Ps 199 Maurice a Fitzgerald, Long Island City NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 199 Maurice a Fitzgerald

PS 199 Maurice A Fitzgerald serves pre-K through fifth grade in Long Island City, a rapidly transforming Queens neighborhood on the East River just across from Midtown Manhattan. The school sits within a dense, transit-rich area that was historically industrial and has become one of the city's fastest-growing residential neighborhoods over the past two decades. The student body reflects that transformation: enrollment is substantial for an elementary school, with a majority of students from Hispanic backgrounds and a significant share from Asian backgrounds. Most students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating the school serves a predominantly low-income community despite the neighborhood's rising property values and new construction.

The school's academic results reflect a mixed picture. In recent state testing, third and fifth graders performed closer to a borderline proficiency rate in math, while fourth grade math proficiency was weaker. English language arts results across grades three through five ranged from roughly four in ten to just under half of students meeting proficiency standards. Science proficiency, tested only at fifth grade, fell below these already modest levels. When proficiency data across tested subjects and grades are combined, PS 199 falls into the bottom quartile among schools in Queens County, a position that may concern parents prioritizing test performance and academic readiness.

The school's test-taker participation was high, suggesting consistent administration of assessments rather than widespread opt-out, though specific participation rates varied slightly by grade and subject. Parents may want to look into the school's approach to math instruction in particular, since fourth-grade performance dipped noticeably, and to understand what support structures exist for students not yet meeting proficiency. The school's data do not include information on special education or English learner enrollment rates, so families with students needing those services should ask the school directly about those populations and the resources available.

PS 199 sits within New York City's Geographic District 24, which encompasses Corona, Elmhurst, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Glendale, and Middle Village. The district itself has faced chronic overcrowding, though the city has committed to building three new elementary schools to ease that pressure. The district also offers dual-language programs in Spanish and Chinese at several schools, a strength for the area's many immigrant families. At the same time, District 24 is projected to lose a notable share of students over the coming decade, a demographic shift that could affect school resources and programming. PS 199 serves the Long Island City portion of the district, a neighborhood experiencing rapid residential development with substantial new housing, though much of that development is premium-priced housing and many existing residents remain rent-burdened.

Long Island City itself is a walkable, downtown-oriented neighborhood with eight subway lines, ferry service, waterfront parks, and vibrant street-level activity anchored by cultural institutions like MoMA PS1 and a large art gallery presence. Major employers including JetBlue, The New York Times, and Uber have moved into the area. Families considering PS 199 should understand they are choosing a school in a neighborhood in flux, serving a community of modest means in an area that is rapidly gentrifying, with ongoing new school construction meant to address capacity constraints. The school's academic performance, while in the lower range for the county, sits within a school system managing substantial demographic and capacity pressures, and parents would benefit from understanding PS 199's specific instructional programs and what additional support is available for students not yet meeting grade-level standards.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 50% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 53% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #24, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income92%60 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income56%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income69%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income49%Higher-income85%35 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income75%47 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income77%21 pp gap