By Erin Texeira, Staff Reporter
Borough officials are outraged at Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's plans to slash city agencies by $2.7 billion next year, but they have not yet plotted specific strategies to fight the cuts.
Troubled by what would be the most severely trimmed budget since the Great Depression, City Council members gathered for an impromptu brainstorming meeting last Wednesday, according to Councilmember David Rosado.
"I am devastated by these cuts," said Rosado, who represents Hunts Point, Mott Haven. "People talk about responding to an economic depression with emergency measures, but it's happening in my neighborhood all the time. The depression is a constant thing here."
Councilmember Jose Rivera, who represents Belmont and parts of Fordham, West Farms and Tremont, said, "We are gearing up for a fight."
The council is expected to negotiate with the mayor to win back funding in some areas -- especially schools and youth services. It must approve a budget by March 31 to act.
Borough President Fernando Ferrer met with the mayor last week to discuss the The borough president will hold a public hearing March 3 in the County Courthouse. Representatives from city agencies will meet with residents to discuss the effect of the proposed cuts.
"Giuliani has been reaching out and asking for better ideas to balance the budget," said Rivera. "Citizens need to contribute their ideas."
Schools, transportation, youth services and social services are slated for the deepest funding cuts. While residents citywide will suffer, elected officials say these cuts will affect borough residents most.
"The Bronx is the poorest borough in the city," said Rep. Jose Serrano, (D-South Bronx). "We are in greatest need for the services that will be cut.
Said Jim Fairbanks, spokesperson for Councilmember Wendell Foster, "We've never seen the likes of this. This is a war on poor people."
After-school programs would be among those eliminated if a $230 million reduction in school funding goes through. Kids who take mass transit to school would be forced to pay their own fare, and all Youth Services programs except one would be eliminated entirely under the budget plan.
With a borough high school dropout rate of nearly one in six -- the highest in the city -- cuts that affect youth could be particularly devastating, officials say.
"What happens when kids are out of school and don't have anything to do," said John Roberts, district manager of Community Board 2, covering Longwood and Hunts Point. "They'll be out in the street, and who knows where they'll end up -- in trouble or in jail."
Said Serrano, "Everyone should pray and protest this heavy blow. That's what I'll be doing."
The Bronx Beat, February 20, 1995