Public Employee Press

City Council hearings
Cultural workers blast Bloomberg budget cuts, clerical local presses for civilianization at NYPD, finance workers testify

Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which begins July 1, calls for cuts of almost $7 million to the city's treasured cultural institutions, including the New York Zoological Society and the American Museum of Natural History.

Seasonal workers usually hired during the summer months at the Zoological Society may not be hired this summer because of the cuts.

Marcy Brown, treasurer of Local 1501, which represents those workers, testified March 8 before the City Council's Cultural Affairs Committee to call upon the Council to restore the funds. "The services provided by our members have been stretched to their breaking point," Brown told the committee, which is chaired by Council member Jimmy Van Bramer.

The local lost 50 members due to last year's budget cuts. "We must find a way not only to stop these proposed reductions, but to increase funding to the city's cultural institutions," Brown added.

Cuthbert Dickenson, president of Local 374, whose members work at the city's botanical gardens and libraries, said at the hearing that the smaller institutions would feel the cuts the most. "Some of the
cultural institutions are so small that the cuts will have a disproportionate effect on their overall budget," he testified.

Important revenue

Vice President Eric O'Brien of Local 1559, which represents members at the American Museum of Natural History, reminded the committee of the millions of dollars in revenue that cultural institutions
in the city generate.

"The museum is a financial engine of the city's economy," said O'Brien. "People don't realize that for every single dollar the city provides in funding, the museum returns more than $7 to the city."

The City Council's Public Safety Committee also had a hearing on March 12, where Local 1549 2nd Vice President Ralph Palladino recommended that the New York Police Dept. move ahead with a program with a civilization program that would save the city millions of dollars.

"It does not make budgetary sense for the NYPD to backfill clerical positions with police officers," he explained, "because the uniformed officers are paid much more and should be on the streets protecting the public instead of sitting behind desks."