NYC schools open amid flooding as parents wonder how students will get home

Parents and teachers reported flooding at many schools and demanded to know how kids would get home on Friday afternoon as many said Mayor Eric Adams and the school system were slow to respond to a heavy rain storm.

Adams issued a “shelter-in-place” order that applied to students at New York City public schools until dismissal. City and state officials emphasized that restarting subway service was critical to getting students back home.

“Our children are in the schools, they are being properly educated,” Adams said. “Our children are safe in schools.”

Flooding affected some 150 schools out of more than 1,400, according to Schools Chancellor David Banks. Pumps were sent to at least 15 schools to remove water, according to education department spokesperson Nathaniel Styer.

School buses were preparing to begin taking students home. But it was still unclear how students who depend on public transportation would get home.

“As of right now, the modes of transportation that our kids rely on and our parents rely on are being flooded,” said Paullette Healy, member of the Citywide Council for Council District 75. “What does the mayor have in place to help these stranded New Yorkers?”

By the end of the school day, the education department said schools were proceeding with "orderly dismissal." But parents and kids described having to rent cars or ride packed buses to get their kids because subway service was suspended.

“I am soaking wet ... It was horrific. The rain was just pelting," said Yulan Williams, who went through an ordeal to pick up her son from Brooklyn Tech that involved waiting for a bus that never came and a $50 cab ride.

Others described coordinating pickups of kids through informal WhatsApp parent groups.

There were reports of overflowing toilets in schools across Brooklyn, flooded cafeterias, erupting water fountains, and slick hallways. Students in basement classrooms had to be sent to higher ground. Kids on higher floors were told to shelter in place within their classrooms.

And they were the lucky ones: others were stuck on trains on the way to school. School leaders and parent-teacher associations mobilized to distribute dry socks. Some students were sent home early. After care programs were canceled.

“All of our schools are open. We are actively monitoring the situation across all our buildings,” said Banks. “Nothing has impacted the ability to safely educate our students.”

But some parents begged to differ. They said Adams was caught flat-footed by another climate emergency. The mayor previously faced criticism for his response to a smoke crisis this summer caused by Canadian wildfires.

“The mayor needs to pay attention to extreme weather conditions and set into motion a contingency plan,” Healy said.

Parents said their kids at Brooklyn Tech reported that the basement was flooded and classes had been moved upstairs.

At P.S. 139 in Ditmas Park, the principal sent a note to parents that the lobby had flooded and said children will not be marked tardy if they were late. Parents could pick up students early if they wished.

Some schools whose cafeterias had flooded had to resort to serving lunch in classrooms.

“We’re busting out all our extra clothing and mopping the floors,” said Michael Perlberg, principal of M.S. 839 just south of Prospect Park. He said the school fortunately had some dry clothes on hand.

Educators across the city reported low attendance.

A teacher at a public high school in downtown Brooklyn said the area around the building had been flooded. Only a handful of students had arrived by 9 a.m. Many students were stuck on the subway. Those who trickled in arrived "looking like they went swimming," the teacher said.

A teacher at I.S. 187 said parts of the first and second floors were flooded so kids had to stay in their homerooms while teachers moved between classrooms for the first several periods.

“I have compassion that sometimes we don’t know how bad things will be until the moment. But I know there were warnings going out yesterday about flooding,” the teacher said. “Why did we come to school today.

“What’s the plan moving forward? Because we know this is going to happen again?” she said. “What is the actual plan for repairing the infrastructure of our city?”

This article has been updated with details from school dismissal.