On Thursday morning in Gowanus, parents dropped off their children at P.S. 372 The Children’s School with a mix of relief and concern. The school’s pre-K and kindergarten classes had just been relocated from the basement classrooms of the annex building after lingering air contamination became too great to ignore—even after a mitigation system was installed this summer.
The Department of Education moved swiftly this week, shifting the youngest students to upper floors of the annex and into available space in the main building on First Street. For now, the familiar basement—long a fixture for early learners—sits empty, as city officials await further environmental testing results. Teachers spent Wednesday afternoon hurriedly reorganizing books, cubbies, and art supplies for the new spaces, while custodians disinfected every surface.
The contamination, reportedly linked to volatile organic compounds left from Gowanus’ industrial past, has parents demanding clearer answers and a long-term fix. At Thursday’s midday PTA meeting, school leadership fielded questions from anxious families about air quality, building safety, and the timeline for remediation. “We want transparency and a guarantee that our children aren’t at risk,” said Monica Rivera, whose son started pre-K this week.
The Gowanus neighborhood has seen dramatic change since the canal cleanup began, but environmental legacies remain. Earlier this year, similar concerns surfaced at schools near other brownfield sites in Brooklyn, prompting calls for citywide audits. For P.S. 372, the priority is immediate: keep students and staff safe as the school year gains momentum.
By Friday afternoon, students were settling into their new upstairs routines, some wide-eyed at the unexpected change. For parents, the hope is that city officials deliver answers—and clean air—before the autumn leaves have all fallen.
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