by Imani Hall 

As seats into the expanded pre-K program diminish, and community-based organizations reap the benefits, the childcare services industry in the Bronx feels under siege. It’s a feeling Iloka Gonzalez felt since the Cuomo Administration announced the expansion. 

“Now with this universal pre-K plan, we really need to be heard,” said Gonzalez. “We are not acknowledged by the city.”

She’s now taken matters into her own hands by hosting an expo for daycare providers on June 21.

“The expo will be composed of different vendors from the Bronx that will showcase opportunities for child care providers and other services like pay roll and advertisements,” Gonzalez said.

The expo will have different providers available for people to talk to and seek out different opportunities for jobs. There will also be assemblymen and councilmen at the expo for people to speak with.

“There are going to be between 250 and 300 providers as well as government officials, talking and mingling with people. We want to see people looking to work in the childcare industry,” she said.

In January the mayor introduced a new plan to have universal pre-k in New York City. According to nyc.gov, the plan will provide “every four-year-old with high-quality, full-day pre-K.” Early childhood learning has had lasting effects on the success of a child’s future, according to city school officials.

Applications for the expanded program went out in April, with parents signing up immediately. This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio, a major proponent of the expansion, announced that 15,000 students were denied. They will have to rely on community-based organizations who’ve been contracted by the city to manage the new demand. Gonzalez knows that people who work in childcare will be affected by this plan and need to speak up.

“With the new plan, we need to have someone to hear us,” said Gonzalez. “We are so not acknowledged by the city and the union does not represent us in a positive way.”

The expo is intended to start a conversation about the new plan and other issues that specifically affect people who work in the childcare industry.

“We are going to touch on certain issues we have specific concern with,” Gonzalez said about the expo.

The expo will be held at 2065 Morris Ave., between Burnside and 181Street on June 21 between 1 and 4 p.m. Anyone interested in participating can call Ilonka Gonzalez at 646-232-3686.