Dear friends,
During a very social weekend, I had more than a few conversations with friends about the alarming budget cuts that the mayor announced last week. The cuts will affect schools, child care, food assistance, sanitation services, and libraries.
The New York Times Editorial Board published a big piece on pandemic learning loss, which they suggest may be
“the most damaging disruption in the history of American education…[having] set student progress in math and reading back by two decades and widened the achievement gap that separates poor and wealthy children.
They note that local and state governments must invest substantial resources to address learning gaps.
Instead, the city is going to cut almost $20 million for the Summer Rising program, which was so popular last summer that it served 110,000 children; 45,000 applicants were turned away for lack of seats. This year, there will be reduced hours and the elimination of some Friday programs.
Universal pre-K programs are threatened by a cut of $120 million.
Part of the school budget plan is to eliminate 432 vacant non-classroom positions. This suggests to me that already beleaguered teachers will have less support. Why is this okay?
The phrase ‘garbage in, garbage out’ generally refers to data: if you begin with bad data, you get poor output. The phrase also applies to the input that the mayor receives from his yes-people and cronies. We need to provide better guidance to the mayor.
Tell the mayor that he needs a new approach to the budget! This action is updated.
The Bronx and Staten Island were supposed to get curbside composting in March; this round of cuts will delay the rollout for at least six months.
The Big Reuse and GrowNYC have been providing community composting throughout the city. They do outreach and community education and divert millions of pounds of organic waste from landfills each year.
These critical programs are being cut at the same time as curbside collection through the Department of Sanitation is being delayed. Their work has been critical, especially to fill the huge gaps in curbside service, which is currently only available in Brooklyn and Queens.
The quick action below is from Grow NYC:
Sign the petition to Mayor Adams and Sanitation Commissioner Tisch to let them know that community composting programs must be funded!
The governor has a pile of unfinished business on her desk. Let’s focus on the unsigned laws that don’t have a gimmick and still deserve her attention. Governor Hochul needs your input. Note: Only the first one is a rerun.
The Access to Home Data Reporting bill requires annual reporting on the New York Access to Home programs. These programs provide home modifications, such as entry ramps and chair lifts, to low-income households and enable people to remain at home rather than having to move to institutional settings.
Without data on the unmet demand for access to home programs, it’s harder to address the problem and win funding for these essential services.
There are also two bills — one requiring that the MTA board includes representation for disabled people, and another to require the state Department of Health to publish information related to home care services usage on its website — that bring much-needed awareness and attention to the needs of people living with disabilities.
Two health related bills — one to establish task force to improve the mental health of Black children and one to require prescription drug companies to notify the state Department of Financial Services 60 days before a significant price increase takes effect — also need the governor’s signature.
Tell the governor to take care of unfinished legislative business! I made this so easy!
with love,
L