May 19, 2011
By Stephanie West
New York City Council Members representing the four districts that make up Upper Manhattan will hold a unity rally on Thursday, May 19th at 6:00 p.m. to protest the budget cuts to child care centers being proposed in Mayor Bloomberg’s Fiscal Year 2012 Executive Budget. Council Members Melissa Mark Viverito, Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez will join together with Upper Manhattan based day care providers, parents and children to highlight the disproportionate impact of these cuts on the communities of East, Central and West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood and to call for a full restoration of child care services.
Though the Mayor recently announced a plan that he said would restore the funding for child care, there is still deep concern that thousands of families will find themselves without access to these vital services. The Mayor’s plan hinges on offering 10,500 school age children the option of enrolling in DYCD’s Out-of-School Time (OST) after school program, which itself has experienced severe cuts in recent years and does not address the needs of those working parents that require child care during traditional working hours. The communities of Upper Manhattan will unite to urge the administration to develop a real plan for addressing child care cuts.
For additional information contact Joe Taranto, at 917-535-5531 or email: jtaranto@council.nyc.gov
WHO: Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito, Council Member Inez E. Dickens, Council Member Robert Jackson, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez
WHEN: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Colonel Young Park: 143rd Street, between Lenox and 5th Avenues
