By Zach Patberg
The Red Fish, Blue Fish International Nursery and Early Learning Center will begin to take shape in the next couple weeks, said owner Robin Okonta, with plumbers to install low-rise sinks, an architect to design an indoor gym and a muralist from the Fashion Institute of Technology to create a colorful wallscape.For now, however, the contractors are waiting in the wings as Okonta seeks a green light from inspectors, who have over the past year ordered her to remove asbestos and lead from the pipes and walls, add a fire alarm and clear out cluttered back rooms in the church, located at 188th Street and 73rd Avenue.The delays have caused Okonta to abandon plans to open in time to hold a summer camp. But with everything but the back room now meeting inspection standards, she hopes to have a fall registration party for incoming toddlers and parents in July.Okonta, an independent teaching contractor in Forest Hills, has a master's degree in education administration and a post-graduate degree in teaching English as a second language.”My heart is in administration,” she said from her Austin Street office. “I like operating and putting things together.”Asked why she chose Christ Lutheran, which she rents out during weekdays, the woman in her 40s said, “there's something about bringing children to a place of worship. It gives parents a sense of security.”She will start with 30 children ranging in age from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 and move up gradually to her assigned limit of 82 students, she said.Downstairs will hold the main school with about 10 faculty members, including a 30-year veteran in early childhood development and a college friend specializing in speech therapy, Okonta said.The upstairs will be devoted three days a week to literacy training, music class and other specialized instruction. Until the school opens, however, Okonta said she hopes to hold adult education classes there.According to Bob Harris, who holds his Holliswood Civic Association meetings at Christ Lutheran once a month, the church itself might also benefit from the nursery since Okonta will provide a steady check to a parish whose congregation numbers and income are on the low end.Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
