New York – Half of the New York City Council today, including Councilman David G. Greenfield, General Welfare Chair Annabel Palma, Assistant Majority Leader Lew Fidler and Council Members Steve Levin, Brad Lander and Tish James, joined together to stand up for impoverished children by demanding a full restoration of funding to Priorities 5 and 6, which provide childcare through contracted seats or vouchers.

New York City’s most vulnerable children and families are, once again, facing drastic cuts to their desperately needed childcare. Mayor Bloomberg’s preliminary budget eliminates childcare for approximately 16,462 children across every single council district in New York City. The loss of childcare will affect economically disadvantaged families, and disproportionately impact minority communities across the five boroughs that rely on subsidized childcare for the basics, including maintaining stable employment.

“These proposed childcare cuts are unconscionable,” said Council Member David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) who led the protest against the cuts. “It is simply unacceptable to balance the city’s budget by harming children and working families. If these cuts to Priorities 5 and 6 come to fruition, more than just 16,462 children will suffer. The ripple effect will extend to the families of these impacted children and the pain will stretch across all five boroughs. This administration must multiply the impact on each of these 16,462 children and then consider whether New York City can afford to hurt not just the children, but tens of thousands of parents and siblings who will be harmed by these cuts.”

The deep cuts to Priorities 5 and 6 come on the heels of the elimination of Priority 7, which led to the loss of over 2,000 childcare slots in December. Many of these children were also eligible for Priorities 5 or 6 and moved over to those programs following the cancellation of Priority 7. As the administration moves down the list of priority childcare programs, gutting the funding to each, families are left with fewer and fewer options.

“The decimation of childcare is not only harsh, but it is penny wise and pound foolish,” said Council Member Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn). “What is to become of families where a parent has to give up a paying job when they lose child care? How does this benefit society or the taxpayer?” he asked.

Council Member Fidler was a member of the “gang of five,” which lobbied to successfully save Priority 7 in June and again in December when the program was ultimately eliminated. The “gang of five,” Council Member Greenfield quipped, has now become the “gang of twenty-five” as the Mayor’s deep cuts to city-subsidized childcare are impacting more communities citywide.

“The Mayor’s plans to cut child care subsidies for approximately 16,500 children in the coming fiscal year undermines his previous statements of support for working New Yorkers and demonstrates his lack of commitment to early learning opportunities for children,” said Council Member Annabel Palma (D-Bronx), Chair of the General Welfare Committee.  “These cuts come in addition to the approximately 14,000 child care slots that have already been lost since 2006 and mark the single largest cut to child care services since the 1970s. If the Mayor’s proposal becomes a reality, thousands of working families will be left scrambling for child care and tens of thousands of children will enter school ill-prepared and behind their peers.”

Subsidized childcare is a lifeline for working families who are simply unable to shoulder the tremendous cost of private childcare on their own. Vouchers and subsidized day care ensure that New York City’s neediest children are well-cared for and safe. Not to mention the educational and socialization benefits of childcare for these children.

“Today my colleagues and I stand with one clear message: the Priority 5 and Priority 6 child care programs are absolutely vital programs for communities throughout New York City,” said Council Member Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn). “Thousands of children will suffer without this essential resource, and the City cannot, in good conscience, eliminate these programs. Not only will children suffer without early childhood education, but families who are already struggling to make ends meet will be faced with yet another impossible hurdle to overcome. We have one clear message to City Hall: do not cut our child care, and do not sacrifice our children’s education.”

“With the proposed elimination of 16,000 child care slots, way too many families around the city are going to find themselves without a way to provide after school or day long care for their children,” said Council Member Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn). “Especially after the earlier elimination of Priority 7 vouchers, it is outrageous that additional cuts to our childcare system are once again being proposed. Today my colleagues and I are coming together with families, day care centers, schools, child welfare organizations and advocates to fight for the restoration of these essential child care slots.”

The bulk of the lost vouchers are in the Bronx and Brooklyn, two boroughs with large minority populations and socio-economic challenges.

