Public School 188 (PS 188), officially named 'Public School 188 Michael E. Berdy,' is a public elementary school located in Brooklyn, New York City, historically serving the Coney Island and Sea Gate neighborhoods. It is part of the New York City Department of Education. The school gained historical note as the elementary school attended by financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his childhood in Brooklyn. In recent decades, PS 188 has served a diverse student population, including a significant number of economically disadvantaged and homeless students, as highlighted in a 2016 New York Times feature. It is important to note that a separate entity also named 'Public School 188' or 'The Island School' exists at 442 East Houston Street in Lower Manhattan, which is a distinct school focusing on serving a community with high needs, including legal advocacy for students in unstable housing. This creates a potential point of confusion, as the name 'PS 188' refers to at least two different schools in the NYC public school system.