By Gary Buiso
A child care center that has seen a generation of children pass through its doors may be shuttered by the end of the month. The city has refused to negotiate with the Irving Place Child Development Center, 81 Irving Place, leaving the center, which has operated at its current location for 35 years, literally out in the cold. “They are just saying they are not renegotiating our contract,” Janis Rivera, a board member at the center, said of the city’s decision. Rivera said enrollment at the facility is 55 children, ages two through five. She said the city notified Irving Place officials about its decision about two months ago. The facility has until Feb 23 to vacate. “We are looking into other options in the neighborhood, and just a variety of options,” Rivera said. The city’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), which oversees centers citywide, had little to say about the matter. “We’re declining any comment,” said Sheila Stainback, a spokesperson for the agency. Parents of children enrolled at the Irving Place facility, as well as elected officials supporting them, staged a Jan. 31 rally to oppose the closure. The fear, according to City Councilmember Letitia James, is that some 14 borough day care centers not operating at full capacity could be closed or consolidated. Stainback said what is happening at Irving Place has nothing to do with the 14 other centers. James said she was told that “changing demographics, under-capacity, poor management and no active board of directors” all contributed to the imminent closing of Irving Place, which stands on the border of Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant. She said Department of Education universal pre-kindergarten programs and after-school programs have “taken a bite” out of funding for day care centers like Irving Place. Still, there remains a need for this “vital resource,” the city lawmaker said. As a possible solution, the center could begin to accommodate toddler-aged children, James suggested. She said the city has refused to grant an extension, which she said she successfully brokered over the summer. “What we should be doing is working with the agencies to build up capacity and provide the technical assistance and keep them open,” James said. Rivera said she remains hopeful. “I would ask [the city] to really, really consider keeping Irving Place open to continue to service our community of children,” Rivera said. “It is vitally needed and we are crossing economic levels and cultural levels.” “There is a very diverse community here that needs the center,” Rivera said.
