New $3.3M Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center Facility Debuts

Officials celebrated the long-awaited debut of the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center’s new $3.3 million facility, increasing its capacity to serve low-income working parents, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, August 18.

The state-of-the-art, 7,828-square-foot building enables the center to expand affordable child care, enriching summer programs, workforce training, teen programs, college prep classes and a food pantry — empowering families and fostering childrens’ social development. 

“The day has finally arrived,” New York State  Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “We have been waiting for this because we know that child care is not a luxury, child care is a necessity. And that’s for our families, our moms, our parents, our economy, and for the health of our state.”

The new facility, which was funded in part by a $300,000 grant from the Empire State Development Corporation, features multiple classrooms, a computer lab, tutoring spaces, offices, additional bathrooms, a community space and a kitchen.

“We want everyone to know that the center does way more than child care and recreational activities,” Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center Executive Director Bonnie Michelle Cannon said. “We are a full-service community center that has been here for 70 years. Every student gets personal mentoring and one-on-one guidance. We create opportunity and help level the playing field for our marginalized children and families. We pride ourselves on being a family.”

The original center, a historically Black, community-based institution, was founded in the 1950s after a fire in a migrant camp killed two children of seasonal workers.

“The center’s new building … welcomes all the smiling children who will learn and grow here, within these walls,” Town of Southampton Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said. “This community has been committed to this new learning center project because everyone understands that these children represent our future.”