City steps in to keep local daycare open, by Nathan Weiser

To the relief of local politicians, community members and parents, Strong Place for Hope Day Care, the facility at 595 Clinton Street will remain open due to the city purchasing the building.

Earlier this year the building owner was frustrated that the city would not pay for necessary repairs on the 3,000 square foot building. Because the space holds a public daycare, the city is responsible for upgrades and repairs.

The landlord of the 595 Clinton Street daycare opted to sell the building, which would have forced Strong Place to shutter their facility.
Lorraine Pennisi, Executive Director since 2012 and director with Strong Place since 1989, said that the city has made the deposit for the building and is now going through the purchase process.

“A line was made in the mayor’s budget for it,” Pennisi said. “I guess it will go through the City Council for the final.”

Asked when the sale would be completed, she said that the building should officially belong to the city sometime in June.

This news comes as relief to the parents of the hundred 2-5 year olds who attend Strong Place.
Keamisha Williams’s daughter, Nyla will be four in June. She was excited to hear the news that her daughter, who has been enrolled in the day care for two years, will be able to attend Strong Place for her final year before starting kindergarten.

“It is pretty close to me and it is a whole lot more convenient than me having to go so much further away. And I work late, so I was very, very happy,” Williams said. “I can get there in five minutes, as opposed to if I had to go to a farther day care I would have had to take the bus or the train. It is really very convenient being right there. It is a great service to the community.”
Pennisi is thankful for everybody who worked to petition for the day care to stay open, including the families who advocated for the community and Strong Place for Hope. The community is ecstatic, according to Pennisi, since there is a need for the day care.

“This was really a combined effort of the community, and the families, and our local politicians,” Pennisi added. “It was Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Councilman Stephen Levin. It was the borough president, you know everybody was petitioning the mayor’s office. I don’t believe this could have been done without the mayor’s office getting involved in this as well.”
David Estrada, Communications Director for Councilman Carlos Menchaca, calls the daycare facility a neighborhood institution.

According to a letter to ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion, the day care has a capacity of 100 children and was at 100% enrollment in the spring/summer session of 2015. The day care has 20 employees, about half of whom live in Red Hook. This location, one of three in Brooklyn, provides three meals a day and includes a full size projection TV, educational computer programs for the children, and a gym.

Williams likes the caring atmosphere at Strong Place.

“What I love the most is it’s almost like a family because a lot of the people who work there live in the area,” she said. “They are very, very friendly. The kids really enjoy being there and it’s great seeing so many familiar faces in school and outside. I think that is a plus. Everyone really likes it there.”
Williams was out of town for about a week and then heard the good news about the day care from a friend when she returned.

“A friend of mine told me that the day care would be staying because they had a letter from ACS saying that the we didn’t have to worry, and it would be staying,” Williams said. “This was a cause that they were pretty much aware of, and they would do as much as they could to help the situation. That was very good.”

Pennisi added that families will now not be disrupted. If they took away this day care, there really are not a lot of options, especially city-funded options, for these children.

“The parents are so, so, so happy,” Pennisi said. “We also provide employment to people in the community. We are really a part of this community. We love what we do and we are very happy to be able to continue to be able to serve the families.