53 • TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014 The Economy’s Improving, Yet Hunger Pains Grow Across Five Boroughs -CONTINUED FROM PG. 17- Van Bramer Unveils Participatory Budget Project List -CONTINUED FROM PG. 17- come together to participate, discuss and debate which projects are needed in their very own neighborhoods.” Approximately 140 residents signed up as budget delegates and, working in collaboration with Van Bramer’s staff and city representatives, will aim to ensure the top projects receive city funds in 2015. Among the ideas submitted at the listening sessions include the following: • a community boat launch and waterfront pocket park in Long Island City; • a rooftop farm and community garden at the Queensbridge Houses; district-wide beautification projects including street tree plantings, pothole repairs and repaving; • installing traffic calming measures on local streets; • renovating the tennis courts at I.S. 204 in Dutch Kills; • constructing a pedestrian footbridge above the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Thomson Avenue in Long Island City; • a new dog run in the area of Sunnyside south of Queens Boulevard; • a new ferry serving the East River waterfront covering Astoria, Ravenswood, Queensbridge and Long Island City; • a new rooftop playground for Astoria’s P.S. 166; and • handicap accessible ramps at the Queensbridge houses. Various district-wide improvements were also suggested, including street tree plantings, pothole repairs, street repaving, new solar-powered charging stations, expanded bike lanes and mobile libraries and veterinary clinics. Having completed the first two phases of the process, the next stage comes in March, when the delegates publicly present their proposals for items to be funded. The presentations offer residents an opportunity to provide feedback and the delegates may, if necessary, use the input received to alter their plans. District residents will vote in April on what projects to be funded, with the top vote-getters receiving priority. IIff YYoouu SSeeee BBrreeaakkiinngg NNeewwss OOnn YYoouurr BBlloocckk...... CCoonnttaacctt TThhee Times Newsweekly CCall 11-771188-882211-77550000 • Email inffo@@timeessneewwsswweeeekly.com DOE To Cut Grade At Woodside School -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- requirements would repeat the grade next year at either of the three middle schools. Combined with rezoning P.S. 152’s zone, the grade truncation will drop enrollment by 45 to 60 students next September, and future kindergarten classes will also be reduced in size. By the 2020-21 school year, the DOE projects P.S. 152’s capacity at between 1,092 and 1,152 students, with a building utilization rate of between 104 and 109 percent. The PEP will consider the plan at its next meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, at Long Island City High School, located at 14- 30 Broadway in Astoria. Parents may submit comments in advance of the meeting to Dean Guzman of the DOE’s Office of District Planning by calling 1-212-374-7621 or emailing D30Proposals @schools.nyc.gov. Written comments may be sent by standard mail to Dean Guzman, Office of District Planning, 52 Chambers St., New York, NY 10007. being impacted by the SNAP cuts, with 37.2 percent reporting a significant increase in the number of clients and/or a significant increase in the food needs of existing clients. Overall, 81 percent of responding agencies reported an increase in the number of people they served over the past year, while 46 percent reported a “big” increase. The survey report—entitled “The Unkindest Cuts: Federal SNAP Cuts Overwhelm Feeding Charities as NYC Hunger Remains High Despite Wall Street Boom”—is available at www.nyccah.org/hungersurvey. The coalition stated it demonstrates how the recent SNAP cuts, nearly $14 billion over the last year, coupled with a difficult economic recovery for low-income New Yorkers, has made it an extremely difficult year for hungry New Yorkers. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo was able to take administrative action to prevent some of the cuts from being implemented in New York State, federal mandates still reduced the average household SNAP benefit in New York City by $19 per month, equaling a $228 reduction in groceries per year. The amount of SNAP benefits per meal in New York City was reduced from $1.70 per meal in August 2013 to an even smaller $1.60 per meal in August 2014. Partially because the benefits were less adequate, few New Yorkers applied or re-applied for SNAP; the rolls declined by 125,487 people in the city during that year. As a result of both the reduction in average benefit amount and the drop in the overall caseload, low-income New York City residents will receive an estimated $426 million less in federal SNAP funding in 2014 than in 2013. In 2011-2013, before the cuts kicked in, an estimated average of over 1.4 million (1,415,588) New York City residents, or approximately 16.98 percent of New Yorkers, were food insecure. That number, which represents one in six New Yorkers, also includes children and seniors over the age of 60. It also represents, at minimum, a 300,000 person increase from 2006-2008 when there were approximately 1.12 million food insecure New Yorkers. The report was released last Tuesday, Nov. 25, at the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) SNAP office in lower-Manhattan, the first-time ever that the coalition has held this annual event at a city office, reflecting a new partnership between the de Blasio Administration and advocates. HRA Commissioner Steven Banks attended and outlined numerous measures the de Blasio administration is taking to fight hunger, reduce inequality, and expand economic opportunity. “This administration is committed to working on a number of initiatives to increase both access to food and purchasing power for families who are food insecure,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “From increasing wages to focusing on closing the gap between people who are eligible for SNAP and those getting benefits to substantially increasing participation in free summer meals for over 8 million children this year, we are ensuring that New Yorkers have food on their tables so they can begin to get back on their feet and contribute to our city’s growth.” “Food insecurity and hunger remain as devastating realities for too many New York families,” added Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, first New York senator in 40 years to sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee. “The release of this new data shows that there is more work left to be done to provide access to healthy, safe, and nutritious food to the one-in-ten individuals who are foodinsecure, and to the 1.7 million children receiving subsidized school meals across New York State. As Congress begins work on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, I will continue to champion legislation, like the Summer Meals Act, which will strengthen our ability to provide food to the most vulnerable members of our society, so that we can put an end to hunger and food insecurity across the nation.” “Thanksgiving is a time for us to gather with loved ones and reflect on the good in our lives, but too many hungry families here in New York and across the country are struggling each day just to put food on the table,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney. “I opposed cuts to the SNAP program, and we’re now seeing the result of those cuts. Families are getting less support as the cost of food continues to rise. NYCCAH’s report lays out the challenge facing our city. New York is the greatest city in the world, and it’s on all of us to ensure that nobody goes hungry.” “It is unconscionable that so many New Yorkers continue to go to bed hungry each and every night,” said Rep. Joe Crowley. “More has to be done to help the most vulnerable among us, and now more than ever, we need to protect crucial benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” “I commend the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, whose work helps address hunger and food instability throughout our city. New York City’s hunger needs continue to rise, as approximately 1.3 million city residents are food insecure, including one in five children,” said Public Advocate Letitia James. “The release of the 2014 Hunger Survey will provide a portrait of the overall need, so that we may begin to develop policies to target these issues.” “Every day, thousands of New Yorkers struggle to put food on the table and many families go to bed unsure of from where or when their next meal will come,” said City Comptroller Scott Stringer. “No one should go hungry in the world’s richest city. I am committed to working with the Coalition to prevent further cuts and expand resources to fight hunger across the five boroughs.” “While our city as a whole has taken some positive steps to address poverty with affordable housing and free middle school lunches, hunger continues to affect thousands of families,” said City Council Member Daniel Dromm. “The 2014 Annual Hunger Survey shows that federal cuts continue to stress soup kitchens and food pantries. Our federal government needs to step up to the plate and join us in the fight against hunger.”
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