STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Elementary students jumped from their auditorium seats and filled the aisles and stage Thursday morning performing “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid for Borough President Vito Fossella. It was a joyful reminder that PS 45 desperately needs a working auditorium.
Fossella delivered the news the elementary school in West Brighton had been waiting for: The school will receive funding to renovate its auditorium, ending a decade-long struggle with a broken sound system.
Children and faculty erupted in cheers at the announcement.
“Our auditorium is the heart of our school,” Principal Nicole Vega said. “This is the space where our students find their voices, step into the spotlight and discover confidence they didn’t know they had.”
Vega thanked Fossella for securing the funding and became emotional during her remarks. She said the school has requested money for the repairs annually since the system failed about a decade ago.
Before the announcement, Fossella addressed the students directly about what their school should mean to them.
“You have a committed principal who wants what’s best for you, and you have great teachers who want nothing but the best for you,” Fossella said. “All they can do is give you a great opportunity. And it’s up to you to take advantage of that opportunity and to grow, to be the best person you can be.”
Vega said she wants the school to eventually become an arts school for the borough, something Staten Island currently doesn’t have. Fossella said that’s his goal, too.
“It’s going to cost about $650,000 and take probably about a year and a half to scope it out, design and then construction,” Fossella said. “Hopefully, the second and third graders here will get to enjoy it, and hopefully another couple of generations.”
While there’s no detailed plan yet, Fossella said he and Vega will collaborate with the Department of Education to maximize what the budget can accomplish. The focus will be on lighting and sound fixes.
The broken sound system has created painful moments for the school community.
“About 10 or 12 years ago we got a new auditorium,” Vega said, noting problems began about a year later.
“The sound went out during the finale of one of our performances. They had to do the finale a cappella,” Vega said. “It was heartbreaking to see.”
Since then, the school has relied on a makeshift Bluetooth speaker that often fails.
The auditorium renovation is deeply personal for Vega. She’s worked at PS45 for 21 years and her own children were students at the school, but her connection goes back even further. She attended the school as a child and even participated in the drama club.
“I played Martha Washington in the fourth grade, and I was an antelope another year,” Vega said. “So it’s close to my heart.”