{"id":203099,"date":"2026-04-20T09:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203099\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:53:10","slug":"empty-nyc-preschools-cost-taxpayers-nearly-100m-in-rent-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203099\/","title":{"rendered":"Empty NYC preschools cost taxpayers nearly $100M in rent alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City has shelled out nearly $100 million in taxpayer dollars to rent more than two dozen buildings that were meant to house preschools<\/a> \u2014 but have yet to open half a decade later, The Post has learned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city is still footing the rent and utility bills for the 28 facilities \u2014 a $99.3 million-and-counting boondoggle blamed on the \u201cterrible execution\u201d of former Mayor Bill de Blasio\u2019s ambitious universal preschool expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s corruption. It\u2019s incompetence,\u201d a former city Department of Education official told The Post.<\/p>\n

The location of an unopened preschool at 129 Van Brunt St. in Brooklyn. Dozens of Big Apple preschool sites have been sitting empty for years, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. NYPost<\/p>\n

The de Blasio-era scramble to construct 47 \u201cinitiative projects\u201d for the then-mayor\u2019s \u201c3-K For All\u201d pet program \u2014 giving free full-day care for 3-year-olds \u2014 resulted in the slew of \u201cphantom\u201d preschools<\/a> that remain devoid of students nearly five years after he left office.<\/p>\n

The ex-DOE official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the rush job was done without considering whether the chosen buildings were even in neighborhoods with a demand for the free seats.<\/p>\n

The source said officials were \u201cvery disappointed\u201d in the outcome, \u201cgiven there\u2019s such a significant need for pre-K seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

As The Post previously reported<\/a>, the de Blasio administration earmarked $400 million to build or renovate existing buildings \u2014 for a total of nearly 3,800 3-K seats across 28 sites \u2014 that were meant to open between August 2020 and September 2025.<\/p>\n

A handful of the intended 3-K buildings have since been repurposed as temporary homes for charter schools, preschool learners and even a DOE \u201cwelcome center\u201d on Staten Island, but the majority remain totally empty \u2014 and none are offering 3-K seats.<\/p>\n

The scramble to get the program up and running resulted in bizarre outcomes, such as an unopened 3-K center on Union Turnpike in Queens \u2014 estimated to cost $10.8 million \u2014 placed in a section of the city that already had trouble filling existing early childhood education seats, the former schools official said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey realized [afterward that] it wasn\u2019t a good location. \u2026 If they didn\u2019t think the need was there, why did they pick the site in the first place?\u201d the source said \u2014 adding the city is still shelling out a half-million dollars in annual rent to a private landlord over it.<\/p>\n

The eastern Queens site is in the middle of a heavily Jewish Orthodox neighborhood, the source noted \u2014 rendering the location a difficult space for a public preschool either way, as devout parents would likely opt for a religious setting.<\/p>\n

De Blasio blamed his successor, Mayor Eric Adams, for the pre-K kerfuffle, arguing that \u201cduring my administration, we never had a problem filling Pre-K and 3-K seats because we did lots of parent-friendly outreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, the Adams administration ended those efforts and took a step backwards on early childhood education,\u201d de Blasio told The Post, adding he believes that demand will increase \u201csubstantially\u201d under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n

Adams, however, argued he \u201cinherited a system with thousands of empty early childhood seats,\u201d and chose to prioritize \u201cstabilizing providers and increasing enrollment, rather than simply expanding capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani announced last week that the city would finally open seven 3K locations in the fall \u2014 including six of the long-vacant sites \u2014 as his administration moves forward with its own universal child care expansion.<\/p>\n

A still-shuttered planned new preschool on Union Turnpike in Queens is costing millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

Larry Mottola, owner of a hair salon near the Union Turnpike facility, said he was offered a walkthrough of the site when it was completed in 2022 \u2014 and bemoaned the fact that it kept racking up bills but never opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had beautiful classrooms, a stainless steel kitchen [and] there\u2019s a beautiful playground around back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bothersome, [that] they would waste that kind of money for four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the other buildings chosen to house 3-K programs were located near already existing centers.<\/p>\n

For instance, the one on Union Turnpike is just roughly a quarter-mile away from a 3-K center that has nearly 30 vacant slots. Another vacant site is located within blocks of four existing 3-K centers in Rego Park, Queens.<\/p>\n

An internal probe into the vacant preschools was launched after the realization, the former schools official said.<\/p>\n

A DOE rep declined to comment to The Post on the status of the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepartment of Education funds are getting wasted when there is great need in other communities,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

