Megan Vens-Policky has spent the last week scrambling to find new day care for her 4-year-old daughter.
Her favorite place, A Step Ahead Learning Center, at 4208 N. Broadway in Uptown, was forced to close its doors after 35 years on Wednesday due to a prolonged dispute between owner Tanneh Parker and the landlord over building conditions and rent.
Vens-Policky and other families at the day care have had to hastily make new plans for their children, who have come to adore Parker and their time at A Step Ahead. The parents see her as family and say her eviction is unjust.
“In the last week, I’ve reached out to four different day cares, I’ve filled out waitlist applications, I’ve been on tours. It’s a lot,” Vens-Policky said. “All while still working a full-time job and advocating for A Step Ahead.”
On Wednesday, the last day for the day care, Parker spent the last hour of the day reading and playing with the children. At pickup, some parents brought gifts for Parker and her employees.
“This was my life’s dream, so to lose that now is unreal,” Parker said.
Parker’s mother, Regina, opened the day care in Uptown in 1989. It eventually expanded across five connected storefronts and served more than 60 children. Parker took over soon after her mother died in 2013.
Her troubles with the landlord began in 2015, when Parker began renovations and discovered leaks in the ceilings of some of the storefronts. Parker paused the remodel and contacted the landlord, but she said the problems weren’t fixed.
By 2019 the conditions worsened. Water “rained” down walls from a plumbing problem in one of the apartments above the day care, damaging books and other supplies. A substance that appeared to be mold developed.
Due to the unsafe conditions and seeing no other options, Parker decided to stop using three of her five storefronts for the day care and only paid rent for the two that she was using. Her enrollment dropped to six families. In 2021 she received an eviction notice over incomplete payments, and the landlord took her to court for back rent.
In a court hearing in 2022, the landlord said the repairs weren’t made because Parker hasn’t given them access for crews to enter the building and do the work, according to a transcript of the proceeding.
But Parker denied that and told Judge David Skryd that she has text messages that show her repeatedly asking the landlord to take care of the issues. When Parker’s lawyer asked her to show those to the judge, Skryd said, “I don’t need — we don’t need to see that. She testified to that,” the transcript states.
The judge sided with the landlord. An initial $550,000 judgment was issued against Parker, but that was later reduced to $405,000.
Facing having to pay that sum and fund her legal challenges, Parker decided it was best to agree to leave the space.
Her plight got the attention of local community leaders, who reached out to the city to conduct an inspection of the property on Tuesday. The building failed that inspection. Several violations were found, including “severe black furry substance appearing to be mold” and “rotted and water-damaged floors.”
The city filed a complaint against the landlord in circuit court Wednesday over those violations, according to a spokesperson for the Law Department.
The landlord and the attorney for building owner George Callas could not be reached Thursday afternoon.
Michael Cotey, who had a young son at the day care center, said shuttering the business is a big loss for the neighborhood. He said A Step Ahead had flexible hours and affordable prices. He couldn’t find a similar place after hearing about the day care’s imminent closure.
“It’s got all the stuff that you’d want in a day care,” Cotey said. “It’s a really loving environment.”
Scott Gellman, who had two children at A Step Ahead over the years, said the closure was “devastating” for the community.
“What I loved about this place was that it was a place that really looked out for and served working-class people,” Gellman said, adding “it definitely wasn’t easy” figuring out next steps due to the center’s closure.
Parents have amplified a GoFundMe that Parker started to raise money to help her fund a legal challenge to vacate the judgment made against her.
Parker hopes to someday be able to open another day care in the neighborhood.
“I don’t know what it looks like now. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I’m hoping that it’s vibrant and full of children,” she said.
