18 The Queens Courier • april 11, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com IT CUTS SO DEEP Bayside rallies to save Beacon BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] A community rallied in Bayside to save a beloved Beacon program from another year of budget cuts. “This feels like déjà vu. Year in and year out, we have more and more budget cuts,” said Assemblymember Nily Rozic. “We cannot balance budgets on the backs of our students.” The afterschool enrichment program at M.S. 158 Marie Curie is slated for closure at the end of the school year. It was saved from the chopping block by the City Council last year after the Department of Youth and Community Development tried to shut down seven Beacons across the city. “These types of cuts go on year after year. It’s a continual battle with the city to restore the funding,” said State Senator Tony Avella. “We have a fight on our hands, but the community stands behind this Beacon center.” Beacon has been a “support system” for 20 years and the only program within Community Board 11, said Martenia Miller, site director of the school’s Beacon program. More than 100 students take part in the enrichment program daily. Nearly 70 of them are on the school’s honor roll, Miller said. Community Board 11 chair Jerry Iannece said the city mistakes the program as a luxury. “This is a necessity,” he said. “Although we live in an affluent area with nice homes, lots of the kids who go to the Beacon program are kids who need it. We all have to rally Beacon students at M.S. 158 are seen here doing their homework, practicing in the chamber orchestra and playing chess. our forces, circle our wagons and do everything we can to keep this program here.” Beacon operates after school, on weekends, school holidays and throughout the summer. It focuses on leadership and skill growth, serving youth and adults. There are 80 Beacon programs citywide. Miller said the program at M.S. 158 boasts a talented chamber orchestra, a dance team, literacy classes and gym. “Beacon helps kids get a place to stay, helps unemployment, helps kids socialize and become more active,” said Anna Poubouridis, 13. “In my opinion, those are some very important things.” THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan TAGS: Beacon, Queens, Community Board 11, M.S. 158, Marie Curie, Bayside, closure, rally, afterschool, budget THE COURIER/Photos by Melissa Chan Program directors say restored funds not enough BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] The looming cuts to the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) have been restored, but only by a fraction. Initially, the state’s budget called for a total slash of $240 million from OPWDD services, but the final budget gave back $30 million. Program administrators say this is still not enough. “The challenge our industry faces is a growing demand with a diminishing revenue stream. The work force now has to shrink,” said Peter Smergut, executive director at Life’s WORC. Life’s WORC, a program geared towards assisting developmentally disabled individuals lead active and independent lifestyles, has a 76 percent cost of labor. Now, because of the cuts, they have had to “freeze” employee positions, not fill other positions and also look to reallocate resources in ways they would not have traditionally thought to do, Smergut said. Disabled services organizations rely heavily on funding from OPWDD, and without it, some groups find it difficult to make any concrete adjustments in their spending. “It’s tough to be in an environment when you’re relying on this funding, and the funding is constantly changing,” said Dr. Susan Provenzano of The Shield Institute. Initially, the State Senate and the Assembly voted to restore $120 million to the OPWDD budget. Assemblymember Nily Rozic said that along with community groups such as the Queens Centers for Progress, they attempted to bring the necessity of a full restoration to the forefront. “Through subsequent negotiations, we were able to secure $30 million for these critical services, but not nearly enough,” Rozic said. “I will continue to speak out on the need for a greater restoration to avoid program closures, staff layoffs and irreparable harm to some of our state’s most vulnerable residents.” Rozic did say however that the state budget provides a balanced spending plan that addresses fundamental issues facing families, including increasing the state’s minimum wage and providing schools with the funding needed for children to receive a quality education. “Any cuts are devastating,” said Provenzano. “We have to provide stability. We have to constantly be advocating, and it leaves a lot of questions for us approaching the future.” You voted, they will happen BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] Northeast Queens residents have answered the million dollar question. The 23rd District has voted to repair the Queens County Farm Museum, provide the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps with emergency equipment, install 20 SMART Boards in Martin Van Buren High School and mount three sets of portable security cameras in the district. A musical stage will also be built in Cunningham Park, and a popular picnic area there will be reconstructed. The physical infrastructure projects, totaling to nearly $1 million, will be funded by a citywide participatory budgeting initiative.
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