Forum/Town Hall: Town Hall Event at Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House

In the face of some of the most significant and potentially damaging government budget cuts in recent memory, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House will hold a town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:30-8:00 pm at its headquarters in the Queensbridge Houses at 10-25 41st Avenue in Long Island City.

The following proposed cuts will be the main topic for discussion:

Senior Services: Cuts to Title XX funds in the Governor's Executive Budget would force the NYC Department for the Aging to close 105 senior centers. The loss of $24 million in these funds would be devastating, and affect over 8,000 seniors in New York City.

* The Queensbridge/Riis Senior Center would have to close its doors to 125 low- and moderate-income older adults, who receive 18,750 meals a year.

Immigrant Services: $350 million in cuts to the federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program.

* With these cuts, Riis Settlement will have to eliminate legal services and case management for over 150 immigrants and significantly reduce ESOL classes that help 450 immigrants each year learn English.

Youth Services: The aforementioned CSBG cuts would eliminate state funding for the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in the Governor’s 2012 Executive Budget.

* Riis Settlement’s youth programs help nearly 1,000 youth each year to graduate high school, prepare for college and gain job readiness, leadership and academic skills in our afterschool programs. We placed 350 youth in summer jobs last year and face a significant reduction with the loss of state funds for SYEP.

Local elected officials, community partners and community members are all invited to attend!