Inwood’s P.S. 005 Ellen Lurie to Add Preschool Special-Education Programming This Fall

P.S. 005 Ellen Lurie in Inwood is among the New York City schools planned to receive specialized preschool special-education programming beginning in fall 2026, city officials announced July 14, 2026.

The local change is part of a $67.5 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget investment that will bring the city’s existing Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES programs into Pre-K for the first time.

What is planned for District 6

The city’s announcement lists P.S. 005 Ellen Lurie as the District 6 location for the new programming. The school’s official NYC Public Schools profile identifies it at 3703 Tenth Avenue in Manhattan, in the Inwood community, and lists Pre-K among its grades.

For families in Inwood and elsewhere in District 6, the planned location could provide a specialized preschool option closer to home. That could reduce the need for some families to travel outside the community for services, although the available announcement does not guarantee placement at P.S. 005 or establish how many seats will be offered there.

Citywide staffing expansion

The mayor’s announcement says the initiative will add 250 Pre-K seats across 26 schools in 14 districts. It also calls for 35 professionals for 10 additional Preschool Regional Assessment Center teams, including psychologists, social workers, speech evaluators and occupational therapists.

The city also announced 20 new Committee on Preschool Special Education administrators and community coordinators, 100 school-based staff members to help families navigate the Individualized Education Program process, and 29 additional therapists and specialists through an expansion of the Special Education Itinerant Teacher program.

Officials said the added assessment teams are intended to reduce evaluation wait times citywide. The available sources do not document a specific effect for Inwood or District 6.

Budget figures differ by source

A New York City Council analysis of the Fiscal 2027 Executive Plan separately identifies $67.5 million in City funding, associated with 376 new positions for special-education Pre-K. The Council report counts 180 new special-education Pre-K seats in 25 new programs and projects total special-education Pre-K capacity of 3,533 seats in Fiscal Year 2027.

Those figures are not presented as a reconciled replacement for the mayoral announcement. The city release describes 250 seats across 26 schools and 14 districts, while the Council document uses a different budget accounting of seats, programs and positions.

What families still need to confirm

The announcement describes a planned fall rollout, not evidence that classrooms are already operating. The available sources do not establish the number of seats at P.S. 005, classroom schedules, school-level staffing, a local application deadline or whether the new program is accepting applications.

Families should verify eligibility, evaluation requirements, placement and enrollment information directly with NYCPS or District 6 before relying on the announcement. The current school profile confirms P.S. 005’s location, District 6 designation and existing Pre-K listing, but does not independently confirm that the new specialized program has opened.

Sources

• NYC Mayor’s Office announcement on the Pre-K special-education expansion
• New York City Council Fiscal 2027 Department of Education budget report
• P.S. 005 Ellen Lurie profile
• Spectrum News NY1 report on the expansion