The South Bronx’s littlest residents have a new space to call their own, with the Sept. 25 opening of the Honorable Eugene G. Oliver Jr. Education Center in the Grand Concourse neighborhood.
The ribbon-cutting hosted by East Side House Settlement (ESH), which operates the site as a partner of the Department of Education, was a celebration of the new space and its namesake, Eugene G. Oliver, a native of the South Bronx. Oliver served as a judge in Bronx courts for 27 years and has served on the ESH board for over 50 years.
The center, located at 705 Concourse Village West, is the newest of 10 early education facilities operated by the nonprofit. More like it are needed throughout the city, as some neighborhoods see stiff competition for slots. In the South Bronx, there are up to four families for every one available early childhood education seat, according to a 2024 report by the Citizens’ Committee for Children in New York.
The new center is located within one of the Bronx’s most needy zip codes when it comes to demand — especially for services for special-needs kids, said Dr. Dawn Heyward, Deputy Director of Early Childhood Education for ESH.
The Oliver Center will serve 43 students ranging in age from 18 months to five years and will have six teachers, Heyward told the Bronx Times. Students with various physical, emotional and learning challenges will be integrated among students who do not have special needs.
This new center already has a waitlist, said Heyward. “Just this morning, someone knocked on the door.”
At the celebration, Oliver’s influence on his community was evident — especially for Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who praised her former boss as someone who “always did the work.” As Clark moved from assistant DA, Criminal Court and the Supreme Court, “This man has been my boss my whole life,” she said.
Clark said few people better exemplify ESH’s values of empathy, integrity, excellence and community. “To have a center named after him means we’ll have a next generation of people just like Gene Oliver,” she said. He was presented with a City Council proclamation from Council Member Althea Stevens, and Borough President Vanessa Gibson designated Sept. 25, 2024 as Eugene G. Oliver Day in the Bronx.
“I am so humbled and pleased that this center will be named after me,” Oliver told the crowd.
He explained his history with the East Side, which dates back to his childhood. Growing up in Mill Brook Houses, he participated in sports and youth leadership events with the nonprofit, which later awarded him a college scholarship.
Over Oliver’s long legal career — and now in retirement — he has helped lead the nonprofit that launched his educational journey. He said he has seen the organization through changes in mission and leadership and always maintained a sense of responsibility to the Bronx.
It’s not every day you see a building in your home community with your name on it, he said. “What an awesome feeling.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
