It is important that Mayor Bloomberg restores funding to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) for this after school Arts and Literacy Program that serves the community of Bushwick by providing arts and literacy programming to elementary school aged children. Many underserved families in the community of Bushwick will be left out in the cold if this 15 year program closes.

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For additional information on these city wide budget cuts to our children click http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/bloomberg-budget-cuts-child-care-after-school-programs_n_1475333.html

Excerpted:

"It is a hit to not only the 47,000 children who will lose the critical educational and social support they are provided through these programs, but to their parents, who will be forced to quit their jobs to take care of their children or leave them alone after the school day ends. 

The cuts come at what advocates describe as a critical moment for low-income children around the country. Between 2000 and the start of the recession in 2008, the number of children living in poverty in America increased by 2.5 million. Studies suggest that after-school and early-child-care programs can help break the cycle of poverty, but during the past 10 years, funding for these programs has plummeted."