going to regroup everybody real quick. I'm sorry about this everyone.
Yes please. We want to make sure we keep order and that we keep space and for feedback, but we do want to make sure that we are not antagonistic in this space and we do make sure that we're gain. Um, second vice president Bonia has done a lot to make sure that we get the resources that we need. We do know
as parents a lot goes on and we do want to support you. Um, if I deleted a message accidentally out of the two, forgive me. I just wanted to make sure that we continue in a space of resource and help with the parents. We will continue on the back end. Chair Bonia, you have the floor.
>> Um, go ahead, Miss Bonia. Go ahead. Um, you're an elected parent member. I have my >> I would like um to emphasize, let's just not delete things from the chat. Let's just leave the things in the
>> I will say this for our um when it comes to >> President Angel, please let me finish. I'm just saying in order to move on forward, let's just please leave the things that need to be left in the chat. Um
>> I want to make sure we have decorum and that we don't move in a space that is outside of what we're doing as a council. That is all. >> No problem. >> Correctly. I'm trying to do that right now. Okay.
Um >> Um Miss Bon, if you don't if you don't mind, >> if you stepping your toes, >> you go ahead, Mr. Spencer, you have something to say. >> Um >> Mr. Diaz. Um
um I want to apologize as co-chair of this committee, as co-host of this committee. I want to apologize. Um I want to take responsibility that this did happen to you. I want to if you can just take this out off the side and have
this addressed off the side so the meeting can continue. Um, I'm not saying that I'm not trying to put this under the rug, but the but we got to move the meeting on, but this this happened to you and I apologize, sir, as a parent
who's who took the time to be here. if if it's an issue that needs to be addressed offline. I just don't want to address it right here right now because we have a limited time and space, but I do acknowledge um that your message was deleted.
However, it was and apologize and please if we can move on and try to address your concerns offline. Yeah, I just want to know um if you could add in the chat if the concern of the HVAC was at least addressed with
Miss Alexandra Cruz with the information that she had given. Um and then I would also like Miss Alexandra while Mr. ideas answers us in the chat if um
if you could speak on a little bit on the fires and how your team is able to support our communities with that. >> Absolutely. And again, if there is any schools that you guys have specific concerns pertaining to HR, please do not
hesitate to reach out to myself or Carmine. We will let you guys know exactly what is going on. um from the staff that we have assigned to that building to the work that we anticipate on getting completed and any upgrades that we are also pushing for. Now, when
what you're talking about as far as fire goes, so at this point, we treat our schools as resources for the community in various different ways. One of them, which actually just came up with this past winter because it was really a
challenging one to say the least. We opened up some of our schools to be warming centers. We've also during the hotter months create cooling center locations, but one thing that we have identified with are the fact that there
are fires that occur in our neighborhoods. And one of the things that Carmine and myself are adamant on are looking at what are schools nearby that can be a resource for the people that are impacted from these fires.
Whether it's Red Cross, ASPCA, getting, you know, necessary, you know, materials or, you know, clothing, you know, food, anything like that. We open up our schools to help support the community in more ways than one.
Recently we've had that in um near Cornerstone Academy which is located on Bavona A. We had a fire over there and one of the things that we immediately did, we actually had one of our staff members on the roof managing and seeing
what was going on. and we were prepared to open and mobilize a space to give the families another another location to go to while they're trying to figure out everything that's going on. We've unfortunately I've
noticed this has happened more in the Bronx with the last few years and and we are always looking at creative ways to be supportive to those outside of just the students that go to our schools. And I know recently there was some stuff that happened in in Brooklyn and
whatnot. So the things that we've learned in the Bronx to better support our communities, we're sharing that citywide so that way we can ultimately always be another resource for everyone. >> Excellent. >> Thank you. Thank you so much for that.