“Every year New York City seems to balance the budget on the backs of our children. With ACS’ $95 million deficit for this fiscal year, the agency has failed to act proactively in securing viable savings and revenue options to avoid cuts in future years. Additionally, the cuts of much needed vouchers and slots will eventually cost the city approximately $1 billion, said Council Member Letitia James (D-Brooklyn). “It is projected that 17,000 families will be affected by these cuts, mostly in Brooklyn in the Bronx. These families need to work and children need stable child care providers. The administration has left these families with little to no options for child care. I will continue to stand with my colleagues, and the many families and staff members of the centers who will be affected by these devastating cuts.”

“The loss of more than 16,000 child care slots would be a devastating blow to families struggling to make ends meet,” said Council Member Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Finance Committee. “The simple fact is that families need access to safe, affordable day care. You can’t provide for your family if you can’t go to work. We need to make hard decisions during tough economic times, but children should be held harmless in the process.”

“From the proposed closing of 100 senior centers to the anticipated mass layoffs of city teachers, it seems as if every possible vulnerable New Yorker is under siege from the upcoming budget cuts,” said Council Member Mike Nelson (D-Brooklyn).  “Now, with the proposed elimination of Priority 5 vouchers, hard working parents will be forced to choose between working and putting food on the table or caring for their children.  The loss of these vouchers will be devastating to many families and I urge Mayor Bloomberg to reconsider.”

“There is an urgency here that is clearly being over-looked: the safety of our children,” stated Council Member Erik Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn). “If ACS were to cut these child care slots, then where would our children go? Where would our communities turn to for safe affordable child care? Yes, it is important to cut costs but not at the expense of our most vulnerable children. ACS should step up and take these child care cuts off the table,” added Council Member Dilan.

“The proposed cuts to day care slots are devastating and will detrimentally affect our children as well as vulnerable families that are most dependent on these services,” said Council Member Diana Reyna (D-Brooklyn/Queens).  “This is an assault on day care forcing working families to turn to unlicensed and potentially dangerous child care or quit their jobs.  Especially during tough economic times we are aware that the less fortunate depend on consistent and structured child care.”

“The mayor’s proposal to eliminate nearly 17,000 child care slots is unacceptable,” said Council Member Al Vann (D-Brooklyn). “Working parents cannot afford to lose this service and our children cannot afford to lose this early education opportunity.”

“As a former day care center director and public school teacher of 25 years, I know how vital child care is to our communities,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Queens). “The administration must realize that any cuts to these services would be especially devastating to our low income working families. Once again, the City is targeting our most vulnerable and risking the welfare of our children’s future.”

“I stand in solidarity with Council Member Greenfield and with the thousands working New York City families whose children are once again coming under fire by from an administration that can’t seem to bring its priorities in line with the needs of real New Yorkers,” said Council Member James Sanders, Jr. (D-Queens). “To impose deep cuts to Priorities 5 and 6 would imperil the childcare services for New York City children from every part of our City, and place further stress on working parents at a time when our government should be doing everything in its power to help working people.  Yet again, we are trying to balance our budgets on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. I urge the administration to reconsider these cuts, and restore funding for Priorities 5 and 6.”

“With our district having one of the longest commutes for working parents across New York City, it is truly horrendous that parents have to suffer with these cuts,” said Council Member Leroy Comrie (D-Queens). “So many households rely on these slots to maintain the ability to keep stable jobs while insuring that their children are well cared for.”

The Council Members gathered today pledged to continue their advocacy efforts publicly, as well as throughout the Council’s internal budget negotiations, with the goal being a full restoration of funding.

“In this climate we should be looking to restore all funding to children and families,” said Council Member Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx). “These programs are vital to the growth and development of productive children.”

The following Council Members also came out in opposition to the cuts in child care: Margaret Chin, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mathieu Eugene, Darlene Mealy, Oliver Koppell, Jimmy Van Bramer, Ruben Wills, Gale Brewer, Debi Rose, Jim Gennaro, Robert Jackson, Jumaane Williams, Sara Gonzalez, Mark Weprin, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Peter Koo, Jimmy Vacca and Ydanis Rodriguez.

(YWN Desk – NYC)