As the haggling continues in Albany over the state’s budget, members of the City Council are gearing up for the big fights ahead once it becomes clear what programs will be cut and how deeply. It’s been clear for months now that all kinds of services – senior centers, after school programs, schools, fire houses, – will be hit hard. This week, the state narrowly averted a government shutdown. And lawmakers have now agreed to vote on portions of the budget (transportation, public safety, economic development).
Today and tomorrow New York City elected officials are launching a pre-emptive strike. As District 1 City Councilmember Margaret Chin put it in an email message, “it is important that we stand together to fight to preserve our essential services and fight for a more equitable New York.”
At noon today (on the steps of City Hall), Council members are holding a rally to reverse the MTA’s sweeping service cuts. Then this afternoon at 4 (also at City Hall) there will be a “Save Our City” rally, urging the mayor to “stand up for working families.”
Finally, tomorrow at 5pm, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is organizing a protest at Cooper Union, where the Rent Guidelines Board is holding a public hearing. A similar hearing in Queens yesterday drew a small crowd.