and we truly appreciate all the work that you've been doing with the team with that and as you've known um we've had a lot of Bronx fires this year. >> Yeah. >> Um that we've been you know we've been trying to help and see how we can make
betters for the families. >> Yeah. another um I would also like to mention oh and if anyone has any other questions you could please raise your hand. Um I would also like to mention a little bit
of background on how Miss Alex TR and I started our relationship um our relationship actually started from our SLT um back then in our school. Um some of
it was Mr. Diaz was part of that SLT along with um Mrs. Diaz who's also in the call and Miss Carter as well was also in the team. Um we were able to make some changes with that team along
with um some of it was water fountain changes and I we were very excited that we got our new water fountains in the building. Alex was able to do a walk through with us to show us the different
locations that they were in. Another thing that we were able to also do as well with Miss Cruz um along with our chapter leader and SLT was a ADA bathroom for one of our students that
was coming in with the wheelchair and we didn't have accessibility for them at the time and we were able to make that happen. So again, as Miss Alex said, even if your school doesn't have
something at the time, if you're able to reach out to her and work together to be able to find a way to make it work in your school, she's very open to that. I hope that everyone takes advantage of
reaching out to her, reaching out to us, see how we could work together, Mr. Carmine um on how to work all of us together in order to make the inside of our buildings look great. You know, cuz in the in the Instagrams, we only see or
social medias, we only see the nice corners of the of the buildings. They don't show us the the the improvement areas that we need. And I would like the principles that are in
this call to know that the parents are here to work with you with the team in order to make the inside of the school better for not only our students but for our staff as well um as it comes to
everyone. Mr. Spencer, do you have anything else to add? Sorry about that. Sorry. Just trying to get my stuff unmuted. Um Oh, yeah. What I wanted to do uh was uh
open up to the interpretation line. Uh check to make sure there wasn't any uh uh we had lost one of our interpreters. Hopefully, she's back in. anyone uh Spanish um Mandarin uh Bengali any any questions in the interpretation line for
our presenters please >> Bangla line no question >> no question >> sorry >> uh for Spanish interpretation there's no question >> no question in the men that are line >> okay yep wanted to make sure those
voices were also heard. Um, Miss Man, is it all right? I wanted to uplift our survey. Um, and just piggy back and I mean there such great work, Miss Cruz. Um, um, I feel like I I've met you online. It's like it's like you're right
I'm right there with you at the presentation. I know I know you is is very thorough. It's wonderful and it set a precedence in terms of what our parents need to expect in the other four burrows. Um, and that's a that's a big task, but that's what we're here to to
work toward it. That's the goal. That's the ultimate goal. What's good for one burrow is good for the other four. Um, and I want to um, Miss Benique, can you because I don't know if I can share my screen. Um, I've got a lot of stuff on the computer, but I want to upload
there's a survey, a PDF survey uh for this committee in the um in the chat um that we always encourage at every meeting uh for our parents and actually everybody to participate. Um like I said, if it's good for one burrow, it's
good for the all all other four. and um a lot of things that Miss Cruz had um had addressed in terms of um locations and co collaborations regarding bathrooms and things of that nature. That's in the survey. That's the stuff
that uh um Miss Bonia and I want to review and want to address um to make sure that what's working in the Bronx works well in Staten Island, works well in in Eastern Queens, uh works well in uh in uh Canari in Brooklyn, um works
well in in uh in in Harlem and Manhattan uh or the Lower East Side. Uh so yes, please parents just take a look uh everybody take a look at at our survey and a PDF survey. Um thank you. Thank you Miss Bonia.
Um >> yeah, in terms >> the capacity. >> Yeah. >> Oh, go ahead, Mr. Ferrer. Go ahead. >> I'm sorry. Yeah, I didn't want to interrupt you. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I I'll wait till you're done. Go ahead. >> Keep on muting. I just I just wanted to
add I just great presentation tonight. Thank you, Alex, for that. That was excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Can't say enough about it. But but again, please give us your issues out there, right? Um if there's any issues out there, feel free to reach out. I drop my email, my phone number, call me, call
Alex, call myself. Please, we're here to work together. Like she said, I'm born and raised in the Bronx. I'm still here. My kids go to school in the Bronx, so this is my home, right? But but we can't be everywhere, right? There's only seven of us. We can't be everywhere. So, I need your help out there, right? Just
just give us the issues out there. We'll work with you. Um 178, we're on top of that. The AC systems there. We're working on it. Like, uh Miss Cruz said, we're being proactive. We already sent two teams out there to evaluate the system and make the repairs. So, so
please just give me the issues out there. All right? And uh my team knows I love spending the money in the Bronx. So, just give us the issues. All right? >> And he's very resourceful. He can't spend the money, he will find someone else's money to spend for us.
