Over 250 folks, childcare suppliers, hard work leaders and elected officers rallied on Thursday at the steps of Town Corridor in opposition to what they described as “Mayor Adams’ sudden and misinformed decision to force four” of Brooklyn’s “beloved childcare centers to close.”
The Place of job of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stated the rally used to be arranged via Reynoso and Council Participants Jeniffer Gutiérrez, Sandy Nanny, Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé.
Audio system integrated Population Suggest Jumaane Williams; NYC Comptroller Brad Lander; Condition Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jabari Brisport; Meeting Member Phara Souffrant Forrest; and Nuestros Niños Government Director Ingrid Matias Chungata.
Isabel Panno Shepard, director of communications within the Place of job of Borough President Reynoso, stated that, half-hour ahead of the rally used to be anticipated to start out, an extremity assembly used to be referred to as in regards to the closures the place representatives from the Mayor’s Place of job and the Section of Schooling (DOE) stated “they would set up conversations with the providers next week to discuss potential options, but could not make any commitments beyond setting up a meeting with providers, as well as meeting with the landlords of these sites.”
Panno Shepard stated the actual letter inquiring for this exploration used to be despatched on Jan. 17, with enrollment for 3-Okay and Pre-Okay latter on Feb. 28.
“The forced closures – and the outpouring of community protest against them – have exposed DOE’s glaring mismanagement of the City’s 3-K program, which provides nearly 48,000 students with free early childhood education; yet, Adams declined to fund fully in his latest Preliminary Budget,” she stated.
Panno Shepard stated the DOE notified the facilities in their closures not up to 24 hours ahead of packages for the nearest faculty past went are living, “creating chaos and uncertainty for countless families and dedicated childcare professionals who rely on the sites for high-quality, community-based childhood education and employment.”
“Many providers and parents across the city fear that if these long-standing institutions are not safe, then the entire system is at risk,” she stated.
Panno Shepard stated Mayor Adams and the DOE defended the verdict via “citing low enrollment, pointing to vastly incorrect data.”
For instance, she stated that “the mayor claimed Nuestros Niños in Williamsburg – a 50-year-old institution where Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso attended as a child – had only four students enrolled, despite the center currently serving 96 students, hitting an enrollment rate of 82 percent.”
Panno Shepard stated every other website dealing with closure – Magnificent St. Agreement in Bushwick – is at 100% capability, with 70 kids enrolled and an extended waitlist.
“Adding insult to injury, the city owes millions of dollars in late payments to the childcare centers,” she stated, disclosing that Nuestros Niños is owed nearly $1 million, Magnificent Boulevard Agreement is owed over $1 million, and Fortress Greene Council is owed greater than $500,000.
Panno Shepard stated the 4 facilities being compelled to alike in Brooklyn are: Nuestros Niños (384 South 4th St.), Magnificent St. Agreement (319 Stanhope St.), Pals of Crown Heights (1435 Anticipation Pl.), and Fortress Greene Council (972 Fulton St.).
She stated there may be a 5th middle in Queens dealing with closure.
“Mayor Adams cannot be serious about building a city for families if he moves forward with these childcare closures,” Reynoso stated. “Those websites are each and every cornerstone in their communities – offering take care of our kids, leisure for folks and jobs for hardworking suppliers.
“As a product of Nuestros Niños myself, I know the amazing work that takes place in these centers every day,” he added. “The noise we’re making is operating, and the sound from the management is converting.
“We won’t stop coming back to City Hall until these centers are saved,” Reynoso vowed. “Our families can’t wait. Let’s get it done.”
“Rather than wasting time and resources on closures that should never have been on the table, the focus must be on investing in these model childcare sites, expanding access, and ensuring that families receive the support they deserve,” stated Gutiérrez. “The mayor’s loyalty to discussions is a sunlit signal that public resistance is operating—however communicate isn’t enough quantity.
“This is not a real victory until there is an unequivocal commitment to fully reopening these sites and accepting new registrations,” she added.
“The planned closure of Nuestros Niños, a pillar of the Los Sures community for over 50 years, is deeply troubling,” stated Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. “However this isn’t near to one middle. Around the town, attainable closures are departure households with out choices and educators with out jobs.
“Child care is not a luxury; it’s a necessity,” she added. “If we’re serious about breaking the cycle of poverty and making New York a place where families can thrive, we must invest in early childhood education. I urge the mayor to act now, keep his promises, and ensure these centers stay open.”
Brisport stated: “”At a pace after we wish to unexpectedly scale up the kid offer sector, the Adams management is rather dragging Unutilized York deeper into the kid offer extremity.
“Not only is this disastrous policy, but the way the Adams administration went about this demonstrates supreme disrespect for child care providers and for parents,” he stated. “Whether or not you have children, these closures should alarm you; an equitable, stable economy simply cannot exist without a strong child care sector.”
