Bill de Blasio faces 2nd town hall, focusing on schools

Mayor Bill de Blasio Thursday night fielded several questions about the need for more schools and smaller class sizes in Queens, acknowledging in the second town hall meeting of his tenure that he was in "one of the epicenters of overcrowding in the city."

Education was the focus of de Blasio's community forum, held with about 300 participants invited by PTAs and local groups in a filled-to-capacity school auditorium in Jackson Heights. De Blasio, shirtsleeves rolled up, appeared at ease taking questions and comments in an unfiltered manner, though he had resisted doing so for the first 22 months of his mayoralty.

"It was fun while it lasted," he joked to Deborah Alexander, of District 30 Community Education Council, who complimented him before launching into a call to reduce class sizes.

De Blasio said his administration has committed $4 billion to the creation of new seats, including replacing trailers used as overflow classrooms with brick-and-mortar buildings.

"I don't have more," he said of the funding. "It's not enough. I'm very comfortable telling you in public that's not enough. . . . Parents want to know that their child is getting the attention they deserve."

City Councilman Daniel Dromm, a fellow Democrat and former public school teacher whose district includes Jackson Heights, played host and moderator.

De Blasio also said Thursday night that greater equity between "good" and "bad" public schools would mean parents wouldn't have to choose privately run charter schools over traditional schools. Unlike his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, de Blasio has sought to limit charter school growth in the city.

Families' lack of "faith in their neighborhood schools" is "not an acceptable state of affairs," he said.

As with his last town hall, held last month, the mayor brought with him more than a dozen officials from his administration to help answer questions, including Deputy Mayor Richard Buery and Education Commissioner Carmen Fariña.