By Office of Brooklyn Borough President
Photos: Brooklyn Borough President
NEW YORK, NY – Today, over 250 parents, childcare providers, labor leaders, and elected officials rallied on the steps of City Hall against Mayor Adams’ sudden and misinformed decision to force four of the borough’s beloved childcare centers to close. The rally was organized by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Jeniffer Gutiérrez, Council Member Sandy Nurse, Council Member Crystal Hudson, and Council Member Chi Ossé. Speakers included Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander,, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, State Senator Jabari Brisport, Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest, Nuestros Niños Executive Director Ingrid Matias Chungata, Grand St. Settlement CEO Robert Cordero, RiseBoro CEO Kieran Harrington, DC37 Local 205 President Robert Ramos, CSA First Vice President Stamo Karalazarides Rosenberg, as well as families from Grand St. Settlement and Nuestros Niños. Representatives from the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Day Care Council, Los Sures, El Puente, LINC, and more stood in solidarity.
Thirty minutes before the rally was to start, an emergency meeting was called regarding the closures where representatives from the Mayor’s office and DOE said 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. The original letter asking for this exploration was sent on January 17th, and enrollment for 3-K and Pre-K closes on February 28th.
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. The DOE notified the centers of their closures less than 24 hours before applications for the upcoming school year went live, 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.
Mayor Adams and the DOE defended the decision by citing low enrollment, pointing to vastly incorrect data. For example, 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%. Meanwhile another site facing closure – Grand St. Settlement in Bushwick – is at 100% capacity, with 70 children enrolled and a long waitlist. Adding insult to injury, the City owes millions of dollars in late payments to the childcare centers. Nuestros Niños is owed almost $1 million, Grand Street Settlement is owed over $1 million, and Fort Greene Council is owed more than $500,000.
The four centers being forced to close in Brooklyn are Nuestros Niños (384 South 4th St.), Grand St. Settlement (319 Stanhope St.), Friends of Crown Heights (1435 Prospect Pl.), and Fort Greene Council (972 Fulton St.). There is also a fifth Queens closure.
“Mayor Adams cannot be serious about building a city for families if he moves forward with these childcare closures. These sites are each cornerstones of their communities – providing care for our children, relief for parents, and jobs for hardworking providers. As a product of Nuestros Niños myself, I know the amazing work that takes place in these centers every day. The noise we’re making is working, and the tone from the Administration is changing. We won’t stop coming back to City Hall until these centers are saved. Our families can’t wait – let’s get it done,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
“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,” said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. “The Mayor’s commitment to discussions is a clear sign that community resistance is working—but talk is not enough. This is not a real victory until there is an unequivocal commitment to fully reopening these sites and accepting new registrations.”
“The planned closure of Nuestros Niños, a pillar of the Los Sures community for over 50 years, is deeply troubling. But this isn’t just about one center. Across the city, potential closures are leaving families without options and educators without jobs,” said Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. “Child care is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. 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.”
“At a moment when we need to rapidly scale up the child care sector, the Adams administration is instead dragging New York deeper into the child care crisis,” said State Senator Jabari Brisport. “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. Whether or not you have children, these closures should alarm you; an equitable, stable economy simply cannot exist without a strong child care sector.”
“The sudden and misguided decision to close four childcare facilities in Brooklyn highlights the flaws in our city’s broken childcare system and Mayor Adams’ reckless budget management,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “While he boasts that every child who applied was offered a seat for 3K, his latest preliminary budget cuts the program by $112 million, continuing the trend of cuts to early childhood education from previous years. Just like these four facilities, early childcare programs in my district face chronic delays in payments from the city each year, making it incredibly difficult to maintain operations. Amid an affordability crisis, closing these facilities is not only irresponsible; it’s harmful. The community’s message is clear: Mayor Adams and the DOE must reverse this decision immediately and fully fund early childhood education.”
