Southampton preschool moving to Riverhead after building defects found
The Head Start building in Riverside was found to have structural defects while undergoing an expansion. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Southampton Head Start will relocate its preschool program for 88 children to downtown Riverhead after officials found structural defects in a building it has occupied for decades — setting off a scramble for a new space with just a few weeks to spare before the start of school.
In July, the Town of Southampton discovered issues in the building that Head Start has leased for 33 years in the hamlet of Riverside. While working on an expansion of the Flanders Road building, town engineers discovered issues caused from moisture in the ground seeping into the structure. The moisture corroded the studs and the building, which was erected in 1991, needed to be demolished, officials said.
Starting in early August, Head Start and town officials surveyed schools, churches and municipal buildings in search of a new space.
Long Island Head Start, with 21 locations in Suffolk County, provides services for children in families with incomes below the poverty level, as well as children with disabilities. Most of the children attending the Southampton school are between 3 and 5, officials said.
On Aug. 22, Yvonne Green, director of facilities for Long Island Head Start, and Annette Harris, director of program operations, set out to continue the search.
"I got up this morning and was like, 'Where are we putting these children?’ " Harris said that afternoon.
An "answered prayer" appeared later that day, Green recalled. Riverhead offered Head Start use of a building adjacent to town hall, about a five-minute drive from the now condemned building. Green and Harris headed over immediately to tour the town hall annex.
Riverhead Town will lease the building, which is currently unused, to Head Start for 12 months for the same $1 monthly fee it had paid to Southampton. Head Start will cover the cost of utilities and custodial expenses, Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard said.
Green said they hope to execute the contract in early September. The children can begin using the facility soon after.
Access to child care is an issue across New York state and in parts of the East End.
The state Office of Children and Family Services tracks "child care deserts," defined as areas that do not have enough licensed or registered child day care slots to serve the number of children in an area. Portions of Riverhead and Southampton that Head Start serves, as well as areas near Hampton Bays, rank among the highest-scoring deserts on the East End, according to state data.
Southampton officials were working to expand the front of the building by more than 1,200 square feet for The Children’s Museum of the East End.
The Bridgehampton museum had been using a portion of the Riverside building to reach students in the western portion of Southampton Town, said Liz Bard, the museum's co-president.
"We were really happy to be there and really looking forward to the renovations that the town was undertaking," Bard said.
Instead, the museum will focus on visiting Head Start centers, including at the other Riverhead site on St. John's Place.
She said the museum is prepared to "pop in wherever Head Start is and wherever we can reach children and families in the community."
Southampton officials did not have a timeline for building a new structure on Flanders Road.
While the Riverhead facility won't be ready for Sept. 4, the previously marked first day, Harris said she views it as a "little bit of a hiccup in the road" to continue services that "families desperately need."
Southampton Head Start will relocate its preschool program for 88 children to downtown Riverhead after officials found structural defects in a building it has occupied for decades — setting off a scramble for a new space with just a few weeks to spare before the start of school.
In July, the Town of Southampton discovered issues in the building that Head Start has leased for 33 years in the hamlet of Riverside. While working on an expansion of the Flanders Road building, town engineers discovered issues caused from moisture in the ground seeping into the structure. The moisture corroded the studs and the building, which was erected in 1991, needed to be demolished, officials said.
Starting in early August, Head Start and town officials surveyed schools, churches and municipal buildings in search of a new space.
Long Island Head Start, with 21 locations in Suffolk County, provides services for children in families with incomes below the poverty level, as well as children with disabilities. Most of the children attending the Southampton school are between 3 and 5, officials said.
On Aug. 22, Yvonne Green, director of facilities for Long Island Head Start, and Annette Harris, director of program operations, set out to continue the search.
"I got up this morning and was like, 'Where are we putting these children?’ " Harris said that afternoon.
An "answered prayer" appeared later that day, Green recalled. Riverhead offered Head Start use of a building adjacent to town hall, about a five-minute drive from the now condemned building. Green and Harris headed over immediately to tour the town hall annex.
Riverhead Town will lease the building, which is currently unused, to Head Start for 12 months for the same $1 monthly fee it had paid to Southampton. Head Start will cover the cost of utilities and custodial expenses, Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard said.
Green said they hope to execute the contract in early September. The children can begin using the facility soon after.
Access to child care is an issue across New York state and in parts of the East End.
The state Office of Children and Family Services tracks "child care deserts," defined as areas that do not have enough licensed or registered child day care slots to serve the number of children in an area. Portions of Riverhead and Southampton that Head Start serves, as well as areas near Hampton Bays, rank among the highest-scoring deserts on the East End, according to state data.
Southampton officials were working to expand the front of the building by more than 1,200 square feet for The Children’s Museum of the East End.
The Bridgehampton museum had been using a portion of the Riverside building to reach students in the western portion of Southampton Town, said Liz Bard, the museum's co-president.
"We were really happy to be there and really looking forward to the renovations that the town was undertaking," Bard said.
Instead, the museum will focus on visiting Head Start centers, including at the other Riverhead site on St. John's Place.
She said the museum is prepared to "pop in wherever Head Start is and wherever we can reach children and families in the community."
Southampton officials did not have a timeline for building a new structure on Flanders Road.
While the Riverhead facility won't be ready for Sept. 4, the previously marked first day, Harris said she views it as a "little bit of a hiccup in the road" to continue services that "families desperately need."
Preschool postponed
- Southampton Town officials uncovered structural problems this summer in the Southampton Head Start building in Riverside.
- Riverhead Town offered Head Start the use of a nearby town hall annex.
- Problems in the building were discovered during a project to create more room for The Children's Museum of the East End, which had used a portion of the building.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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