nyc school ventilation 2021

A WNYC/Gothamist investigation discovered that the Department of Education got those devices for a bargain after the supplier lobbied the city.

While engineers have called windows a less reliable source of ventilation because they depend on fickle weather conditions, city officials argue they are not only adequate but sometimes more effective than an HVAC system.

Department of Education surveys say these classrooms rely exclusively on functioning windows—a lower standard than what would be expected to prevent airborne transmission of the coronavirus indoors.

New York City's Department of Education is reporting the majority of its classrooms’ ventilation systems are working as designed. But that leaves hundreds of classrooms and whole buildings still under repair.