Workers were repairing and cleaning the outside of the building that housed the Bronx New School, Public School 51 in the Norwood section of the Bronx, but the elementary school has been closed due to high levels of chemical contamination.

PS 51 serves about 270 students, half of them Hispanic. The local community remains uncertain and confused over the shutdown.

"I was very surprised last week when I saw the netting around the building and the workers taking things out of the school," said Jasmín Oliva, originally from Honduras, who was  passing by PS 51. "The school is overcrowded and there isn't a recess yard where the children can play. Sometimes the teachers take them into the street to play." Oliva has a 10-year-old son who is a student at another school.

Last week, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said that PS 51 will not open in September over concerns about the possible effects of contamination on students' health. (Dangerous levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) were found in tests done six months back. Drinking or breathing high levels of trichloroethylene, a colorless liquid, may cause nervous system effects, liver and lung damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma, and possibly death.)

The Department of Education (DOE) announced that students from PS 51 will be moved to St. Martin of Tours Elementary School, located at 695 East 182nd Street.

Although the DOE claimed it had informed parents about the school's new address, Elizabeth Dilone, a Dominican mother with a child at PS 51, said she doesn't know what will happen in September.

"I found out about the contamination and the shutdown about two or three weeks ago...I still don't know where the school will be located," said Dilone, whose son Félix will begin fifth grade. "I was very worried when I found out about the contamination and that the children might be harmed, but I brought my son to the doctor and thank God, he is all right." Dilone added that school authorities will notify parents about the temporary location of the school at a meeting on September 24th.

School officials and Department of Environmental Protection employees present at the school refused to comment on the clean-up process going on inside the building.