Nikki Leopold and Gina Enock share a light moment during a Friday night Coffee, Tea, and Chat session. Photo: Rachel Durfee.

Friday night. You’ve clocked out, packed up, and headed out of the office and into the freedom of the weekend. There are limitless ways to spend the evening before you: Go to the movies or a concert, out to dinner, take your kids mini-golfing or on a walk around the neighborhood.

Gina Enock is putting a new option into the mix: the Friday evening Coffee, Tea, and Chat, held at the Island Kids center on the bottom floor of 536 Main.

At 6:45 p.m. on Friday, Gina is bustling around the friendly room, putting the coffee on and arranging cookies on plates. The space is certainly warm. Cardboard-cut-out bunnies, paper-plate masks, and Crayola drawings decorate the yellow painted walls, while a pleasant breeze comes in through the open door. Among the tyke-sized furniture, Gina manages to find some adult-size chairs and arranges them into a semi-circle, chatting all the while. "I’m not a social worker," says Gina cheerily, "I’m just a parent who wants to make the coffee and open the door so people can come in and talk."

This is only the second meeting for the nascent program, which will meet every other week through June, have a hiatus for the summer, and start up again in September. The goal is to create an open, comfortable space where parents can take a break from their kids and talk openly with other Island parents.

Chris Enock, Gina’s husband, who grew up on the Island, walks in with a large stereo. He plugs it in and the sounds of Santana fill the room. "Originally, this wouldn’t be my first thought for what to do with my Friday night," says Chris good-naturedly. But he goes on to describe it as "a very social evening."

Nikki Leopold, Director of Island Kids and a mother herself, is also in attendance. She describes the group as a resource for the community. Island Kids, which is supported by government grants and various foundations, is able to offer the Coffee, Tea, and Chat free of charge, and is hoping to gather together parents from all across the community. So far, advertising has been done mostly through ads in The WIRE, fliers, the Island Kids website, e-mail blasts and, most effectively, word-of-mouth.

Tonight, nobody is deterred by the group’s small number. "Things like this start slowly," says Gina. "I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we’ll keep doing it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else." According to Nikki, these sessions are notoriously difficult to get started. "But," she says confidently, "something like this is definitely needed." Through her high level of contact with Island families, both as Island Kids Director and as a member of the community, Nikki was convinced that the Friday night sessions were not only feasible, but important for making Island Kids an integral part of the Island’s social network. "I’m so glad parents have a place to come," she says.

Issues under consideration for future tweaking include meeting time and format. Originally, the board agreed Fridays would be ideal as "during the week, parents are in their routine," Gina explains. "Then Saturdays are for family and Sunday is right back into the routine. Fridays, parents can come home, relax, and then come here for half an hour or an hour without having to worry about getting up in the morning."

As of now, the format is unstructured and very informal. With a more consistent group, facilitators say they’ll have a better idea of the direction in which they would like to go, whether it be hosting guest speakers, or turning the music up and serving wine instead of coffee.

This idea of a no-pressure, relaxed atmosphere is the central philosophy for Coffee, Tea, and Chat. Conversation flows naturally, everyone contributing their own voice. Whether delivered with soft-spoken nurture, good-natured sarcasm, or self-deprecating humor, no one is drowned out, and responses alternate from the thoughtful to the enthusiastic.

Gina feels this sort of forum is especially suitable for Roosevelt Island, as it is such a close-knit community. "We’re a small town in a big city," she says, "but we’re starting to grow. I want to keep that community feel." She pauses for a moment, and then adds spiritedly, "you know, we have fun on this Island!"

If this group is any reflection of the Island as a whole, then indeed they do. The parents talk easily, quickly relating to each other’s frustrations and exultations. They laugh over the absurdly titled parenting books Gina has brought (When Things Fall Apart gets the loudest laughs) and talk fondly of attending their children’s sports games. They vent about choosing schools, pre-adolescent woes, in-laws and finances. "No one’s an expert here," says parent Rick Leopold, "but I can talk about what’s going on in my life, and maybe it’s the same as what’s going on in your life and maybe someone will have an idea. It’s the "it takes a village" mentality."

Gina, who serves on the four-person Island Kids board, says the Friday night event is just one component in a broader effort to bring parents back to the center, which Gina and her friends fondly remember not only for playing a formative role in their children’s development, but also as a nexus of social activity for the parents themselves. "We want to create this same feeling for this next generation of parents," says Olya Stern, "to make sure this lives on past us."

The sun sets as the early summer evening draws to a close. Group members are relaxed in their chairs, slowly sipping the last drops of their coffee as the music plays on in the background. "I think parents have a hard time making themselves a priority," says Olya. Everyone nods in agreement, adding that appreciating time away from your kids is healthy, and the opportunity to commiserate with other parents a needed catharsis. Admittedly, the sunshine-painted walls and smiling bunny faces are enough to make anyone feel at ease, but it is the convivial conversation that the group hopes will make a difference.

The Friday evening chat is early enough (7:30) that it does not preclude an après-activity entertainment like a late movie, dinner, or family game. By the same token, for those seeking a relaxing, comfortable evening away from the kids and out of the confines of the apartment, a cup of coffee (don’t worry, it’s decaf), some Santana, and a jovial conversation with other Island parents at Island Kids could be just enough.