After persistent lobbying, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said he would meet with parents of students at PS 51, the Bronx New School, which was moved from Bedford Park to Crotona after the building the school had inhabited for nearly two decades was found to be contaminated.

But parents, who rallied outside of a Panel for Education Policy meeting that Walcott attended, say they’re still skeptical about the Department of Education’s willingness to address their concerns.

It’s been three months since parents were alerted to the fact that the Bedford Park building that housed the Bronx New School had tested positive for sky-high levels of trichloroethylene, a toxin linked to cancer. The school was moved to St. Martin of Tours on 182nd Street in Crotona with just weeks to go before the start of the school year.

Parents say the DOE has ignored their demands for a registry and medical monitoring for current and former PS 51 students. They also want the DOE to address the school’s new building, which they say has a leaky gym and faulty windows.

“We don’t want to meet with him so he could say, ‘yeah, I heard you,’” said Kelly Lewis, whose daughter attended the school. “No, put something in place.”

“They’re really playing Russian roulette with our kids’ lives,” said Alan Gary, whose son attended the school from kindergarten to fifth grade. “I’m praying for the next 20 years that my kid doesn’t come down with cancer.”

Parents had previously been denied a meeting with Walcott, with the chancellor saying he had “met his commitment,” to parents.
There is no date set for the meeting, but Lewis said parents are worried the DOE will try to “divide and conquer” parents by only addressing the needs of current parents, like transportation problems or other issues in the new building.

The issue has led to scrutiny over how the DOE tests for hazardous chemicals. The Bloomberg administration began testing leased sites in 2002 as leases were up for renewal. But Walcott has instead expedited testing for the remaining 31 leased school sites. They’ve come out clean, says Walcott, making PS 51 the only leased site where the DOE felt the building was unsafe for students.

Data from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest showed hundreds of schools had tested positive for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), another toxin tied to cancer and other diseases, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The solvent was found in light fixtures and caulking in schools across the city.

The caulking in one location at middle school IS 391 on Webster Avenue tested positive for six times the EPA’s limit on PCBs. The city plans to remove PCBs and replace lighting fixtures over the next 10 years.

Parents say the threat of toxins highlights the need for more oversight over school zones.

Umali Peña said her seven-year-old son missed 20 days of school last year suffering from headaches and vomiting, one of a number of kids who experienced symptoms that could be tied to the presence of trichloroethylene. She said she was tired of the DOE’s apologies.

“Stop saying I’m sorry,” she said. “We need to hold somebody accountable for this.”