City Councilman Vincent Gentile passionately criticized Mayor Bloomberg’s “severe cuts to Out of School Time (OST) programs for elementary school students” last week – when he referred to the cutbacks in a press release as an “all-out war on children.”
Gentile plans to hold a rally later today, along with parents, teachers, students and community leaders whose lives and jobs will all be affected by Bloomberg’s budget.
The mayor’s current plan would result in the loss of funds for a host of different after school programs – such as OST, as well as the Beacon Program – in schools throughout Community Boards 10 and 11 – which includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights.
The rally and press conference are to be held at P.S. 102 the Bay View School [211 72nd Street] at 5 p.m.
Councilman Gentile is urging parents and neighbors to call 311 and write Mayor Bloomberg to let him know exactly how you feel about these cuts. He is also requesting his constituents to send him a copy of any letters written to the mayor.
According to the press release, Gentile will be keeping track of the letters and will arrange their delivery to Mayor Bloomberg, along with an online petition to keep the Beacon program at McKinley active.