Ribbon cutting ceremony for new Universal Pre-K Center in Upper East Side. Image credit: BenKallos.com.

New center will add more Pre-K seats alleviating shortage. On September 12, 2018, Council Member Ben Kallos and the Department of Education announced the opening of the new Universal Pre-K Center on the Upper East Side at a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new facility, located at 1683 3rd Avenue Street, is 11,492 square feet, and will serve 90 Pre-K students. The opening of the facility is part of the City’s new efforts to build more facilities and offer education services to children all over the city.

The facility is on the ground floor of an 83-unit, 30-story new residential building in the heart of the East 90s. The facility was constructed in an 11,492 square foot site in partnership with Extell Development Company.

This facility will help with the unmet demand that has forced parents in Council District 5 to consider sending their children to Pre-K schools in downtown Manhattan. During the 2017-2018 school year, 736 families applied for a total of 550 Pre-K spots on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island.

Council District 5 currently has another facility that serves 140 students on East 57th street, and a location on East 76th to open fall 2019 that will serve 180 students, totaling more than 400 Pre-K students.

“We are now taking big strides in fulfilling the need for Pre-K seats on the Upper East Side. Building by building we are working with the City to open up more pre-kindergarten seats so that every four-year-old in my district can get the benefits of Pre K without having to commute an hour away,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you the School Construction Authority for the work on the facility and to the Department of Education for helping us get this new facility open and serving the community.”

“The research is clear: free, full-day, high-quality early education is crucial to students’ future success,” said District 2 Superintendent Bonnie Laboy. “Every year, four-year-olds are going to have a great start to their educational career in this new facility.”

By: Samantha Albanese (Samantha is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School Student, Class of 2019.)