Mayoral challengers engage Adams in mini-debate over closure of childcare centers

Mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Jessica Ramos utilized their perch arsenic authorities lawmakers to challenge Mayor Adams connected aboriginal puerility care, questioning the city’s closure of respective childcare centers successful Brooklyn and Queens arsenic the politician testified earlier authorities legislators successful Albany connected Tuesday. 

The back-to-back exchanges were the archetypal clip the politician straight faced off against his challengers arsenic helium runs for re-election successful the June primary.

Adams blamed raises successful rent and debased enrollment numbers arsenic reasons wherefore the metropolis opted not to renew the leases of the 5 aboriginal puerility centers, and helium has said that families enrolled astatine the centers volition beryllium capable to find placement elsewhere.

But the candidates moving against Adams and section officials person challenged the city’s numbers and said the centers are located successful neighborhoods starved for affordable childcare options.

“These are centers that person been operating, immoderate of them for much than 50 years, hold lists, afloat enrollment, and those parents are present scrambling to find caller childcare,” Assemblymember Mamdani said astatine the marathon fund hearing.

Adams defended his administration’s moves, saying helium inherited precocious vacancy rates and seats near bare connected taxpayers’ dime, and that immoderate of the centers ordered to adjacent had enrollment rates of person to 40%.

Nuestros Niños, 1 of the sites slated to close, presently has 76% enrollment, oregon 96 children, according to a January release. The politician said astatine a property briefing that just 4 children are enrolled successful 1 of the centers.

“We person these 5 facilities that are astatine slightest 70% enrolled, and you’re proposing closing them. How bash you explicate that?” the progressive Queens rep asked the mayor.

“Well, I would, if I had time,” Adams said with a grin arsenic the clip buzzer sounded. 

State Sen. Ramos, who represents Jackson Heights and different Queens neighborhoods, told the politician during her enactment of questioning that families are struggling to find aboriginal puerility attraction that “makes consciousness with wherever they unrecorded and with their regular routine.”

AP

Sen. Jessica Ramos, D-East Elmhurst, talks with reporters aft listening to New York Gov. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

“This is truly wherever your absorption should be,” Ramos said.

Adams, successful turn, cited his grounds connected lowering the outgo of copays for the lowest-income families from $55 per week to little than $5 per week.

Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the members of the media successful City Hall Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 successful the Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)

Later on, nether questioning from Brooklyn State Sen. Julia Salazar, Adams said that the centers ordered to adjacent fell abbreviated connected 3 areas: They were nether capacity, facing rent hikes and determination were different aboriginal puerility attraction centers successful the areas. 

“Those 5 centers didn’t conscionable immoderate of those items, didn’t conscionable those 3 items, I should say,” Adams said. “… We can’t person centers occupied with 40% vacancy, and you person different centers successful the area, that’s conscionable feeding that situation that we saw erstwhile we archetypal came successful office,” the politician said.

Last week, Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said the closures were chiefly owed to precocious rent prices, and she said that portion immoderate of the sites had up to 90 kids enrolled, less students showed up than the DOE had planned.

With Cayla Bamberger