Public Employee Press


2017 City Budget
Libraries and Parks benefit in budget

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

The $82.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2017 includes funding to keep libraries open on Saturdays, extend the pool and beach season a week after Labor Day, hire new Parks workers and expand ambulance service, addressing key concerns of the union.

"This budget builds on the strong economic foundation we've created, reaffirming our commitment to responsible government that meets challenges head on," said Mayor Bill de Blasio, when he announced his agreement on the budget with the City Council on June 8.

"We're addressing the needs of New Yorkers through targeted investments in public safety, quality of life, vital social services, education and more," he said.

The budget goes into effect on July 1.

All three of the city's library systems will be able to stay open on Saturdays thanks to $43 million earmarked in the budget with DC 37 has pushing for improved funding since de Blasio became mayor, the city has boosted library spending from $311.4 million in fiscal year 2015 to $361.4 million in fiscal year 2017.

District Council 37 worked with community activists in the "Keep Investing in Libraries" campaign to secure more funding to maintain six-day service and expand services for the millions of New Yorkers across the city who rely on the libraries.

The budget will invest $1.7 million to keep the city's pools and beaches open an additional week beyond Labor Day. Last year, the city let the beaches stay open beyond Labor Day but not the pools. Peter Stein, president of Lifeguard Supervisors Local 508 and Lifeguards Local 461 President Franklyn Paige have advocated for the extention of the hours of operation of the pools.

One hundred Parks workers and 50 new Assistant Gardeners will continue sprucing up the city's parks thanks to a $9.6 million allocation to the 2017 budget by the mayor and City Council. The preliminary budget had cut the funding for those positions.

"We are grateful to Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council and Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Mark Levine for once again providing funds to keep 150 park workers and gardeners doing what they do best - keeping our parks beautiful," said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido. He also said the new budget will greatly improve and expand the quality of services for all New Yorkers.

The city's parks should also be safer as the budget calls for the hiring of 57 Seasonal Aides and 67 Parks Enforcement Patrol Officers.

The budget also allocates $10 million for the troubled Cultural Institutions Retirement System, which covers 20,000 employees. Forty percent of the plan participants, mainly members of District Council 37, work for cultural institutions and 60 percent work at daycare centers.

The budget also adds 50 ambulance tours in Queens and the Bronx, which should help improve ambulance response times, and $2 million for school drug abuse prevention counselors.

Parents who are eligible will be happy to know their teenagers might be able to land one of the 60,000 summer jobs created with the $18 million investment in the Summer Youth
Employment Program.

"This is a smart, responsible budget agreement," said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. "Not only are we expanding vital city programs, we're also strengthening reserves and safeguarding the city's future."