Jun 27, 2008 6:37 pm US/Eastern
NY City Council To Vote On Controversial Budget
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The battle over the New York City budget is just about over, with the City Council set to vote on it this weekend.
AP
The battle over the New York City budget is just about over, with the City Council set to vote on it this weekend. Some New Yorkers are celebrating, while others are facing huge cutbacks.
The big winners are the students in public schools, with $129 million being restored to classroom funding.
"I think it'll help our schools and it's a great way to end our year," NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said. "It's been a terrific year in public education in the city of New York, and this is like the cherry on the sundae."
On the flip side of the budget are senior citizens. The NYC Housing Authority asked for $30 million next year, but will likely receive a little more than half that amount. All of its senior centers will have to cut back, while some of them will even have to shut down.
At Riverstone Senior Center in Washington Heights, the seniors say they fell like they're being forgotten.
"I feel sad, it's very painful," Blana Ayala said. "What do they want seniors to do, they want to throw us in nursing homes so we can drop dead faster, so they can get rid of us?"
Most seniors are on fixed incomes and, for many of them, the lunch they eat at senior centers is the one balanced meal they get.
"It's especially remarkable to me that, at a time when everyone knows food costs are going up, that our meal reimbursement is going down 4 cents," Becky Carel, who works at Riverstone, said. "So we will be turning people away at lunchtime."
Olga Lauriano is 69 years old, her parents are nearly 90, and Riverstone Senior Center is their life line.
"If my parents didn't have this center, they would have no life there would be nowhere for them to go," Lauriano said. "I think the lord would have taken them a long time ago."
The city council is scheduled to vote on the budget on Sunday, and if it's approved the tough decisions will start next week.
So far, no one knows which senior centers will be on the chopping block, but they all know they'll be cutting back.
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