Hunters Point & Court Square · Long Island City

Your afternoon needs a stunt double. You need a sidekick.

Supervised walks and planned rides connecting school, after-school activities and home for K–4 kids in Hunters Point & Court Square.

More activities they’d love. Fewer pickups rearranging your day.

Help shape our first routes
Two afternoons meet at home Illustration: a dashed line for a parent's day passes a laptop and a clock, while an apricot line for a child's afternoon passes a school and an activity. Both lines meet at a building entrance, where a Sidekick team member hands a child to an adult waiting at the door.

Their pickup shouldn’t be your workday’s biggest worry.

Work schedules. School dismissal. After-school pickups. Every afternoon depends on everything lining up.

A meeting runs late. Your commute takes longer. Work takes you out of town. Your child still needs picking up.

Your day

  • Meeting runs late
  • Longer commute
  • Work trip

Their afternoon

  • Dismissal
  • Activity

We’re building Sidekick to give working parents a dependable pickup routine—with supervised trips and a confirmed handoff to an authorized adult at every destination.

So you can focus on your day, knowing there’s a plan for theirs.

Three trips we’re planning

After-school to home

From their activity or on-site after-school program to an authorized adult at your building entrance or street-level home entrance.

School to activity

From dismissal to their program, with a handoff to program staff.

School to home

From dismissal to an authorized adult at home.

Suitable short routes would be covered on foot. Planned vehicle rides would have a driver and a separate adult monitor. The first routes will depend on family demand and operational readiness.

How a trip would work

  1. Find your route.

    Confirm days, pickup and destination, timing and price before booking.

  2. Prepare the handoff.

    Complete the required pickup authorizations with your school or program.

  3. Travel together.

    Sidekick staff supervise the journey; children do not leave activities early.

  4. Meet at the destination.

    An authorized adult receives your child and the handoff is confirmed.

Know who’s with your child. Stay connected along the way.

Our planned parent experience includes knowing who is assigned to your child’s trip, live tracking, pickup and arrival updates, and a way to contact the supervising adult.

These features are being evaluated before launch.

Planned experience · illustrative preview
Illustrative preview, home screen: a sample ride home shows the child arriving soon, with progress from picked up to handed to you, and upcoming trips. Illustrative preview, live trip screen: a sample map of a ride home with an arrival estimate, the driver and ride monitor named, and a button to call the ride monitor. Illustrative preview, alerts screen: sample updates for picked up, almost home and handed to an adult at the building entrance.

Your questions, answered

What trips is Sidekick planning?

Sidekick is being developed for K–4 children in Hunters Point and Court Square, connecting:

  • School to after-school activity
  • After-school activity or program to home
  • School to home

Short routes would be covered on foot; vehicle rides are planned. Your survey answers will help shape the first routes.

Who would accompany my child?

Children would travel with Sidekick staff in small groups along shared routes. Vehicle rides would have a driver and a separate adult monitor. Group sizes and staffing will be established before launch.

How will staff be screened?

Every pickup team member would complete background screening and required training before working with children. We’re establishing that process ahead of launch, along with how families will identify and contact their child’s supervising adult.

Does an adult need to receive my child?

Yes. An authorized adult must receive your child at the destination. For home-bound trips, families would designate a primary receiving adult and an authorized backup.

For our first routes, this applies even if your child usually goes upstairs independently—it helps us make sure every trip ends with a safe handoff.

Could I use Sidekick occasionally?

That’s an option we’re exploring. You could register without signing up for regular pickups: we’d keep your child’s information on file, and the required pickup authorizations would already be in place with your school or program.

Being registered is what makes an occasional pickup possible when your plans change. If there’s an available place on an existing route, you’d request the trip and we’d confirm it before pickup. Without registration, those authorizations can’t be arranged in time.

Will I be able to track the trip?

Live tracking and pickup and arrival updates are planned for launch. We’re verifying the software and parent experience before confirming exactly how these features will work.

How would booking and payment work?

Regular pickups would be arranged for agreed weekdays, with monthly prepayment to reserve those days. Occasional trips would be booked separately, subject to availability.

Final prices, payment terms and the booking process—including how you’d request a trip and receive confirmation—will be shared before families commit. Families who join our list through the survey will hear first.

When will Sidekick start?

The first routes will depend on compatible family demand and operational readiness. Completing the survey helps shape those routes; it does not reserve a place or commit you to payment.

Built from a familiar afternoon.

I’m Lillian, an LIC parent developing Sidekick around a challenge many families know: being close to school and activities doesn’t mean being available for every pickup.

Kip, Sidekick’s mascot, holding a route map.

Which trip would make your day easier?

Tell us what your family needs and help shape our first routes.

Share your pickup needs

Completing the survey is not a booking or commitment to payment.