One "follower "and counting - today

This blog got its first visit from a "follower" (blog talk). I'm delighted!

My day, today, included working closely with my "cabinet" - the executive management team of the Grand Street Settlement- at a 2 day long "retreat".

During today's meeting I received a telephone call from a NYC official, a "public servant", who hung up on me, angrily, when I offered to return her call later in the day. I explained that I was engaged in a planning exercise with my team and couldn't answer her questions - asked in a hostile-sounding tone- at that moment.

The subject of the call was the proposed closing of a child care center in Bushwick, Brooklyn that serves low-income families in an area identified by ACS (the NYC Agency for Children"s Services) as a "high need" area. ACS's decision to close the center came after ACS failed to renew a lease on favorable terms, thereby giving the private landlord of the building that houses the child care center, the opportunity to request a rent hike. ACS is using the landlord's demand for more rent as the rationale for requiring the center to relocate or close. ACS failed to find a suitable alternative location for the program. Instead, it issued a closeout notice that will cause 160 low-income families and children to lose child care and 47 workers to lose their jobs. The families mobilized and implored NYC officials to preserve the center and its services. Members of the Board and staff of the Grand Street Settlement, a parent who's child benefited from the center's services, and two GSS supporters met with ACS Commissioner John Mattingly, Deputy Commissioner Melanie Hartzog and other ACS officials and made the case for preserving the services.
Despite the Commissioner's assurances that ACS has no intention of dismantling the services of the Grand Street Settlement Child and Family Center, ACS has refused to suspend the closeout process, has urged parents to seek other child care services and has maintained that NYC lacks money to pay higher rent. The closeout is scheduled to take place on August 20, 2010. Families and staff and others have not been deterred and have continued to advocate.
Today, an ACS official - a "public servant"- angrily hung up the phone on me - a tax payer, voter,constituent. It was a memorable moment. More to follow....