By Rick Pezzullo—
The public will get a chance next week to weigh-in on plans for the Family YMCA of Tarrytown to relocate its daycare program once again.
The Tarrytown Planning Board will be holding a public hearing on Wed., Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at Village Hall on the YMCA’s proposal to convert the former Chase Bank space near Walgreen’s at 139 Wildey St. to serve close to 100 infants and toddlers.
The YMCA has been providing daycare in the community since 2009. The YMCA Early Learning Center was located on the EF International School campus on Marymount Ave. and was planning to move to Temple Beth Abraham at 25 Leroy Ave. earlier this year, but “it didn’t work out,” according to Gerry Riera, Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit organization.
Instead, the YMCA is caring for about 30 children at the Holy Cross Parish Hall on Beekman Ave. in Sleepy Hollow while it pursues approval to open in the 5,000-square-foot retail space.
Riera said the YMCA first set its sights on finding a new home in 2018 and has been actively looking for the last two years.
“There isn’t much retail space at the size that we need in Tarrytown,” Riera said. “I hope it will be a welcomed addition to the shopping center. We’re still the only institution that offers care for infants and toddlers. Our goal was to be in walking distance of the inner villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.”
Riera said there is a demand in the area for quality daycare and the proximity of the new space to the train station makes it ideal for commuting parents.
Open year-round Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Riera said the YMCA Early Learning Center is hoping to relocate by March 2023 “if everything goes smoothly” in the planning process and with construction.
“It’s a needed amenity in the community,” Riera said. “People don’t like to see vacant retail space.”
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