Hundreds of people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday towards Manhattan to protest the proposed closing of 16 daycare centers that would affect thousands of New York families.

The march began at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn and ended near the Mayor's office in Manhattan.

"It's contradictory," said Roberto Napoleón, president of the Puerto Rican Council of Manhattan, one of the centers that provides care to 105 children and would stop running after 41 years of service. "On the one hand, the politicians talk about educating parents, finding them jobs, but how are they going to work if they don't have anyone to take care of their children?" said Napoleón, a participant in the march.

Luz Santiago, the field director of the DC1707 labor union, stated that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's specialty "is fixing the budget at the expense of children and the elderly."

According to Santiago, closing down the daycare centers would disproportionately affect the Latino community, which uses them the most.

"These centers have been around for a long time and the authorities are only looking for an excuse to shut them down," added the activist. She cited the case of the Lucille Mary center in the Bronx, which closed down in January of 2008, only to re-open as a private business in September of that same year.

The Administration for Children's Services (ACS) announced the closing of the 16 centers, which provide pre-K education to children and prepare them for elementary school.

"During these difficult times, we decided to propose the consolidation of centers that had high rent and were located close to alternative child care options," said Laura Postiglione, spokesperson for ACS. "We've given priority to all the children that are currently attending daycare. We will work together with parents to make sure that their children continue to benefit from this service in their neighborhoods," she added.

According to activists, nearly 2,000 slots will be slashed from the system and some 1,800 children will be displaced in June. In total, the 16 daycare centers have a staff of 320 and provide 1,212 spaces to more than 1,100 children. The 31 classes at other centers have a staff of 110 employees and 750 spaces for some 600 children.

"In total, 430 employees will lose their jobs, 1,962 spaces will be eliminated, and 1,800 children will be displaced in June," said Raglan George, executive director of DC 1707.

"The cuts to daycare services will be this administration's legacy," he said, and pointed out that the daycare centers located close to the ones that will be shut down "don't have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 children until June 30th."