Heeding calls from members of the City Council including Councilman David Greenfield and advocates for children from low-income families, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans on Friday to retreat from his initial budget proposal to eliminate almost 16,000 child care slots and will restore $40 million of the nearly $100 million that he proposed cutting from vital childcare programs like Priority 5 day care. But the mayor is expected to slice an additional $400 million from various city agencies to help plug a multibillion-dollar deficit in his $65.6 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That budget is about the same size as the current one.

But parents and educators hoping for good news on plans to lay off thousands of teachers may be disappointed: The new budget proposal is essentially the same on that front as a preliminary proposal the mayor released in February, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The mayor’s presentation comes one day later than expected because of President Barack Obama’s trip Thursday to the site of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. The final budget, due June 30, must be negotiated with the City Council.

(Source: NY Times / WSJ)