Schools

Upper West Side Schools Have Ventilation Problems, Report Shows

28 of 40 public schools on the Upper West Side have deficiencies in their air filtration systems.

An image of LaGuardia High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
An image of LaGuardia High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. (Google Street View Screenshot )

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Upper West Side public schools will open along with those in the rest of New York City on Sept. 10, and there has been increasing debate between city and school employees about whether buildings are equipped with adequate airflow.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that a team of inspectors would comb over New York City classrooms to ensure that airflow and ventilation systems meet standards to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

That gives inspectors just two weeks to work their way through thousands of classrooms.

Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

However, a new report published Wednesday by the education news site Chalkbeat, compiled school buildings' inspection records across the city between fall 2018 through 2019. The report found that more than 1,000 of the city's schools have problems with either the air supply system — which brings fresh air inside the building — or the exhaust system, which brings stale air outside.

New York City has raced to repair and upgrade ventilation systems with the Sept. 10 reopening date looming and purchased 10,000 portable air purifiers for schools.

Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

With that said, numerous deficiencies were shown in the information from the most recently shared reports of air systems in Upper West Side schools.

Out of the 40 public schools in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood, 28 were found to have at least one deficiency in their ventilation systems. Additionally, 11 of the schools didn't have a supply fan system at all.

Just nine schools on the UWS had no deficiencies in both their exhaust fan and supply fan system.

Here is the air ventilation information for all 40 K-12 public schools on the Upper West Side, according to the Department of Education. Including each school's most recent building condition.


Anderson School, 100 W 77th Street

Community Action School, 154 W 83rd Street

Edward A Reynolds West Side High School, 140 W 102nd Street

Fiorello Laguardia High School, 100 Amsterdam Avenue

Frank McCourt High School, 145 W 84th Street

Frederick Douglass Academy II, 215 W 114th Street

The Global Learning Collaborative, 145 W 84th Street

High School of Arts and Technology, 122 Amsterdam Ave

Hight School For Law, Advocacy and Community, 122 Amsterdam Ave

Innovation Diploma Plus, 145 W 84th Street

JHS 54 Booker T Washington, 103 W 107th Street

Lafayette Academy, 154 W 93rd Street

The Locke School of Arts & Engineering, 20 W 112th Street

Manhattan Hunter Science High School, 122 Amsterdam Ave

Maxine Greene HS-Imaginative Inquiry, 122 Amsterdam Ave

Mott Hall II, 234 W 109th St

MS 243 Center School, 100 W 84th Street

MS 245 Computer, School, 100 W 77th Street

MS 247 Dual Lang Middle School, 100 W 77th Street

MS 250 West Side Collaborative, 735 West End Ave

  • Exhaust Fan Deficiencies: 0
  • Supply Fan Deficiencies: 0
  • Most Recent NYC DOE Building Condition Report:

PS 145 Bloomingdale School, 150 W 105th Street

PS 149 Sojourner Truth, 41 W 117th Street

PS 163 Alfred Smith, 163 W 97th Street

PS 165 Robert Simon, 234 W 109th Street

PS 166 Richard Rogers, 132 W 89th Street

PS 199 Jessie Isador, 270 W 72nd Street

PS 333 Manhattan School For Children, 154 W 93rd

PS 452, 210 W 61st Street

PS 75 Emily Dickinson, 735 West End Ave

PS 84 Lillian Weber, 32 W 92nd Street

PS 87 William Sherman, 160 W 78th Street

PS 9 Sarah Anderson, 100 W 84th Street

Riverside School For Makers and Artists, 300 W 61st Street

Special Music School, 129 W 67th Street

Stem Institute of Manhattan, 240 W 113th Street

Urban Assembly For Green Careers, 145 W 84th Street

  • Exhaust Fan Deficiencies: 1
  • Supply Fan Deficiencies: School does not have a supply fan system.
  • Most Recent NYC DOE Building Condition Report

Urban Assembly School For Media, 122 Amsterdam Ave

Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts, 215 W 114th Street

West End Secondary School, 227 W 61st Street

West Prep Academy, 150 W 105th Street

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.

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