« “Freddy’s” Showing Next Friday at BIFF | Main | New Tactic in Fight Against Publicly Financed Stadiums: Humor »
June 5, 2010
Atlantic Yards YES! City Services in Gowanus NO!!
The New York Times, Budget Cuts Hit a Brooklyn Area Over and Over
By David W. Chen
It's funny how a small area in Brooklyn can get hit with so many city service cuts while nearby, a single developer like Bruce Ratner can receive so much city largesse.
When Mr. Bloomberg unveiled his budget a few weeks ago, he warned that no neighborhood would be spared in his struggle to plug a $5 billion gap. But in making steep across-the-board cuts to dozens of agencies and programs, it was almost inevitable that they would fall heaviest on some neighborhoods.
And if there is one place that for sheer density and variety of affected services is the epicenter of budget pain, it is a tiny slice of Brooklyn covering six blocks by eight blocks, straddling Gowanus, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill, according to an analysis by The New York Times of the location of the facilities already singled out for closing.
Within a 10-minute walk, three day care centers, one senior center, one swimming pool, one after-school program and a health clinic are to close. Venture 20 minutes more, and six additional facilities — two day care centers, two after-school programs, a senior center and a health clinic — are also to shut down on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Making matters worse, the nearest public transit option — the B37 bus along Third Avenue — is being eliminated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
There's no word on how much the city is saving by closing down all of these services, but you can bet it won't be anywhere near the $205 million in direct cash subsidy promised by the city to developer Bruce Ratner so that he can build a much needed ... arena???
Posted by steve at June 5, 2010 7:51 AM