Christ the King Community Daycare and Preschool in Queens plans to close in July 2027 as a charter school on the same campus seeks to expand. That expansion would serve children already old enough for school.
Daylight Post found that the proposed new program covers kindergarten and grades 1 and 5. It contains no request for infant or toddler places. That matters because the closing center serves children from six weeks old through preschool, with after-hours care, according to ABC7 New York's reporting.
The distinction changes how the campus plans should be judged. Increasing the number of school seats does not by itself preserve the kind of care that lets parents of babies and toddlers work.
What the application actually requests
The SUNY Charter Schools Institute's October 13 notice says Middle Village Preparatory Charter School is currently authorized for 540 students in grades 6 to 8. It requests an elementary program with 360 students across kindergarten and grades 1 and 5 for the 2027-28 school year.
The proposed schoolwide total is 815. That is 275 above the existing authorization, rather than 360 net additional places. Neither figure measures replacement childcare for the children too young for the proposed grades.
SUNY says its trustees or charter schools committee could consider the application as early as January 5, 2027. It remains an application, not an approved expansion. The notice does not establish why the daycare is closing.
The hours matter too
ABC7 reports that the daycare plans to close in July 2027 after more than 30 years. The director's retirement and a mutual decision to close were communicated in a letter to families. The broadcaster also reports that the expanding school has offered positions to daycare staff.
Keeping staff employed would address one consequence of closure. It would not give a family with a baby a place in kindergarten.
The same distinction appears in New York City's own early-years system. Standard 3-K places cover six hours and 20 minutes a day during the school year. Extended Day and Year places can cover up to 10 hours and include summer, with eligibility conditions. The city also offers City Transitional places with longer days and income- and needs-based priorities.
A school-day offer, an extended-hours childcare place and an infant place therefore provide different services. Families need a replacement that matches their child's age and the hours for which care is required.
The public expansion notice sets out school enrollment. It does not set out a replacement plan for the infant and toddler care that families are losing.