Bay Ridge pol blasts ‘all-out war on children’

May 16, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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By Paula Katinas
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Bay Ridge Councilman Vincent Gentile blasted what he called Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “all-out war on children,” criticizing the mayor for cutting funds from the Out of School Time (OST) programs for elementary school students.

“With inconceivable cuts such as these, the mayor is basically telling 50,000 kids to go take a hike,” said Gentile, who is chairman of the Select Committee on Libraries.

“New York is one of the most expensive cities to live in and after-school programming and childcare is of utmost concern for most working parents," he continued. "This is really just further proof that our mayor has absolutely no concept of reality.”

In addition to the peace of mind parents get from knowing their kids are in a safe place after school, these programs give children the opportunity to improve on their schoolwork and studies, build social skills, and help them to stay out of trouble, Gentile said.

“The bottom line is that the neighborhoods I serve don’t qualify for many city services and I’m not going to stand for the city taking away funds for the few we do qualify for,” Gentile said.