Bloomberg To Cut Child Care Slots From 61,544 to 31,400

Even though he promised to double the amount - but hey, what's a campaign promise to the Mayor of Money:

The mayor plans to slash 17,000 city-sponsored child-care slots this year - leaving fewer seats than when he came into office.

Because of the city's financial woes, Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget would halve the number of seats available to low-income working families since 2002, to 31,400 from 61,544.

Advocates point out that when he was running for reelection in 2005, Bloomberg vowed to double the amount of city-sponsored child care - but slots started dropping the next year.

"It is a huge shift in terms of support for working families," said Betty Holcomb, of Child Care Inc. "He's turning his back on his commitment to expand early learning opportunities and to support hardworking families who keep this city humming."

Parents and advocates are frustrated by the gap between the mayor's promises and reality. Campaign literature from 2005 promises twice as much high-quality, affordable child care.

"We will not only provide day care and prekindergarten to younger kids, but it will be of higher quality, and there will be more of it," the mayor said then.

But the city acknowledges at least 35 city day care centers have closed or consolidated since Bloomberg came into office.

So people are finally starting to notice the difference between the mayor's campaign rhetoric (and since he is STILL running campaign commercials, he is always talking in campaign rhetoric) and reality.

Well, it's about time.

There are FEWER child care service slots than BEFORE Bloomberg took office.

There are MORE homeless people in the shelter system now than BEFORE Bloomberg took office.

The oligarch of all oligarchs has made New York into a Third World city where the rich and famous play like it's always 1928 and the rest of us are forced to scramble to live on less and less - less money, less service, less quality of life.