So, perhaps you have heard the rumblings about BCAP over the last month? Or perhaps just recently read a posting about it one of your Yahoo groups? Or, perhaps you haven’t heard anything at all? Well, in case you are unaware of what has been going on or want to know the details of what has been happening at BCAP- I thought I would post what parents of enrolled children have been going through. It is an absolute disaster. A truly awful situation and sickening. I went to an open house at a school last week, and one family was there searching for a school for their child who had been at BCAP. They had put her in daycare when the BCAP building became dangerous. At least they had their previous daycare to fall back on: some families had nothing at all!

One brave parent, Hemalee, alerted many Yahoo list serves early on as to what was going on at BCAP. She wanted potential enrolling families to know the story. As of last week, BCAP was still accepting applications and holding tours as soon as Dec. 11. Then today I got an email from Alice, a parent at BCAP, asking if I would  post a flyer the parents are sending out. So, below I am including first Hemalee’s very brave letter she wrote last week to people and also the BCAP parents letter. I think it’s great that these parents, when faced with adversity and anxiety, reached out to other Brooklyn parents to avert others’ potential involvement.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am writing after a month of horrible turmoil and anxiety in our lives. Recently (October 1) we moved Arushi from her wonderful daycare to BCAP. BCAP closed in the beginning of November. The story is long and sordid but it is important that you all know and that you tell your friends and neighbors. The school used to rent space from St. Ann’s and acquired their own space about a year ago with promises that they were moving. On Nov 1 we were told the school would move on Nov 5th and the kids would come to the new space – 25 Dean Street – on Nov 7th. When we got there we – the parents – realized the space was
not "finished" and was completely unsuitable for a preschool. The walls were not painted, the bathrooms not working, there was no water, the front door had no security system, there were exposed wires and the new carpeting was giving off noxious fumes – this was just what we could see. There was no certificate of occupancy and NO LICENSE to operate from that space. A teacher who raised concerns was fired practically on the spot for "insubordination". When we complained at an emergency meeting on Friday Nov 9th – we were told the problems were cosmetic and could be fixed in a few days. On Sunday we all received an email from the director that the school would be closed until Thursday Nov 15th.
The school has not reopened!!
They have no date for reopening and as of today the work is nowhere near finished (we went to pick up our things) We have since found out that the teachers’ paychecks have bounced over and over again for the last year. We have since found out that a teacher’s health insurance was cut off over the summer despite the fact that premiums were deducted from her check. The teachers were told that if they complained to parents, they would be fired. Since Nov 11th we has been lied to and put off by the preschool director and the man who runs BCAP’s parent organization – BBCC. We wrote a letter to the entire board of BBCC only to find out that apparently no board exists and the names in the public documents are of people who were never on the board or had resigned years ago. This man is the only "real" board member of BBCC, and is clearly the one who has engineered this entire thing but he will not even take or return our calls. They have sworn and promised that they would provide a temporary space and as of today – nothing. They took money from the parents of 43 children in November and gave us no services and sent us bills for December!!!!! And they have deposits from all of us and no one has yet received a refund. There is even more but you get the gist. The WORST part is that they jeopardized the safety of our children
and moved into that space without a second thought. There is something very wrong with this organization and these people. We have heard that parents are being solicited for the new space.  Please, please be careful if you are looking at this school. These people have been dishonest and unreliable and the space is not licensed!! It is my understanding that the entire student body that was enrolled on Nov 1 has officially
withdrawn. We plan to sue, as do other parents, but we would hate for more people to be caught up in their scam.
Thanks for your patience and best
-Hemalee

Are you considering sending your child to Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool?
Please continue reading about the experience of current and former parents:
Most (if not all) of the 43 families that were enrolled at BCAP as of November 1st have now withdrawn their child as a result of the events outlined below:
• After a year of constant delays, on November 1, 2007 parents and teachers were given 2 business days’ notice of the move to the 25 Dean St Location. Teachers were expected to pack their classrooms WHILE watching a full room of children.
• On Wednesday, November 7th, BCAP opened its doors at 25 Dean St. Parents were horrified to bring their children in and discover a completely unsafe environment with:
o Toxic fumes from carpets installed the night before
o Unpainted walls
o Exposed outlets
o One working bathroom for all the children and NO bathroom for the staff
(they were told to go to Starbucks)
o No heat
o An open, unattended front door with no security system
• The Administrator, Lucy Kramer and the Executive Director, Andy Lewis, maintained that the school was safe and operable, and that problems were merely cosmetic. Parent outcry finally forced the school to close on Friday, November 9th until the construction was completed.
• Further investigation by the parents revealed that the school had NO LICENSE TO OPERATED A CHILDCARE CENTER from NYC, and no Certificate of Occupancy.
• The school was closed for a month, leaving parents in the lurch, while they looked for a temporary location. During this time, communication with the parents was sporadic at best. Efforts to force accountability from the Executive Director have failed. Phone calls, emails and certified letters to the Executive Director have gone unanswered. We wrote a letter to the Board members of Better Brooklyn Community Center (the parent organization that runs BCAP), only to find that most of them said they had either resigned from the Board or never been on it in the first place.
• Parents also learned that the BCAP teacher’s paychecks have been bouncing since last summer. A teacher discovered that her health insurance had been cancelled due to non-payment of premium by her
employer, BBCC.
• BCAP fired one head teacher for insubordination after she raised concerns about the safety of the children. BCAP has also laid off all of their assistant teachers.
• Families were charged full tuition for the month of November and were provided with ONE day of care in a legal, licensed space. We were then invoiced for December with no acknowledgement or offer of refund for the lack of care provided in the previous month.

Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool should not be trusted with the safety and welfare of your child. They jeopardized the safety of our children without apology or remorse. Please be careful if you are
considering this school.

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