The situation has enraged parents in areas<\/a> with skyrocketing demand for the free, full-day education programs for 3-year-olds \u2014 including some neighborhoods where 3-K waitlists are more than 100 students deep.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a real misstep that we\u2019re not even utilizing the space that\u2019s being paid for,\u201d fumed Jessica Setton.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn mom has been petitioning the city to open its planned 3-K center on Van Brunt Street, along the Columbia Street waterfront, after The Post first exposed<\/a> its years-long vacancy last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cDe Blasio had good intention, terrible execution,\u201d she said. \u201cNow is a great opportunity for Mamdani \u2026 [to] correct the wrongs of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Union Turnpike school is one of more than two dozen \u201cphantom\u201d preschools sitting empty.<\/p>\n

Mamdani \u2014 who has dubbed de Blasio his favorite living Big Apple mayor \u2014 appears to be making moves to clean up the mess, with his announcement last week and one earlier this year about the long-awaited opening of one empty site on the Upper East Side, which followed a Post investigation into the empty $15 million schoolhouse.<\/a><\/p>\n

Parents across the city have been urging the mayor to open more preschools, citing soaring competition that prompts some families to shell out tens of thousands of dollars on private care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of the city see it as a priority. \u2026. Making the requisite spend to open the schools should have been more of a priority,\u201d said parent Zach Hetrick, who lives on the same block as the 129 Van Brunt St. site where his daughter would have been eligible.<\/p>\n

Instead of enrolling in the nearby 3-K program, Hetrick must trek with his tot over a mile away on foot, or a 15-minute bus ride \u201cif it comes on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taxpayers have spent $5.8 million just on construction for the vacant 129 Van Brunt St. site since 2022, according to a Post review of financial records. <\/p>\n

The city has spent nearly the same amount on rent and energy costs on the empty site alone \u2014 but without any indication of when the school will open in the future.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the nearest active 3-K program near Vant Brunt Street saw 79 applications vying for just 12 seats last year, while other popular sites \u2014 such as Kinder Prep Montessori in Brooklyn Heights \u2014 had as many as 110 applications fighting for 13 seats.<\/p>\n

Despite the obvious demand in the neighborhood, a DOE rep bizarrely said in August that, \u201cbased on current enrollment data and application trends, we do not see sufficient unmet demand in this area to support the opening of a new site at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Adams admin told parents inquiring about the Van Brunt Street last summer that it was not issuing procurements to open that facility or any others.<\/p>\n

An internal city Education Department probe into the vacant preschools was launched, but an agency rep declined to comment on the status of the report. NYPost<\/p>\n

Setton, whose Change.org petition<\/a> to open the Van Brunt Street preschool has yielded hundreds of signatures, railed, \u201cYou have schools that need space, you have a city law that says we need to reduce class sizes <\/a>\u2026 and yet we have empty buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a taxpayer and as a parent, it drives me insane,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, site had 148 applications for roughly a dozen spots, while a nearby \u201c3-K For All\u201d location on Atlantic Avenue sat completely vacant for years \u2013 despite the city shelling out $5 million in rent since 2021.<\/p>\n

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Similarly, in Manhattan, one existing 3-K center saw a whopping 166 tots apply for just 15 seats last year, while an empty city-leased site at 1972 Broadway cost taxpayers over $6.8 million in rent and energy costs.<\/p>\n

That site \u2014 estimated to cost a total $21.98 million \u2014 recently opened to a handful of special needs students, but the planned 225-seat 3-K center in the building remains vacant.<\/p>\n

A 3-K center at 1010 Third Ave. in Manhattan cost the city another $6 million in leases to date \u2014 a staggering $255,000 each month \u2014 but remains shuttered, while the nearest opened program saw 218 students compete for 15 seats.<\/p>\n

Other unopened 3-K sites in Queens \u2014 like those at 18-31 131st St. in College Point; 98-05 63 Drive in Rego Park and 63-57 Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, which is currently a Success Academy Charter Schools location before the city is set to move in this summer \u2014 similarly have more than a hundred applications for nearby preschools competing for just a fraction of seats.<\/p>\n

A DOE rep told The Post the department is \u201ccontinuously evaluating all vacant sites for the most responsible use based on site readiness and community need\u201d and that \u201call plans will be shared publicly once timelines and approvals are confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setton said, \u201cThis is really a story of parents who see a need, and we want the city to correct the ills of the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pay my taxes for schools, so here\u2019s a school. Now let\u2019s open it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City has shelled out nearly $100 million in taxpayer dollars to rent more than two dozen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4337,68,57,9,24,55,197,54,56,51259,58,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-203099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-department-of-education","9":"tag-exclusive","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","14":"tag-new-york-city-life","15":"tag-new-york-city-news","16":"tag-ny","17":"tag-preschools","18":"tag-us-news","19":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}