2012 Bloomberg proposes cuts to programs that 2005 Bloomberg called vital
Bloomberg speaking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dan Rosenblum
1:15 pm Jun. 21, 2012
Even before a lawsuit blew a $1 billion hole in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed budget, he was proposing to cut millions of dollars in funding from after-school and child care programs.
Advocacy groups like the Campaign for Children have complained loudly that the cuts are too steep, and the reductions are strongly opposed by majority of the City Council.
The proposed cuts also mark a sort of reversal for Bloomberg, representing a scaling back of government spending he once described as vital.
Back in October 2005, a month before he was up for re-election, Bloomberg announced the launch of a three-year, $200 million program called the Out-of-School Time Initiative (OST) at a school in Redhook. (OST is one of the programs slated to get cut this year.)
In a video from that 2005 event, you can see Bloomberg arguing that the program is too valuable not to support.
Bloomberg said [emphasis mine], "Scores of students get one-on-one help with their homework here after school. They're also learning cooking, or the martial arts, or sharpening their skills as artists. Or their engaged in a variety of other great recreational and cultural activities that stimulate their minds and broaden their horizons. And that's the way it's got to be because we just can't afford to let the education of our youngsters stop and 3 p.m.."
