NEW YORK—Thousands of parents and advocates marched across the Brooklyn Bridge from Cadman Plaza to City Hall Wednesday in protest of proposed cuts to child-care centers and classrooms throughout the city.
The cuts will affect jobs and the livelihood of the children and families who rely on them. Jobs will be lost and almost 2,000 children will have to find other child-care centers, according to a release by an organizer of the event, District Council 1707, a union representing the group.
The 16 child-care centers represent 1,212 time slots that 1,100 children can access, and 320 staff members. Meanwhile, 31 classrooms have 750 slots with 600 children and 110 staff members.
The union said that closing child-care centers is a “legacy” of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. “Since 2003 over 3,000 slots from day-care centers were eliminated,” said Raglan George Jr., who heads DC 1707.
Mayor Bloomberg, in his proposal, said that budget cuts are needed to cope with the over $5 billion dollar budget deficit that the city is facing. Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson has proposed cuts in his own state budget package. Approximately $1.3 billion will be cut from schools under his budget proposal.
If child-care centers are cut, it will place an additional burden on families who rely on the centers especially in neighborhoods with lower-income families, said the union.
The cuts will affect jobs and the livelihood of the children and families who rely on them. Jobs will be lost and almost 2,000 children will have to find other child-care centers, according to a release by an organizer of the event, District Council 1707, a union representing the group.
The 16 child-care centers represent 1,212 time slots that 1,100 children can access, and 320 staff members. Meanwhile, 31 classrooms have 750 slots with 600 children and 110 staff members.
The union said that closing child-care centers is a “legacy” of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. “Since 2003 over 3,000 slots from day-care centers were eliminated,” said Raglan George Jr., who heads DC 1707.
Mayor Bloomberg, in his proposal, said that budget cuts are needed to cope with the over $5 billion dollar budget deficit that the city is facing. Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson has proposed cuts in his own state budget package. Approximately $1.3 billion will be cut from schools under his budget proposal.
If child-care centers are cut, it will place an additional burden on families who rely on the centers especially in neighborhoods with lower-income families, said the union.
