After 18 years of helping kids stay busy, safe and supervised after the final bell, the after-school program at P.S. 115 Daniel Mucatel in Canarsie is being swapped out this September. Parents, students and staff say they got almost no warning, so they took their frustration to the streets, marching through the neighborhood to protest the change.
Families fear the replacement program will leave dozens of children with nowhere to go between dismissal and dinnertime. They say the incoming provider will offer far fewer seats than the current one, and they are demanding an in-person sit-down with the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development to explain how the decision was made and exactly how many kids will get spots.
Parents told News 12 Brooklyn they were notified just last week that Millennium Development’s long-standing after-school contract at P.S. 115 had been pulled. Millennium currently serves roughly 200 students at the site, they said, while the incoming provider is expected to seat about 120. That math has parents worried.
“I was devastated because my daughter loves the program,” parent Omiga Colas said. Another parent, Alexandra M. Griffiths, told News 12 Brooklyn that families “want to keep Millennium as the vendor.”
DYCD Points to Competitive Rebid
City officials are framing the shakeup as part of a much larger overhaul. In a May 14 press release, the Department of Youth and Community Development said it reviewed more than 3,700 proposals and awarded hundreds of COMPASS after-school contracts across the city. The agency described it as the largest expansion of school-based after-school seats in years and said the open, competitive process is how a new vendor ended up at P.S. 115.
Local Seat Crunch May Not Match Citywide Gains
Parents are not arguing with the idea of more after-school seats citywide. What they are saying is that the citywide picture does not help them if their own school winds up with fewer openings.
Even as DYCD touts additional COMPASS slots across the five boroughs, the reshuffling of contracts can mean some individual schools lose capacity. That is the heart of the concern for P.S. 115 families, who are bracing for a scramble once enrollment offers roll out over the summer and the new contracts officially kick in this September.
Millennium’s Local Track Record
Millennium Development has been a fixture at P.S. 115 for years. On its program page, Millennium Development describes a slate of STEAM projects, arts activities, sports and leadership programming for students at the site, along with a list of site staff and program details that highlight its long run in Canarsie.
The school itself acknowledges the partnership too. The P.S. 115 website references Millennium Afterschool registration and lists P.S. 115’s school information and contact details on P.S. 115.
Parents Demand Answers
The neighborhood march was about more than venting. Parents say they want clear, face-to-face answers about why Millennium is being replaced and what will happen to children currently enrolled in the program.
As News 12 Brooklyn reported, families say they were given very little notice of the change and are calling on DYCD to meet with them in person. For now, the agency says it is reviewing seat availability, while the community keeps pressing for specifics before the fall semester starts.
Parents say they plan to keep the pressure on through the summer as enrollment decisions are finalized and the new contracts roll out. City officials and the school have not yet announced a public meeting date, and families say they intend to hold the city to its promise to explain how any children who lose their current after-school spots will be accommodated.
