Damaged gym at PS 234 Astoria means students watch movies, do jumping jacks in classrooms

The New York Daily News article investigates a school gym repair delay that has deprived students at Public School 234 of physical exercise. Senator Gianaris speaks out against the delay, stating that physical exercise is an educational requirement. 

While a Queens elementary school waits for the city to fix its gym, the phys ed program consists of jumping jacks in the classroom and movies in the auditorium.

A city Education Department official said work on the the gym at Public School 234 in Astoria is expected to begin over the winter break and should be completed within the next three months. The facility was damaged by April storms.

But three months is too long for parents who worry that their young children aren’t getting enough exercise in school.

[...]

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who has spoken with the city about the repairs, called the delay “ridiculous.”

“We’re now halfway through the next year, and our children are now being deprived of physical exercise — which is an educational requirement,” he said.

 Read the full article here.