>> Yes. Yes. Yes. All right. >> You >> Thank you, Mr. Pan. Thank you. Um um yeah, it's all about being true to where we're at and giving back to where we're at. And I think it is prudent that um what Mr. Diaz brought up in terms of
HVAC. We can't as as leaders, as parent leaders, as folks in the in the DOE administration, we can't presume uh a citywide uh uh school district has HVAC set up um comfortably in the summertime,
and this is the time to work at it, March, April. Um so, yes, Mr. He has said, you know, use our our survey and um uh coach Bonia has there in terms of your issues, your concerns, so that way
we can try to be proactive in front of that and bring it to uh folks like Mr. Cruz, uh Miss Miss Cruz and and and um and and make it work for you in your area. >> Um >> and we and with
>> I'm sorry. And with assessing this form, we're also able to share the concerns with Mr. Ferrer and Mrs. Cruz. Um, because it will let us know where are the issues. Like they said, they only have seven in their team. Mr. Craig
Spencer and I are only two people and I'm in the Bronx and he's in Queens. So, we need more hands. >> Yes. Yes. We need Takes a village, right? We all >> need we can get
>> and I am going to try to make >> Yes. Um so please let's partner all >> just one thing I wanted to add Stephanie. >> Yes. >> Just one thing. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I just want you guys to understand that sometimes certain
concerns don't get addressed immediately or right away. But one thing that I want you guys to understand, we look at things holistically from the staff that's managing the equipment separate from getting the support from repairs and whatnot. And especially at X178, we
have changed the custodian engineer. We have changed the actual station engineer that manages the equipment. And just like uh Spencer just mentioned, this is the perfect opportunity for us to try to get things done before the cooling season actually starts. So, we're being
as proactive as possible from the staff that we have in the building to getting the identified needs, the HVAC systems, the heating, ventilation, and air cooling systems are needed at our schools. We've already started canvasing
all of our schools. We've been surveying everything. We're doing as much as we can possible now before we get to the start of summer programs or as the temperatures get warmer. >> Yeah. >> Can you also highlight um a reason why
it will take a longer time to fix a chapter 683 school? >> Absolutely. Cuz some schools will not necessarily be open during summer months. They won't even have programs during school breaks like you know
spring recess, mid- winter recess and that makes it that much more challenging for us to effectively get complete repairs or even capital improvements done. For example, when we identified with the issues at 178, it actually was
on the co-op campus where X153 was another school that had problematic equipment that supports heating and cooling for that building because those repairs were in dire need and we had to
get that one started. It impacted us relocating our summer programs. It impacts us in so many more ways than one. And DSF, I can't speak on SCA, but DSF completely understands that relocating your students to another
building impacts you in more ways than one. So, we will continue to figure out creative ways to accomplish what is needed for our systems to run optimally for our students.
