Non-profit organizations across the city have been assessing the impact of Mayor Bloomberg’s austere budget, which was approved by the City Council Tuesday. The Council managed to restore funding to some crucial services, including fire houses. They also saved dozens of after school programs located in public schools.
But many other after school programs – based in community centers – are going to be hit hard. The Educational Alliance helped lead a citywide campaign against the cutbacks. The Council was able to restore some money to the program, but the budget is still being reduced by almost one-half.
The city has not announced how each program will be impacted, but it seems likely the Educational Alliance’s “Edgies” Teen Center will lose at least some of its funding. In the past, the center has received about $120,000 from the city, which it supplemented with around $200,000 in private donations.
The organization’s president, Robin Bernstein, said, “We are concerned about the potential reductions at our Edgies Teen Center and additional pending cuts from the State for the Advantage Afterschool program… We continue to fundraise and seek support… from both public and private sources.” On the bright side, money was restored for another Educational Alliance program, at the School for the Future on East 22nd Street.
You can find out more about their efforts to save after school programs here.
