Half the staff at Borough Hall could get pink slips if cuts proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg go through. Borough President Helen Marshall’s office is expected to receive about $3.14 million in funding for the 2014 fiscal year—nearly $1.8 million less than last year—officials announced at Marshall’s Borough Board meeting on Monday, May 13. If [...]
The city’s executive budget includes $100 million in cuts to libraries across all five boroughs, slashing $29.6 million from Queens libraries alone. “If that proposal were to become reality, the impact [is] unthinkable,” said Thomas Galante, president and CEO of Queens Library. The cut marks a 35-percent decrease from current funding, will cause 428 layoffs, [...]
The looming cuts to the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) have been restored, but only by a fraction. Initially, the state’s budget called for a total slash of $240 million from OPWDD services, but the final budget gave back $30 million. Program administrators say this is still not enough. “The challenge our industry [...]
TODAY’S FORECAST Thursday: Overcast with rain showers. High of 46. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Thursday night: Overcast with a chance of rain. Low of 36. Winds from the WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%. EVENT OF THE DAY: Comedy Show Featuring Lisa Corrao Middle-school-teacher-turned-comedian Lisa Corrao, [...]
Soup kitchen and food pantry cuts, spread across the five boroughs, may leave less-fortunate New Yorkers hungry. Due to federal budget cuts in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), food pantries and soup kitchens throughout the city lost 11 million meals over the past year. That is a 40 percent decrease in the amount of [...]
Intrepid-Bound Space Shuttle Enterprise Sails Through New York Harbor The Space Shuttle Enterprise set off on a barge Sunday morning from John F. Kennedy Airport to sail to New Jersey. The shuttle prototype was lifted from a JFK hanger onto a barge on Saturday, and the barge set off from the airport just before [...]
Politicians, civic leaders and firefighters rallied recently in Queens to prevent 20 fire companies from going up in smoke. Dozens gathered on Tuesday, May 29 outside Engine 294 in Richmond Hill, one the 20 fire companies that may close due to budget cuts, including students from nearby P.S. 273. The children, brandishing signs, led the [...]
Outraged senior residents rallied to protect their center from what they call a city attack on the young and the elderly. The Friendship Center of the Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults (JSPOA) is facing about $400,000 in cuts from the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene as part of the city’s [...]
Children, parents and politicians rallied recently against the closing of after-school programs at the Pomonok Center at the Queens Community House. The center offers a free after-school program for children from grades kindergarten to sixth that includes homework help, arts and crafts, fitness, character development and team-building games. “I worry that without such a program [...]
Some seniors in southeast Queens may soon lose their “friends.” The Friendship Center — a program under the Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults (JSPOA) — relies heavily on funding from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to support its rehabilitative programs. However, due to fiscal constraints, the agency said it could no [...]