>> Thank you for that. I wanted to highlight that part for everyone because some of our schools are open throughout the school year. So that means DSF only has two weeks to do cleaning cleaning
and the classrooms how they will usually do for the summer for September and addition to any repairs that they may need. that is unrealistic to be done
in the amount of time um with any team. So I as I said um this is ways for you guys to be informed that way you know it's not that it's not being worked on
is that it may take a little bit longer if your site is open during the summer and we could always reach out to Miss Alex and Mr. Cruz for any updates throughout the months to see where does
it stand. Um I'm also emphasizing here in the survey this portion of who can complete the survey. Parents and guardians, school staff, parent leaders, the PA, PTA's SLT, CC
reps, and also community members supporting your district or district 75 students. Um, I wanted to emphasize that because if you are a staff as well and you would need you need assistance,
that's why I mentioned a principal or an or AP cuz sometimes our D75s have only the AP in the building and you need assistance, the CC's and your parent leaders are able to support you to
advocate on these um on these sorry I'm sorry you love on these issues to be worked on and these concerns. So again this is all about working as a team and for us to be introduced to DSF as now we
could be able to reach out to them with any of our concerns. And I would like to um give again the floor to Mr. Craig Spencer while I look over the chat to see if there's any
other questions. >> Um thank you, Miss Bonita. Yeah. Um the only um uh the only um I don't want to mess up the name. Uh there's a Miss Graciella that left a comment. I don't know if um
it was specifically um for this presentation or something in general regarding um the child's environment. Um so I don't know if we want to we want to address that later or um or or if we could give
her the opportunity to to further clarify what she was trying to I don't know if it was a general statement. Gasi, would you like to unmute to clarify what did you mean about looking into the environment of the class? >> Okay. Hi, good afternoon. Yes. Um, I
something okay. Uh, my child was before in is a regular school. I think that he is noted with a autistic and I think that is district 375 is the the best school that he can go. But uh really uh
when he start he don't receive the the therapist, nobody notify me. Nobody say nothing. Three month later when they give me the um the report card, they say, "Oh, he's
good." I say, "Why? He's good, but he don't receive nothing." Uh that's why I say it's better that you working more with the with the inside the classroom. I know the teacher because I always drop and and pick up my child and he give me
the every day my child I always act he's good he's good but I he don't he don't do not nothing change he stop in the same that he I I he start the in the same level when he start the the new
year um that is the reason I say it's better that you work or maybe looking for more help inside the classroom that is the PS 186 in the Bronx
and in the in the in the winter with the snow a lot of poo poo the dog poo poo in the in the main entrance we need to escape nobody clean um really I don't have a good experience
when district 75 >> okay um Julie noted Um um Miss Graciiela because I'm not going to attempt to to pronounce your last name. God bless you and your family. Um please email the council uh D75 council and it's in the
chat uh with the information um so that way the council because we we won't be able to address that specific thing here but we hear you. We want to make sure your voice is heard uh and just direct you to our email address, our general email address, the D75
council email address with so that way uh the council on your behalf. >> Yeah, I send so many email but they always say they want to do something by >> that's why I always I always go inside
when they send me something notific going go in soon. Let me see what is new. But I always send them their email, but doesn't work. >> Well, um and and hopefully something
could uh hopefully the council members could could reach out to you. Um, I recognize >> as co-chair say as a co-chair and co-leader of this count this this committee. I I only in that capacity I recognize your voice and
I'm just want to direct you to the correct place where it could be addressed. We want to be fair. >> Thank you so much for your time and your comment and like just I'm just speaking as a co-leader of this particular committee. I am not a council member. >> Okay.
I'm going to add um the information as well in the chat for you and my number as well. >> All right. Um if there's no one and um >> Miss Muma has council member Mossuma Agnar has her hand up. >> Oh, okay. My bad. I didn't see that. Let
me let me put myself on mute. >> Good evening everyone. Uh thank you so much for all the information. It's very helpful. I just wanted to um give a reply to Miss Graciiela.
Uh just a um just an idea uh that goes for my daughter. So my daughter's school has a parent day. It's like sometimes they hold it every month or every other month. So me as a parent, we as a parent, we get a chance to go to their
classroom like for half an hour. So we go and sit down in the chair. We get to see what the teacher is doing, how the class environment, how our children are doing. So that happens like sometimes every month, sometimes they skip a month, but we are able to go. So I would
suggest I'm not sure that if you can talk to your school PTA and that meeting maybe you can suggest because it's up to the school uh to let you in. So uh you could recommend to them like hey can we have a parent day
maybe once in every 3 months or so so that way you can get a better understanding of the environment of your I mean son or daughter's school. So um just an idea if you can try that. I mean yeah thank you.
>> Yeah thank you for advice. I did it. I tried I talk I talk with the principal. I start waiting for the response. Um that's why >> great so much. No good luck. I I hope it happens because I am so grateful that
they let me go to see sit by my daughter and then you know be there for half an hour and then they also have surveys uh where you can write down what can they do better, how was the classroom and everything so that way they can improve
it. So you can since you put the idea over there maybe waits or then you speak to again at the PTA when you have the PTA meeting for the school that might help. >> Yeah, we did it by by phone. They never
go to the inside the the school. >> Yeah. All the meeting by phone. >> All right. Yeah. Keep keep insisting it. I mean, keep on trying and um just, you know, wishing you good luck.
Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Mosuma. >> Thank you too, Miss Stephanie. Thank you. You're welcome. >> No problem. Miss Garcia, which borrow >> uh the B the Browns. >> Okay. So, I put my information in the
chat and you can read to me. >> Okay. Thank you. look into it to see if I don't know we give them some ideas like Miss Msuma said maybe they could do something every couple months but okay um I would like to check the
interpretation line one more time to see if there's any other questions >> there's no questions from the mandarin line >> um there are also no questions uh on the Bang the line. >> There is no questions on the Spanish
line. >> No problem. Thank you. >> Thank you for that. Um, is there any other questions from the chat? Mr. Spencer, do you have any last comments? And I would like to give Miss Alexandra Cruz and Mr. Carmine as well any last
comments. let them speak first and then yeah um yeah then >> just want to thank everybody for having us looking forward to working with everybody um thank you Alex Cruz for this awesome presentation and again
please I can't stress enough please just reach out to us all right um give us any issues that are out there uh our whole team will come and address it all right thank you everyone have a great night I pass it on to Alex Cruz now >> yes again I cannot Thank you guys enough
for this opportunity to get a chance to really ultimately let you know what we're doing here in the Bronx. And one thing that Stephanie can definitely make you guys aware of if you find problems with the construction that's being done with the school construction authority,
I would be an advocate to make sure that they understand what our concerns are. what are the answers that we really need to the questions that we have about the work and go even as far as be at the meetings to make sure that you guys are represented in more ways than one with
the concerns that you have of what's going on at those school buildings. So yes, we are DSF, but we are your advocates when it comes to SCA projects and SCA construction and how it impedes on the schools. So thank you again everyone.
Thank you. >> That was beautiful. That's beautiful. Love that support. Love that community. That's that's that's why we're here. That's why we're here. Spread that love and strengthen. Get that strength and that love. Um do we have anything in terms of up? So we
have um you know um um we want to take this opportunity to you know um I think there was some Muslim holidays uh that was recent. We want to recognize that um Passover and Easter will happen soon enough um with the with the spring break. We want to recognize that and
recognize um um you know the time off that we need with our family and all that. Um um do we have an update because I' I've been working kind of hard. Um I know we've been it's been hard to keep in contact, Miss Benia, but uh we have any
updates with joint public hearings? I know with the you know with the spring break coming up, maybe it's a little bit touch and go. Um our next meeting is scheduled to be April 15th. Um, I guess we should speak to that in terms of
um what the what our community can uh in the next um next council meeting, what is a week from today? April 1st. No, April Fools, but April 1st. Um um as a council member, I just want to let you
speak, you know, >> anything you can add. >> Um anybody there? Can anybody hear me? Am I >> Sorry. Give me one second. Mr. expensive. Okay, my bad. You know, um
technology gota love it. Uh yeah, so um just while Miss Bonia is um is gathering her information, uh yeah, so um next council meeting April 1st um
um uh a week from today and um then that's right before the spring the the break, you know, happy Passover, happy Easter to those for everyone. And then uh our next committee meeting we're scheduled to have April 15th
uh which is as I pull up my own resources uh three weeks. One two Yep. three weeks from today. Um we're I think we want to and um we want to gear up toward
any remaining joint public hearings for the rest of this school year. And um we want to also uplift um uh any concerns regarding summer programming, regarding
capacity, you know, HVAC uh uh issues. Um we we want to be proactive with that. So please, if you could spread the word in terms with within your communities, regardless of the burrow, you know, let's start preparing for the summer and
making sure our kids are comfortable. uh in uh safe places and uh ventilated places. Um I I know it is a a a it is a um a chore more than a chore.
