A Bronx early childhood education center has been empty for 3 years. NYC is paying the bill, but hasn't filled the seats

When Kobina Arhin, CEO of the Highbridge Economic Development Corporation, stands outside his organization's modern early childhood education center in the Bronx, he can't understand why it sits empty. 

Its doors have been shut for three years. 

The city finished building the center in 2023, but students were never enrolled. Arhin and Monsignor Donald Sakano, who founded the affordable housing development and property management company in 1984 that now manages 2,500 units, said the city has never fully explained to them why it remains closed. They were told there wasn't enough demand from families to fill the seats, a claim that Sakano and Arhin dispute, saying they believe seats could be filled.

"We're hoping that we'll get some kids in here at the last school year," Arhin told CBS News early last month, adding the gleaming facility is fully equipped to receive and accommodate about 100 3-and 4-year-old students. "We still have everything in there ready for kids to move in … we have little chairs, little tables, little bathrooms for kids, and the dining room."

Unopened care centers across the city

At least 27 pre-K facilities are sitting empty around the city, according to Simone Hawkins, the city's deputy chancellor of the Division of Early Childhood Education. Hawkins' office did not confirm to CBS News if the center in Highbridge was included in that count, nor could it provide a list of addresses of the vacant facilities. 

Between 2020 and 2024, the city earmarked at least $100 million, according to its capital campaign plan, to build 55 pre-K facilities, including Highbridge, in four of the five boroughs. Some facilities appeared to be finished, with a Department of Education sign adorned on the outside, but they remain closed. 

In response to why some facilities never opened, Dominique Ellison, a spokesperson for Hawkins' office, told CBS News the city is evaluating its plans, which "will be shared publicly once timelines and approvals are confirmed."

A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office blamed the previous administration — former Mayor Eric Adams — for policies that led to the vacant facilities. 

"For years, early childhood programs were slashed and sidelined by the prior administration, despite community need, leaving many of these buildings to sit empty," Jenna Lyle, deputy press secretary for education and child care at the mayor's press office, said in a statement to CBS News.

"The problem is finger-pointing instead of accountability"

Hawkins, who also worked in the Adams administration as deputy chancellor of the division of early childhood education, didn't provide further details or reasons why the centers never opened. Kara Ahmed, who served as deputy chancellor before Hawkins, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Josh Wallack, who served as the deputy chancellor for education under former Mayor Bill De Blasio's administration and helped launch "Pre-K for All," didn't respond to a request for comment. Wallack served on Mamdani's transition team for education. 

David C. Bloomfield, a professor of Education Leadership, Law and Policy at CUNY's Brooklyn College, said he believes the facilities are most likely vacant due to "mismanagement." He said the money and facilities are in place and the families' needs are apparent.

"The problem is finger-pointing instead of accountability," he said. 

Mamdani's campaign promise for universal child care

Mamdani campaigned on creating a more affordable city, in part, by providing universal child care. Days after Mamdani's inauguration, he and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the city would be launching a free child care system for 2-year-olds, known as 2-Care, and expanding New York City's preschool program for 3-year-olds.

Hochul committed $73 million to roll out 2,000 free 2-Care seats in select neighborhoods this year, and $425 million to add 10,000 more seats next year. The first phase spans several school districts across parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

This month, Mamdani announced an expansion of the 3-K program, adding over 1,000 seats, beginning this September. 

When asked about the 27 centers that sit empty, Mamdani said at a news conference he's looking at "any and all tools" to expand free pre-K and pointed to a vacant facility he opened in February.

That facility, on New York City's Upper East Side, was completed in July 2025, but remained unused. At a press conference in February announcing the opening, Mamdani said the center will add more than 130 pre-K and 3-K seats in the upcoming school year.

Mamdani's administration says it is "taking a close look at the areas around all vacant buildings and assessing early childhood seat need," Lyle said.

Pastor "feels frustrated" Bronx facility remains closed

Previous administrations told Highbridge executives that one of the reasons the center never opened was due to low enrollment needs in the area. An independent budget office said in a 2024 report that usage rates broadly increased for 3-K seats across the city in recent years. 

Sakano and Arhin pushed back against that idea, saying there are plenty of families in the area that could use the help. 

Sakano said he "feels frustrated" and "a little embarrassed" that the center has been sitting unused for so long in a neighborhood that needs so much assistance. "There's this opportunity that is really not available to them," Sakano said. 

Highbridge has a youthful population, with nearly a quarter of its residents under 15 years old, and the local poverty rate stands at 30%, almost double than the rest of New York City, according to The Furman Center at New York University.

The pastor said he sees mothers in the neighborhood who need help, pointing in particular to single parents who need to work to survive.

The city pays Highbridge Economic Development Corporation at least $25,000 a month in rent, Sakano said, but he and Arhin say that is beside the point; their hopes remain that the facility will open for the community — and the kids. 

Sakano said the neighborhood needs to have a good, safe place for children to be, "and that's what that facility is."

We are continuing to report on this story. 

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Cara Tabachnick @cara.10

Jared Ochacher @jared.586