Have you heard about the West Wall?/Our School Building Deemed Safe for Occupancy.

Last Wednesday, February 27th the SCA engineer of record filed a “Stop Work Order,” on the Avenue B construction site to facilitate further evaluation after some cracks in the facade of the west wall were noticed close to the ground. It is thought that these cracks are well within the normal course of things where this kind of extensive construction is concerned and may have resulted from the school building settling in response to the neighboring construction site’s structural shoring, excavation and foundation work. Sensors were immediately placed in that vicinity in order to measure and record any movement. According to the SCA Consultant (our on-site project manager), the following morning’s sensor readings suggested that there had not been additional movement in the soil or near the cracks. Accordingly, the building was deemed safe for occupancy both by the SCA engineer of record and the Avenue B site’s structural engineer. It seems that additional readings have or will be taken to monitor the area and that the Department of Buildings will need to be on site to inspect in response to the “Stop Work Order” that was filed earlier.

All three school administrations were notified last week about this development and will continue to work closely with the SCA, the Avenue B construction site and the Department of Buildings (DOB). The only remaining uncertainty is whether or not the stop work order has officially been lifted. Bradley is looking into this since it seems that some work at the Avenue B site resumed on Monday, March 4th. In the meantime, the building remains safe. There has been some mention about considering the removal of scaffolding on that west wall since this could minimize risk even further. But that is just one opinion.

We will do our best to keep you updated on this!!! Anyone with concerns and questions regarding this development can email camille@evcsnyc.org.

Would you like to attend a construction meeting?

A special thank you goes out to those participating in the joint effort over the last few months among a small but dedicated group of EVCS and CWS parents to attend as many of the weekly construction meetings as possible. These meetings usually start at 1PM and run for about an hour. They are open to parents and held either in the lobby or fourth floor library conference room. If you are interested in attending, please email P.A. board member Camille Marlow (camille@evcsnyc.org.) She is included on the contractor’s email distribution list notifying potential attendees about construction meeting schedule changes or cancellations and coordinates attendance on a week to week basis.

Auditorium

Auditorium construction has been back on for a couple of weeks now! You may recall that, beginning in December, the School Construction Authority (SCA) and engineers of record were discussing whether or not additional pilings would be needed to reinforce the floor since there was some concern that it could not support heavy machinery. At least seven of the twelve piles were in place as of mid February. The floor is poised to be poured once every pile has been installed. The SCA claims that the completion of the auditorium could be delayed until the end of June or July of 2013, in part due to the six to eight week redesign period (noted above) of the original plan. Since it is not expected to be completed before the end of the academic year, Robin and Bradley have already begun to secure the Earth School’s auditorium as a venue for multicultural share and graduation this year.

In the meantime, entrance and access to the hall running in front of auditorium from the lobby to lunch room should be open for use sometime this month (March). We are also eagerly awaiting the return of our sidewalk, which is temporarily being used to store equipment. It was originally supposed to be returned just after February break but the contractor has noted that they are slightly behind schedule and need more time. More on this later.

Brick/Window Replacement and Air Conditioning Installment

Testing revealed that asbestos is not present in the exterior walls, windows or brick casing. The scaffolding was inspected and the temporary lights have been in the process of being added over the last few weeks so that construction crews can do brick pointing and prepare to replace windows. Contractors have requested that a final inspection take place Friday, March 2. When completed, work will be done in a descending fashion down the building. Beginning in early March, three ninety foot dumpsters will be placed in front of the building for brick removal. They will be taking up parking spots (the average car is about 16 feet) but should not impede the sidewalk as the current equipment storage is doing. These dumpsters, along with a large garbage shoot, will be totally surrounded by protective fencing to guard against falling debris and should be in place for four to five months. CWS uses the front of the building as a fire exit so its principal, Maria and the SCA contractor Constantin will have reviewed a safety plan with the help of the a DOE safety inspector. The safety review was slated to begin the week of February 18th.