Exclusive | NYC special-needs gym closes after director dies from heart attack, leaving parents heartbroken: Flabbergasted

A beloved Manhattan sensory gym providing free after-school therapy for some preschool-age children with special needs has suddenly shuttered, leaving scores of families heartbroken.The Smile Center opened in Midtown in 2009 — and closed its doors last week after longtime Director Huck Ho died of a heart attack at age 56 earlier this month, according to a source familiar with the matter.“Our director had passed away, so as of right now, we’re going to have to shut down until we know if there was a plan in place,” said Kristina Terpo, an office coordinator at the facility, to The Post.The private center is believed to have been one of only two of its kind in the borough that accepted vouchers from the city Department of Education for free therapy.Terpo said she is “heartbroken” that some of the dozens of Smile’s families who relied on the vouchers through the DOE’s Committee on Preschool Special Education now have even fewer affordable options.“The only place that I know [that accepts vouchers] is Making Milestones.… [And] they’re not going to have enough space for all of [Smile’s families], unfortunately,” Terpo said.A rep for Making Milestones on the Upper West Side said it is the only remaining private center in Manhattan to accept the vouchers — and confirmed that the facility is already inundated with more requests than it can fill.“We’re taking down all names.

… Most of the kids from Smile [Center] called,” the rep said, noting that the list is a “couple pages” long.Some of the Smile Center’s dozen occupational, physical and speech therapists may be able to land work at Making Milestones to “help with our case load,” the rep said.“By next week we should have a better understanding of the situation.”Other private therapies can cost hundreds of dollars per session, according to Upper East Side parent Mary, a former Smile Center parent who declined to provide her last name to The Post. “Getting the services tha...