SLAM ‘PETTY’ POL
Group loses $1M aid, blames Menchaca
A brutal budget cut is poised to force tens of thousands of immigrant families to lose access to a nonprofit program that provided a range of services — and it’s all because of one vengeful City Council member, say the nonprofit’s leader and other sources.
The New York Immigration Coalition lost all of its City Council funding for its “Key to the City” program in the recently passed budget — nearly $1 million — thus gutting the project.
While the Council trimmed $7.1 billion in discretionary spending and other costs from Mayor de
Blasio’s original $95.3 billion budget plan, Key to the City was the only immigration program cut from the budget — proof, the New York Immigration Coalition says, that Councilman Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) was out to get it.
“Menchaca is using the New York City budget and the cuts as cover to exact personal retribution, which is really the height of pettiness,” Steve Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the Daily News.
The Council’s budget negotiating team customarily defers to committee chairs when deciding discretionary spending on certain areas. In this case, Menchaca got final say over immigration funding since he chairs the Immigration Committee, say Council sources.
Menchaca declined to comment.
Last year, the Council allocated $700,000 to the coalition’s Key to the City program, which provides free legal advice and a host of other services to immigrants. The coalition also got $80,000 for its role in an anti-violence program.
This year, both coalition programs got zilch, while funding for other immigration projects, such as CUNY’s Citizenship Now! program, remained the same.
Choi believes one reason for Menchaca’s decision is to take revenge after Immigration Coalition staffers supported a state Assembly candidate in Sunset Park — part of his district — whom he did not endorse.
“He let the personal and local get in the way of what’s good for immigrant communities,” said Choi — who added that the loss in funding likely will force the coalition to fire about a dozen staffers.
The budget, which passed shortly after midnight on June 30, is not set in stone yet. The Council and mayor’s office are poring over the details, and can potentially fund the coalition’s programs if cash is freed up and other pols champion the nonprofit.