Make way for pre-K!
Parents at one Brooklyn day-care site say their 3-year-olds were unceremoniously dumped to make room for the mayor’s preferred, high-paying pre-kindergarten programs.
At least 10 wee ones from the “I Love Me Early Childhood Center” in Cypress Hills — whose families pay $4,000 for part-time day- care services — were sidelined earlier this month for older pre-K students who come with roughly $10,000 in city pre-K payments attached.
“They told us late Friday morning, and then the following Monday, it was immediately done,” said a working mom whose 3-year-old son was dislodged from the program. “It just completely disrupted our entire lives . . . It was completely unmanageable.”
The mother was told the dislocation would only last for about two weeks, but nearly three weeks later the center still can’t say when the younger kids can return.
Filings with the Department of Buildings show a permit to expand the Cypress Hills center from 24 to 50 kids — but that work permit wasn’t submitted until August and allows construction to continue for up to a year.
A woman at the center who spoke through a closed door said, “I am not saying anything.”
City officials, who recently inked a 3-year, $610,000 pre-K contract with the “I Love Me” center said they plan to reach out to the site to address family concerns.
They also acknowledged that two Brooklyn sites and one Queens center that were supposed to serve 76 kids in pre-K programs this fall have still not opened.
“All parents have been kept up to date on the timing and have been offered alternative placements should they choose,” said Department of Education spokeswoman Devora Kaye.
Universal pre-K was a centerpiece of Mayor de Blasio’s election campaign.



