Leadership at Nuestros Ninos in Williamsburg say the school has remained open without a budget since May 2024, fundraising to stay afloat.

They also say the city owes the school more than $1 million.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s very costly to put a child in a summer program in this area,” parent Maria Candelario Skyles said.

The school has served Black and brown students for decades. The sudden announcement to close the program was because the city says it was under-enrolled.

“At the time that we looked at that center, we were paying a million dollars a year [on] rent, but only four children were registered. That just doesn’t add up,” Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday.

Adams defended the closure of Nuestros Ninos and four other schools.

The mayor said he spoke with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso last weekend since Reynoso was a graduate of Nuestros Ninos.

“I said, let’s get the whole team in a room, you know, your team, our team, my team, so we can find out exactly what the issue is,” Adams said.

Reynoso says during a call the issue was clarified. There are not four students, but 96 students.

“I was very clear with him. I said you guys have the wrong numbers, and if your goal is to do right, we have to look at these numbers,” Reynoso said.

According to Reynoso’s office, despite the error, the city still plans to move forward with the closure, leaving parents fuming and confused.

“Why haven’t they done their research? Why are they not checking or calling the schools or visiting the schools to see how many students are actually here,” parent Denise Basilio said.

Now leadership is left wondering what happens to the money the school is owed, money that’s paid for salaries and supplies for eight months.