It's it's a a second and third job to make sure that our our our children are in the right programs in the right area. Um and um just what this committee over uh looks needs to are schedules to oversee is in terms of when they're in
that area, is it the right space? Is it is it safe? Is it uh is it have the right facilities utilized correctly? Um, so please use our survey and PDF in the chat um to bring it to our attention to
Miss Bon and I uh so you know in the remaining um committee meetings throughout the rest of the year, April 15th, um May 13th and June 17th. Um yeah, let's um we got
we got three more uh committee meetings uh in the year before summer programming starts. Let's let's get on it. Let us know so we could bring the people in uh we need to uh and uh get you get your issues addressed. Um
Miss Bern, you still need time. Are you good or >> I'm I'm going to read off the names. Sorry, because it's it's not letting me share. the names of the schools that's going to be for joint public hearings. Some of them have already passed, some of them
are coming up. Um, it's going to be Brooklyn 320, Brooklyn 90 P92, sorry, is P141K at K092 and then is P396K
at 320. We also have K 320 is P396K at 3K 320. What are those? You said it pass or or is it something
that's coming up? >> Some of them have passed. Some of them are coming up. I'm going to email the I'm going to email the spreadsheet to everyone that register. It's just that it's not letting me show it on the screen
with all of the dates. Um, we have, sorry, we have 16K 628 and we also have 84K 883. >> 84K
883. >> And some of these are going to be in a PEP hearing that's happening actually tonight. It started at 6:00 p.m. the PEP hearing. So we are looking forward to these
passing. We also have second P 089R at R018. This will be a new site and it will be in Staten Island.
>> What was the school? It was P 0 R0 what? >> P 089R at R018. >> Okay. >> And the joint public hearing for this
one will be April 14, 2026. So, I will send I will be sending the spreadsheet making a note for you all with the different dates of the ones that have passed for the month of March
and the ones coming up on the April as well as the PEP meeting if you're able to attend to support these proposals. We also have 07x298 X184
with P17X at 1x 184 and that was on March 3rd again. Sorry, apologies that I couldn't um show you on the screen, but I will email you guys all the information
tomorrow. >> I would like to thank you all for joining us tonight and I would like to thank our presenter, Miss Alexandria Cruz, I Mr. Carmine
Ferrer. I appreciate you coming and meeting our parents and meeting our community in order to join together to be able to advocate for our students and our families. >> Yeah, that's um it's very reassuring and
I don't even have a kids in the system. So, it's great stuff you guys are doing in the Bronx. Congratulations. I hope the other Thank you. >> Thank you so much. And >> so we're looking at April. Uh, one last
check with the um interpretation. Any last questions and interpreters and please fill out the form if you have any concerns and we could be able to address as well. Um, is there any
interpretation question? Is there any questions in the interpretation line for Bangla? >> I No, there is no question for Bangla. >> Is there any questions for the Mandarin line? >> Uh, no either.
>> Thank you. Is there any questions for the Spanish? >> No questions in the Spanish line. >> Thank you so much. >> Think we could release them. You have a last word. Miss Grand Champs. Give me one second. Mrs. Grand Champs
has her hand up. >> It's It's Mr. Grand Champs. I just wanted to wish >> I'm sorry >> everybody a uh happy Women's History Month. >> Just want to all the work that women do. A lot of stuff that we we have accomplished is because of you women.
So, happy uh women's history month. >> Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Grand Champs. We appreciate that. >> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Grand Champs, for for shoring up my shortcomings. How can I not thank my wife for helping out my
daughter, all the mothers out there, thank you very much. All the aunties, all the grandmas, thank you. Um, save my bacon. Thank you, sir. So, we're looking at a Yeah, August 5 August April 15th, right? That's our
next >> Yeah, we are looking for um to confirm with our presentation with our presenters for that time. Our next days will be April 15 and 29. We will confirm hopefully by next week and we could make
um an announcement on the joint public I mean sorry our business calendar meeting for CCD75. >> Yeah, please uh fill out the survey and yeah, let's start thinking ahead. Let's
let's take a look at what where our kids will be in the summer and um let's get the ball rolling and make sure they're in the right place. other DSF um from other fac from other borrows could visit us to do a
presentation like Miss Alex did or also SCA to come visit us because we haven't been um we did not get to speak to them about our top five projects yet. So those are two ideas of that we could
have for the next meetings. No problem. Well, thank you again all for your time. The time is 7:27 p.m. We are now releasing our interpreters and have a good evening everyone. I hope
you all have a good night and get home safe on those who are still traveling. >> Good night. Good night. >> Good night. Happy holiday so much. >> Good night. Thank you for all the information. >> Good night everybody.
>> Anytime. Good night every