« Closing Bell: Let the Flea Times Roll Monday Links »

October 12, 2008

Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center to Close

berkeleycarroll-1008.jpg
This news appeared on the Park Slope Parents list over the weekend: the Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center will close at the end of this academic year in Aug. 2009. Here's more:

Methodist Hospital owns the building and needs the space back to accommodate their own growth. Unfortunately, Berkeley Carroll was unable to find another suitable space. We are all devastated and are trying to mobilize to get another year extension on the lease so that the families will have more time to transition to other options.

Shortage of child care options, especially for children under 2 because of the strict physical requirements of the space, was already a problem in this neighborhood, so this is a real loss, not just to the families who currently attend, but to the whole neighborhood as well. The center is a truly wonderful place with loving teachers.

Folks seem pretty distraught over it and are hoping to foment a movement to salvage the center. Can anyone out there help?




Posted by lisa at 10:02 AM | Comments (15)
Categories: Park Slope, Schools

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/6664

Comments

The mothers can always quit their jobs and watch their own damn kids.

Posted by: Xander Crews at October 12, 2008 6:15 PM

While we are very sympathetic to this issue the fact remains that emergent patient care is paramount. With the slow but sure phasing out of Long Island College Hospital, Methodist is experiencing a huge demand not to mention the growing population of Brooklyn.
Hopefully these parents find an alternative space soon; the physical space requirements are now very restrictive for health care purposes as per the mandates of JCAHO so if Methodist is demanding this space we can totally understand their limited choices.
Having said that children are our future and efforts must and will be made to accommodate them. Bonne chance tout le monde!

Posted by: pierre de taille at October 12, 2008 7:33 PM

How about 910 Union St, PPW/8th Ave , the Building used to house a School,
but was recently sold to a Developer, with the way things are going in the Development world- this may be idle space for the School.

Posted by: shchune at October 12, 2008 8:33 PM

At the time this information was first announced, the Director of Communications at Methodist Hospital issued a statement indicating that the lease with Berkeley Carroll originally expired in 2003, but that at least 4 one-year extensions were requested and granted. This time around, Methodist said they needed the space and Berkeley Carroll did NOT ask for an extension.

Posted by: tiptoe at October 13, 2008 8:25 AM

"The mothers can always quit their jobs and watch their own damn kids."

Xander, would you like to pay for my family's health insurance, you ignoramus?

Posted by: ruska b at October 13, 2008 10:00 AM

Oh, poor entitled PSPs! Yes, it may be time for some of these people to take care of their own brats, if they can stand them.

Posted by: Ppark at October 13, 2008 10:01 AM

I agree with Xander!!!

Ruska - You are the man of the house hold. Get a second job with health insurance and carry your family's weight!

You are pethatic if you have to rely on your wifes income and insurance. BE A MAN AND TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FAMILY'S WELL BEING!!!

Posted by: troll at October 13, 2008 10:20 AM

Too bad. The area definitely needs more daycare options.

And I find it hilarious how many insecure 20 somethings are still threatened by children.

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 13, 2008 10:30 AM

Currently the DOH requires two forms of egress from the building to the sidewalk for EACH FLOOR that children will be on. This means that if you want to create two classrooms on two different floors of a building there needs to be 4 ways out. If you consider most buildings in PS being attached townhouses, this requirement excludes almost all the buildings in the Slope. This is one of the major reasons that there is a lack of childcare options in PS. I own an attached frame building that I want to use as a preschool. I was told by DOH that under and over the stoop access is not enough. I need to have two more doors with firewalls in between. Imagine how lovely that would look...and how much my neighbors would love me for that one!
I need an architect or engineer who is expert at negotiating article 47 of the health code. If you have any recommendations, please pass them along.

Posted by: brooklynschool at October 13, 2008 12:08 PM

It may be helpful for readers to have the Hospital perspective on this issue:

In 1999 an agreement was reached between New York Methodist Hospital (NYM) and the Berkeley Carroll School. The Hospital had decided to discontinue operating a childcare center but hoped to find a way to have the service remain available to parents in the community. NYM gave the School a five-year lease for 515 Sixth Street, which had been renovated to house the MHB Childcare Center and which had housed it since 1986. All furnishings and equipment in the building were donated to the School. Berkeley Carroll then began operating a childcare center in this space.

In 2003, when the five-year lease ended, the School asked for a one-year extension to provide more time to find a suitable space in which to move the Center. NYM granted the extension. This same request was made three more times. Each time, the Hospital granted the School a one-year extension. In September of 2008, the Hospital received a letter from the Berkeley Carroll School stating that the School intended to close the Childcare Center and return the space to the Hospital at the end of the 2008-09 academic year. There was no request for an additional extension.

Lyn S. Hill
Vice President for Communication
and External Affairs

Posted by: Lyn Hill at October 13, 2008 12:20 PM

This is an outrage. A lack of daycare option for parents at an affordable price is a disgrace upon that short jewish mayor of ours.

Posted by: PropJoe at October 13, 2008 12:36 PM

It's not just about financial necessity. It's so your kid doesn't end up undersocialized, bored, and underdeveloped. I work at home and I totally intend to put my child in a pre-K program. I loved pre-school I was in as a kid. I have totally positive memories of it these decades later. We were a very traditional family and my mother was a stay-at-home mother. It was my family's choice to put me in that program.

Posted by: traditionalmod at October 13, 2008 1:07 PM

Wow such harsh words!!! Xander, Troll and Ppark..were you beaten as children?!! goodness.. so what if a mother works.. I agree with traditionalmod.. I have been in school since i was 3 and am very happy that my parents made that decision.

Posted by: scarter at October 13, 2008 1:40 PM

Cute picture. That's all.

Posted by: LilBitOfLuck at October 13, 2008 5:20 PM

Disgusting. The school knew it was closing the child care a long time ago according to one trustee. However they invited unsupecting families to sign up for a three year program. What a ripoff.

The day care center was helpful to blue-collar families because it opened early.

Please read tiptoe's comment. I am glad someone knows the truth. What the hell are they hiding.

Posted by: Hardcharger at November 1, 2008 10:26 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions