“‘So’ this is the new room we have for the babies, here are the cribs and here are the one-year-olds,” explained Ashley Rodríguez, assistant administrator at Bronx Community College’s childcare center.
Bronx Community College will offer its students free or low-cost childcare for the first time in a new space designed and furnished for approximately 20 people.
“This will help us a lot because we can leave the children, at the same time we can go to take lessons in the same place they are cared for, we save time and we are extremely peaceful,” said Diana Peguero, mother and student at BCC.
The nursery, with a capacity of 120 children, has been in operation since 2011 but only had programs for children aged two and over.
Starting in February, parents with children aged between six weeks and two years will also be able to benefit from this program.
The center is open all year round. It operates from Monday to Thursday from seven in the morning to eight in the evening and on Fridays from seven to five and in the afternoon.
Something that according to Félix Matos Rodríguez, the rector of New York City’s public university system, CUNY, will be vital for many students.
“Because we know that between 10 and 15 percent of all CUNY students are parents and we know that in order to study calmly to do well, they need to be sure that their children are doing well,” said Matos Rodríguez.
To participate in this program, the first thing you need is a university enrollment, childbirth certificate, medical record, and proof of income.
Parents must pay $ 25 for registration and $ 5 per day. The website is bbc.cuny.edu
“We don’t want childcare to be an obstacle, so by expanding this program we hope to create more opportunities for our students,” said Thomas A. Isekenegbe, president of Bronx Community College.
This assistance is funded with $ 4.8 million in state government funds that have been allocated to expand the capacity of approximately 17 childcare centers within the CUNY system. And for the creation of a nursery at Queensborough Community College, the only facility in the system that does not offer childcare.
