Editorial/Opinion ....................Pages 12,13 Education

Judge upholds temporary restraining order against NYC budget cuts to schools

The teachers union rallied outside of City Hall during public hearings about education cuts in June. (Photos by Ariama C. Long)

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Tension mounted between New York City’s Department of Education (DOE) and its pissed off parents and teachers as a judge granted a restraining order to temporarily hold off millions of dollars in cuts to schools budgets last week Friday.

On July 18, two teachers and two parents jointly filed a lawsuit against the DOE and Schools Chancellor David Banks demanding an injunction to halt the $215 million budget cuts to public schools planned for next year and for the city council to re-vote on the budget.

The City Council voted to adopt the budget on June 13, 10 days before the Board voted on June 23, 2022. In the lawsuit the plaintiffs state that the standard process, Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), was not followed and that properly informed city councilmembers would vote differently given the chance. Many council members have gone on record saying they regret saying yes to the current budget.

Judge Lyle Frank of the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents and teachers in the lawsuit.

Laura Barbieri, the attorney from Advocates for Justice who is handling the case pro bono on behalf of four parents and teacher plaintiffs, said she was “pleased” so far with Judge Frank’s ruling. She said that they hope to win and are heartened that the courts saw the merit in their arguments.

“We continue to believe that the cuts are causing irreparable harm to students and teachers. We hope to win this case on the merits, as the cuts were enacted in a manner that clearly violates state law,” said Barbieri.

Additionally, groups such as Citizens Action Now are circulating a petition demanding that Mayor Eric Adams fully fund schools and restore the education cuts.

The judge is hearing both sides as they are filing papers and submitting arguments this week Monday and Tuesday.

“Today, the city filed papers asking the court to vacate the restraining order. We will wait until the court responds before saying more, but make no mistake, the budget was duly adopted by the City Council and is in accordance with all charter mandated protocols,” said Deputy Press Secretary for the Mayor’s Office Amaris Cockfield. “We hope the court will grant the city’s application expeditiously so that our schools can continue the necessary work in preparation for September.”

On Wednesday, July 27, said Barbieri, Judge Frank rejected the City’s request to vacate his restraining order. Any further cuts to school budgets will continue to be blocked until the next hearing.

The case will resume in court Aug. 4 at 10 a.m.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w

Activists and graduates celebrated at ENY Paint Your Blessings

East New York Restoration Local Development Corporation Local toasted activists and graduates at their celebration on June 29, 2022, at the beautiful Paint Your Blessings event space.

They honored the work of Inez Barron, former city councilwoman and assemblywoman, teacher and administrator; and Viola Plummer, bedrock community activist and movement builder. The occasion also highlighted graduates from an innovative Central Sterilizing Program, as well as graduates from a solar installation training.

Paint Your Blessings was the perfect venue to highlight the wonderful things happening in East New York: trainings linked to certifications with a clear pathway to jobs in high demand, community improvement projects to “Keep ENY Green & Clean,” and always healthy aging programming.

A.T. Mitchell of Man Up Inc.! and Councilman Charles Barron highlighted the dedication and leadership exemplified by the honorees. To cap the evening off, as the board members and staff of East New York Restoration proudly looked on, Ms. Inez Barron was presented with a quilt designed by area seniors. The graduates and staff (Lem Peterkin photos)

Carlina Rivera (Contributed headshot)

inside of the new congressional district. She’s also excited at the prospect of continuing to represent her community.

Niou is a progressive Democrat for low-income, immigrant, and working families. Her parents immigrated to the U.S with her as a baby from Taiwan. In 2016, she was elected in a “historic landslide victory” to represent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the State Assembly and she is the first Asian American to represent Manhattan’s Chinatown in the State Legislature.

Niou said that she faced incredible backlash and anti-Asian hate not only when she was elected but in recent years. She said there’s always a level of “state-sanctioned racism” that many don’t even recognize.

“I try to fight for more accessibility, transparency, and powerful representation in our government and making sure that folks are at the table,” said Niou. “We have to make sure that every single policy and bill that we do is looking through a racial, social, economic, environmental, and disability lens.”

Niou said the main issues she’s concentrating on are climate justice because of the waterfronts along Manhattan and Brooklyn, fully funding public housing, protecting Section 8 & 9 housing, and fighting for the Green New Deal in New York.

“We have an incredible ground game,” said Niou. “I think it’s really important that we have people who work in the area and care about the district in a real way.”

Yuh-Line Niou (Contributed headshot)

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w