What a journey we have taken together, from that shocking moment in 2005 when we learned that our previous landlord was not renewing anyone's lease, to the opening of our new school.
The trip was not without bumps, and we weren't able to dodge every pothole, so we thank you for riding it out with us. We applaud you for your patience, cooperation, and support during the process of bringing it all together.
When we knew our days on 14th St. were numbered, we turned to an alumni parent, architect West Chin, to evaluate potential sites with us within the 10011 - 10014 Zip Codes where most of you live. (It was crucial for us to be loyal to you, our families, in making our choice). West patiently visited space after unsuitable space with us. The ones that might have been workable were simply too far away for many of our families.
In desperation we sent out a letter to our parents to enlist their help in securing a new space. Yuval Shenhar, Amit, Etai, and Ari's dad, who, realizing our plight, took us under his wing, and brought to our attention options that realtors had apparently not been aware of, including our beloved 136 W 10 St. He later even negotiated with the landlord on our behalf, which he did to the satisfaction of all parties. It is at this point that attorney Mary Rocha, mother of Henry and Isabella, stepped in to devote endless pro bono hours to working on details of the lease, extending our old lease with the addition of two new classrooms, and the thousand and one worries and problems (including the threat of paying ruinous triple rent starting January 1 in our old space) through which she skillfully and patiently navigated us.
Suzette told West her overall vision of the general appearance of the new school; assistant director Brunie, assisted by Jeff, expended an enormous amount of time and effort to classroom layout, and worked closely with West on all the details that make a school a school. Jeff focused on Dept. of Health and Fire Department compliance.
Then the project ground to a halt. We simply did not have the funds to pull off the ambitious plan we had come up with: every bid was for well over a million dollars. It is at this low point that Dorothy Hom and Michael Strauss, parents of Sophie and Chloe, and owners of Vanguard Construction and Development, stepped in to rescue us. Dorothy took charge of the plan and slashed and burned anything that was inessential, and pulled off a miracle. She assembled a wonderful team who somehow found a way to flesh out our bare-bones approach by adding a thousand and one esthetic touches, including jacking up half of the ground floor ceiling so that the entire ceiling is on the same level, while keeping on budget and on schedule. And time was indeed of the essence. Triple rent was looming on the horizon, so Vanguard made sure that their work was done according to plan, and in record time.
In a very real sense, Yuval, Dorothy, and Michael are not merely VPC parents, they are the parents of the new Village Preschool Center. Out of the kindness of their hearts, they have given a glorious rebirth to our school.
There are so many other people to thank. Mateo's dad, Goran Jovicic, provided us with moving trucks; Pam Sprayregen, Samara and Alexa's mother, supplied all the moving cartons. And our wonderful staff deserves special thanks for all the long hours and hard work they, their families and friends put into moving and setting up in time to reopen on schedule.
And we thank you all for your moral and financial support. To see that we put the funds raised by our fall Innisbrook drive to good use, take a look at our playground equipment, which your wrapping paper purchases and a contribution from Gene Sinigalliano, father of graduate James, paid for. Knowing that we are as strapped for time as for cash, and simply couldn't pull together a fundraising event, Jill Mintz, Noeline Cuker, and Stacy Kestin worked out the concept for our non-Gala. We are thrilled that current and graduate parents are making such generous contributions to the non-Gala drive.
We look upon the new school as the tangible manifestation of all the love our families have blessed us with through what will soon be three decades. For us, the Village Preschool Center has never been only a school. It is our extended family, and we take pride in having you and your children as a part of this family. We hope that for all of our families, old and new, the new school will be like grandma's house, where the door is always open, and family members are always welcomed back with love.
auction of the children's group art projects. Time and date to be announced. |
Yuval Shenhar with sons
Ari and Etai
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