8 OCTOBER 29, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden calls on DOE to add seats for
Learning Bridges program in District 24
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Councilman Robert Holden is
calling on Schools Chancellor
Richard Carranza and the Department
of Education (DOE) to add
more seats for the Learning Bridges
program in District 24.
In a letter addressed to Carranza,
dated Oct. 20, Holden stated his
office has received complaints
from families in his district about
the “lack of access” to the Learning
Bridges program.
The program promised to offer
100,000 free child care seats by the
city for blended learning students
on their remote learning days.
In September, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced seats will be added on a
rolling basis, with 70,000 of them to
open by October and the rest of the
100,000 to open by December.
Holden said several schools
in Council District 30 — which
encompasses the neighborhoods
of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth,
Middle Village, Woodhaven and
Woodside — that also fall under
Schools District 24, are missing
from the program, mainly, P.S./I.S.
113, P.S. 58, P.S. 153, I.S. 73, P.S. 49, P.S.
128, P.S. 229 and P.S. 290.
“The blended learning model
has presented many challenges to
our principals, teachers and students,
and the uncertainty that our
parents face is a serious problem,”
Holden wrote.
The former professor added that
P.S. 128’s annex may be a good site
for Learning Bridges, as it is not
currently in use.
The Greater Ridgewood Youth
Council, a local nonprofit, is willing
to operate the program at the
facility.
“The communities I represent are
filled with essential workers and
first-responders who worked hard
during this pandemic. As often is
the case, we are always overlooked
for any city programs, despite
paying our taxes as middle-class
residents,” Holden wrote. “I find it
inconceivable that so many families
in my district seemingly have no access
to such a critical program like
Learning Bridges.”
Mark Zustovich, spokesman for
NYC Department of Youth and Community
Development (DYCD), told
QNS they “know how important
child care is for working families,
especially during the COVID-19
pandemic when school year plans
have been upended for many
households.”
Councilman Robert Holden File photo by Max Parrott
“Additional programs are opening
Queensboro Unico President
Gaspare Mistretta (l.) donates
$500 on behalf of the organization
to support the fi rst ever Middle
Village Alzheimer’s walk
fundraiser organized by Ariana
Mistretta for her grandfather
Nonno Sal! Visit queensborounico.
org or call 917-880-6532 to donate
or to learn more.
every week across the city to
provide supervised learning and enrichment
activities for young people
who can’t be at home or in school. We
will continue adding seats, making
offers available to more families and
increasing the number of schools
served throughout the fall,” said
Zustovich.
For more information, visit the
DOE’s Learning Bridges website.
Queensboro
Unico donates
to support the
Alzheimer’s
association
link
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