The Kings Bay Y at North Williamsburg will launch its pre-school at 14 Hope Street (between Roebling and Havemeyer Streets) for children aged 2 - 5, combining the Reggio Emilia educational and progressive approach with a rich
curriculum and an emphasis on Jewish culture and values presented in an open and pluralistic way. Weekend family activities, programs for kids aged 0 - 2, enrichment programs for children 6 - 8 years old, dual language programs in Hebrew, Russian, Mandarin and summer camp programs are also planned.
“North Williamsburg has seen a large increase in the nonOrthodox Jewish and interfaith Jewish population over the last few years, and the vast majority of the people moving there have young children ages 0 to 3,” said Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay Y. “This creates a unique and exciting opportunity to enable these families to create their own communal place, that offers an opportunity to build their own unique and distinct model based on Jewish culture and values, while fulfilling the expectations of a diverse population that wants to put its own imprint on what being Jewish means to them,” he said. The Kings Bay YM-YWHA, an agency of UJA Federation of NY, has expanded its reach during the last two years with annexes in Windsor Terrace and most recently on Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. The Kings Bay Y at North Williamsburg is the first JCC site to open in North Williamsburg since the closing of the Williamsburg Y in the late 1960s.
