Cuomo Announces Plan to Site Additional Queens Specialized High School to Bring Parity in Number of Seats to Counterparts in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn & Staten Island
Part of Cuomo’s Citywide Expansion of Excellence in Education
“Education is the great equalizer – we should be expanding opportunities for our children to thrive and grow, not stifling them.” - Andrew Cuomo
Queens, NY — Standing with leaders from PLACE NYC — Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education — Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that as Mayor of New York City, he will establish an additional specialized high school in Queens.
Queens, the most diverse borough in the city and home to nearly 2.4 million residents, currently has the smallest specialized high school across all five boroughs. Cuomo’s announcement today is part of his larger plan to double the number of specialized high schools from 9 to 18 citywide, expand Gifted and Talented programs in every borough, and replace chronically failing schools with high-performing charter or specialty schools — ensuring that every child, in every neighborhood, has access to excellence.
“Every child deserves the chance to reach their full potential, regardless of ZIP code, background, or income,” said Andrew M. Cuomo. “Queens is home to extraordinary families and talented students, yet it has been overlooked when it comes to specialized education. That ends when I’m Mayor. We will build a specialized high school in Queens and expand opportunity across this city. Education is the great equalizer – we should be expanding opportunities for our children to thrive and grow, not stifling them. Together we can and we will make New York the nation’s leader in academic excellence.”
“Governor Cuomo’s plan to expand specialized high schools and create a second one in Queens is about basic fairness,” said Yiatin Chu, Co-President of PLACE NYC. “For too long, Queens — the city’s most diverse borough — has been left behind while other boroughs benefited from greater access to accelerated education. Families here deserve the same opportunities for excellence that exist elsewhere in New York City. Governor Cuomo’s leadership brings long-overdue parity and ensures that equity and high standards can finally go hand in hand.”
Why Queens?
Currently, Queens High School for the Sciences — the only specialized high school located in Queens — accepts just 130 students per year. By comparison, Bronx Science accepts 720, Stuyvesant accepts 800, Brooklyn Tech accepts 1400, and Staten Island Tech accepts 360.
Despite being one of the highest-performing school districts in the city, District 26 in Queens has no comparable specialized option for its gifted and talented students. Many bright young people in Queens are forced to commute up to three hours a day to attend schools like Stuyvesant or Bronx Science.
Cuomo announced today his commitment to build a second specialized high school in Queens, raising the borough’s total number of specialized seats to 1,000 — on par with Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island per borough population.
“Queens students deserve equal access to excellence without a three-hour commute,” Cuomo said. “A child’s borough of residence should never determine their ceiling of opportunity.”
PLACE NYC leaders joined Cuomo today to celebrate his continued commitment to high standards and equitable access to accelerated learning. Cuomo thanked the organization for their partnership and for championing the rights of parents and students who demand more from City Hall.
Cuomo’s Education Plan: Access, Excellence, Innovation
Cuomo’s detailed education plan — outlined in his New York Post op-ed, “My Plan to Deliver for NYC’s 1 Million Schoolkids” — is built around three core pillars:
- ACCESS: Expand Gifted & Talented programs in every borough and build eight new specialized high schools to create opportunity for all students.
- EXCELLENCE: Replace failing schools with high-performing charter or specialty schools and invest in teacher training and stipends to reward excellence.
- INNOVATION: Modernize classrooms, strengthen early college and P-TECH programs, and partner with the private sector to align education with future job skills.
Cuomo Vs Mamdani on Education
While Cuomo has laid out a comprehensive plan to strengthen and modernize New York City’s schools, his opponent Zohran Mamdani has embraced an ideology of lowering standards that threatens to erode the quality of public education.
Mamdani has proposed rolling back mayoral control of schools, undoing two decades of accountability and replacing it with political chaos. He has called for scrapping Gifted & Talented programs and has flip-flopped repeatedly on the SHSAT, despite having personally benefited from attending a specialized high school himself.
As Governor, Cuomo established universal pre-k statewide, expanded early college and P-TECH programs, created the Excelsior Scholarship for free college tuition, and oversaw record education funding while insisting on performance and accountability. His plan as Mayor will bring that same results-driven approach to New York City’s schools — combining equity and excellence to ensure no child is left behind and no talent goes untapped.
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