New York, NY – Yeshivas Thankful After School Funding Partially Restored

New York, NY – In a conference call today with leaders of Agudath Israel of America and several Jewish schools including Belz, Pupa and Satmar, City Council Budget Director Preston Niblack announced that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has restored approximately 25 million dollars to the after school voucher program. Funds that are desperately needed by New York poorest families.

Nine thousand children had received letters a few weeks ago informing them that due to budget cuts they were being removed from the after school program. VIN spoke with several effected parents with one exclaiming, “since the day I opened my mailbox and was informed by the city that the program was being eliminated, I was at a total loss as to what to do next. We simply cannot afford any additional expenses.” Upon being informed of this restoration, this same parent was simply overjoyed and expressed tremendous gratitude to those who resuscitated the program.

The funding restoration that was announced today does represent a reduction of approximately two thousand dollars per child, but is a welcome relief to those who were going to be left with no after school program at all.

“Those present at the conference call conveyed their appreciation to Speaker Quinn,” said Shmuel Lefkowitz, Vice President of Community Affairs at Agudath Israel, in an interview with VIN News.

Activists under the umbrella of Agudath Israel have been working feverishly for months to restore funding to this vital program. One school administrator who wished not to be identified specifically thanked Agudah Askonim R’ Shia Ostreicher and Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz and the many city council members who never stopped fighting for this restoration. “Their tireless work never stops. The entire community is grateful.”

Councilman David G. Greenfield In a press release thanked Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Finance Chairman Domenic Recchia for restoring the funding. Greenfield went on to laud the work of his colleagues Council Members Steve Levin, Brad Lander, Lew Fidler and Letitia James all of whom, in Greenfield’s words, “fought day and night to restore funding for child care.”

“This was a textbook example of how to successfully fight City Hall,” explained Councilman Greenfield. “With the combined hishtadlus of my colleagues in the Council, the leaders of our mosdos, and the extraordinary efforts of thousands of yeshiva parents, who combined made more than 6,000 phone calls to the Mayor’s office, we were able to safeguard child care for over ten thousand children – including thousands of Jewish children – who would have been left without child care under the Mayor’s original proposed budget.”