Clock Ticking For Windsor Terrace Parents After Daycare Shutters

WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN — Emily Giles said the parents who sent their kids to Ilene's Sunflower Daycare at 1268 Prospect Ave. knew something was going on. It was understood that owner Ilene Lieberman was sick, Giles said, but parents were told management of the business was being shifted to Lieberman's son.

Then, last Friday afternoon, everyone suddenly learned that Lieberman had passed away, and the daycare would be closing at the end of the following week.

"We were prepared to figure out some plans, but we had no idea it was going to happen right at that second," Giles said, adding that her young son has attended the daycare for about two years since both she and her husband work. "And we had gotten no communication from the owners about any of this."

Sunflower could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

According to Giles, about 30 parents send their kids to Sunflower's two neighborhood locations, while the business employees approximately ten workers.

Giles praised the care her son receives at Sunflower.

"The women there are incredibly caring," she said. "They take wonderful care of our kids, and the kids love them. It definitely feels like family."

Lieberman held the state-issued license to run the day care facility, which became void with her death. Giles and other parents are now asking the state's Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to issue a temporary permit so the day care can stay open while the workers organize a new, collectively-owned daycare business.

Windsor Terrace Assemblyman Robert Carroll hosted a meeting on Thursday afternoon with OCFS officials, according to Dan Campanelli, his chief of staff. Campanelli said that while the meeting was constructive, there's "a pretty involved application process" for those looking to run a daycare, adding that the state officials "didn't promise us anything."

On Thursday, an OCFS spokesperson said the agency, "requires all day cares to have a licensed provider onsite to ensure that providers have adequate training and children are safe."

"If a daycare provider dies, her day care license is void; if there is no other licensed provider for that daycare, the site must close," the spokesperson said. "The license is not transferrable. To reopen the daycare, another individual must apply for a new childcare license through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. The New York City Health Department can expedite the application for a new daycare license."

The spokesperson added that a list of other area daycare providers was given to parents.

If a temporary permit doesn't come through, Giles said she and other parents are planning to split their children up into small groups that will be watched at home by the daycare workers.

Then there's the issue of money, spelled out on a website set up by the parents. Giles said Sunflower's workers are owed back pay of $14,000 for labor they've performed in January. Meanwhile, parents have collectively forked over $94,000 for future care they won't be receiving, she said, none of which has been returned.

The parents have filed a complaint with State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. A spokesman for the AG confirmed Thursday that the office is investigating the matter, but wouldn't provide further specifics.

Giles said she was paying Sunflower $1,400 per month, and had already paid the business through February. She said she doesn't expect to get her money back, but that she and her fellow parents are still hoping to ease the burden faced by the daycare's workers. An online fundraising campaign the group started had raised nearly $6,200 for the employees by Thursday afternoon.

The mom also said she hopes to connect her local struggle with the broader issue of affordable child care, which she called a "crisis" that's impacting parents city-wide.

Her monthly bill actually represented an "affordable option," Giles said, considering how many parents pay $2,000 per month for child care.

"You're paying another rent," she said.

Top image courtesy of Save Sunflower