More than 300 people from neighborhoods across Queens gathered at Russell Sage High School on March 12th at a forum sponsored by Queens Community House (QCH) to explore concerns over the impact of proposed cuts to human service programs in both the State and City budgets. 

Nineteen community members, including students, mentors, immigrants, public housing residents, older adults, LGBT youth and seniors, among others, spoke on behalf of community-based services that are now facing dramatic funding losses due to massive state and city budget cuts.  They urged the governor to meet New York’s budget shortfall through a progressive tax increase instead of the cuts to human services that have been proposed.

“I spend three quarters of my time here.  It’s a home away from home,” said Louis Shayman, an 87 year old client at QCH’a senior center. Advocates noted that the City’s Department for The Aging (DFTA) has proposed a $5.27 million cut to Senior Centers, which if passed would greatly hinder neighborhood organizations’ ability to enact the wellness initiatives that the mayor has touted for New York’s expanding aging population. 

Anthony Navajo, a 17 year-old member of Generation Q, the only drop-in center for LGBT youth in Queens, spoke on behalf of the program. “Without GQ, how would we find other LGBT youth?  Where would we go?  It would be really hard to find other kids to relate to and to feel safe,” he said.  

Christine Roland, Director of QCH’s Homelessness Prevention Program, outlined the potential impact which Governor Paterson’s proposed elimination of the program would have on homelessness in Queens.  The program currently avoids more than 1,000 evictions a year. Ellen Brenes, who was first referred by the courts to QCH’s Homelessness Prevention Program and now works for the agency as a housing specialist, spoke from personal experience.  “They paid my arrears and made me safe again,” she said. “If the governor closes down this program on March 31st, where will all these families go?”

“Why isn’t the governor asking the wealthiest New Yorkers to share in the sacrifice?” asked Clara Botstein, Project Coordinator for Policy and Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses of New York.

  “The need for our services grows daily. If a huge investment in banks, the auto industry and even a stadium in the Bronx is warranted then maybe its time to invest in human capital,” said Irma Rodriguez, Executive Director of Queens Community House. 

“The cuts threaten to unravel innovations that community providers of human services have taken decades to develop and refine, and once lost might never be rebuilt,” says Naomi Altman, Assistant Executive Director of Older Adult Services at Queens Community House.