ALBANY – The state Assembly has transformed an Albany conference room into a free daycare center for legislators – without bothering to get approval from the state agency tasked with ensuring child safety regulations.
Democratic legislators have used the makeshift facility, which is inside the Legislative Office Building near the Capitol, for months with the support of Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), the Albany Times Union revealed Thursday.
But the state Office of General Services, which oversees state buildings, and the Office of Children and Family Services, which regulates day cares, have not authorized the operation, according to the upstate newspaper.
“I only found out about it after I overheard a few Democratic members talking about it,” Assemblyman Jarrett Gandolfo (R-Bayport, who has a one-year-old son, told The Post on Friday.
“We’re talking about an unregistered daycare being run by untrained legislative staffers. A few Democrats even carry bills to crack down on unregistered childcare facilities. It’s hypocritical.”
Unlicensed childcare facilities have been the subject of scrutiny in recent years following multiple tragedies, including the 2015 death of a baby at what appeared to be a safe daycare in SoHo.
And the Office of Children and Families has a long list of rules that facilities must follow in order to legally provide childcare services and it remains unknown the extent to which the Assembly operation meets them.
Reps for the two state agencies did not immediately provide comment about whether they were investigating the matter.
At least two legislative employees reportedly watch the children, one of whom as a full-time job.
“Earlier this year we were made aware that drop-off services would be offered to Assembly members,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Fulton) said. “We only have a few members with young children. To my knowledge, no Republican members have brought their children there.”
Representatives of Heastie – who did not provide comment Friday – told the Times Union the speaker can evade the typical red tape because his position gives him the authority to provide benefits to legislators like the so-called “drop-in center.”
“The working world has changed. We’re more accommodating to being a family-friendly environment, and the speaker doesn’t want parents to have to choose between being a legislator and having young kids,” spokeswoman Kerri Biche told the paper.
Some state lawmakers expressed support for the facility considering the convenience of having daycare so near the Capitol.
But Gandolfo said cutting corners with state rules hardly makes sense, especially considering how New York legislators made themselves the highest-paid in the nation just months ago.
“It’s a complete slap in the face to everyday families who struggle to pay for their own childcare,” he said.
“The average middle-class family doesn’t have access to a free, taxpayer-funded daycare option, so why should we?”