Administration officials said Tuesday that safety and integrity concerns were behind the decision to revoke contracts at the nine centers, which were to serve 265 students. Those students will be reassigned at other centers.
Officials stressed that the vast majority of the 1,700 sites will open on the first day of school Thursday and are poised to serve an unprecedented expansion from 20,000 to 53,000 students in a single year.
The expansion — the centerpiece of de Blasio's first year in office — has been closely watched nationally and drew some surprising criticism last week from the city comptroller, who expressed safety concerns about the program.
"Our first rule is that we would only allow sites to open if we can account for health and safety, and there are a number of sites we've worked with over the past few months to make sure they are ready," said Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, the administration's pre-K czar.
