Rockaway families say they’re worried air isn’t safe for students

Image: Debris and packed sand fills a street near the the beach in Belle Harbor a week after the storm hit. Three weeks after the storm, concerns are setting in about how poor air quality could affect students.

gothamschools.org - November 20th, 2012 - Geoff Decker

Parents at schools just beginning to recover from Hurricane Sandy are concerned that worsening air quality on the Rockaway peninsula could pose a health concern for students who return.

At a meeting Monday night for families in District 27, which includes many hard-hit neighborhoods, a parent leader said children at her newly reopened school arrived with masks to protect them from pollution caused by the storm.

The parent leader, Alexandra Siler, said she sent her daughter to P.S. 317 with a protective mask on Monday, the school’s first day back after two weeks in a temporary location, even before two students there experienced respiratory distress after coming in from recess.

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