Councilman David G. Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) is working hard in his roles as Council Member representing the 44th District, co-chair of the Council’s Brooklyn Delegation and a member of the Budget Negotiating Team to make sure vital programs and services that are important to local residents are included in the Fiscal Year 2014 New York City budget, which is currently being negotiated. Specifically, Councilman Greenfield is fighting to restore funding in critical areas of the budget including child care and after-school programs, neighborhood libraries and firehouses, and senior citizen services and centers.

“One of the most important roles I have is to make sure our community receives the funding and services that we need from city government. I have been working hard over the past month to make sure the budget is not balanced at the expense of our families, children and senior citizens. It seems like the same areas of the budget are targeted by the mayor for cuts each year. That’s why I am working with my colleagues to make sure we restore the funding to prevent those important services from being eliminated,” said Councilman Greenfield.

The drastic cuts included in the mayor’s executive budget, which was released earlier this month, include a reduction in the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) budget of $78.2 million. This reduction includes $60.7 million that the City Council restored last year to avoid harmful cuts to child care services and save a total of 4,400 child care slots. In addition, a $5.3 million cost-savings program enacted by the mayor in November against ACS will take away transitional child care from nearly 300 families, many of them in Boro Park and Williamsburg. In all, the mayor’s proposal would eliminate child care for about 9,000 children through a $59.6 million cut and after-school programs for more than 41,000 children through a $66.2 million cut.

At a City Council budget hearing on Tuesday, Councilman Greenfield grilled ACS Commissioner Ronald Richter about the cuts included in the budget, especially the $5.3 million cut in child care for families that have transitioned off public assistance. Considering that many families have been forced back onto public assistance as a result of losing access to child care, Councilman Greenfield questioned whether this decision will actually result in cost savings for the city in the long run. “Your logic is circular,” said Councilman Greenfield, “all you are doing is forcing these parents who finally found a job to give it up to take care of their children. That really doesn’t make any sense.” Under heavy questioning, Commissioner Richter agreed that the cuts were not “ideal” and said he would prefer to have the money back in the budget.

In addition, Councilman Greenfield is advocating on behalf of senior citizens, who are also facing substantial cuts in this year’s city budget. As chair of the Council’s Senior Center Committee, he is particularly concerned about cuts to several important programs, including $6.6 million from the Department for the Aging’s case management program, $800,000 for elder abuse prevention and $1 million for extended services, which funds community-based programs like Ohel and the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.

Finally, Councilman Greenfield is also fighting for initiatives like $2 million for autism services, funding for neighborhood libraries to maintain current service levels, and funding to make sure neighborhood fire companies are not eliminated across the five boroughs. Councilman Greenfield will continue to work with his colleagues including Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Finance Committee Chairman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. to advocate for a reinstatement of these programs and services.

“The budget as proposed by the mayor unfairly targets some of our must vulnerable populations, including young children who need an educational foundation to succeed in life and senior citizens who have given everything to our city and deserve better. It is unfair to target middle and working class New Yorkers for huge budget cuts each year,” concluded Councilman Greenfield.

By law, New York City must pass balanced budget by June 30 for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. Last year, Councilman Greenfield and the City Council were able to restore funding for critical budget areas such as child care and after-school programs, libraries, fire companies and senior programs. In addition, Councilman Greenfield secured more than $1 million in discretionary funds to support nearly 100 nonprofit and charitable groups serving residents of Boro Park, Midwood and Bensonhurst.

(YWN Desk – NYC)