<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:st1 = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><head><title>Albert Baldeo for City Council</title> <meta content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- img { border: none; } .tah10 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .tah11 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver10 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver11 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .tah9 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver9 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } td { vertical-align: top; } --> </style> <style type="text/css"> <!-- .bgdown { background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } span.xcmaintext {} h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in} --> </style> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18854"></head> <body leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" bgcolor="#ffffff" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0"><!-- ImageReady Slices (0005_red.psd - Slices: 03, 04, 05) --> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" background=images/bg.gif bgColor=#ffffff align=center height="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor="#000000" background="images/bg.gif" rowspan="3" width="50%">&nbsp;</td> <td> <object codeBase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" classid=clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000 width=780 height=278><param name="_cx" value="20637"><param name="_cy" value="7355"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="flash/0488.swf"><param name="Src" value="flash/0488.swf"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value=""><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"> <embed src="flash/0488.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="780" height="278"></embed></object></td> <td bgcolor="#000000" background="images/bg.gif" rowspan="3" width="50%">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="96%" align="center" height=996> <tbody> <tr> <td height="990" width="2">&nbsp; </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="990"> <blockquote> <div align="left"> <div style="WIDTH: 687px; HEIGHT: 5139px"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p></o:p></span> <div class="story_item_info"> <div class="story_item_date"><strong></strong></div></div><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font size="2" face="Arial"> <h2 id="print-link-container">&nbsp;</h2> <h2 class="story_item" align="left"><img style="WIDTH: 164px; HEIGHT: 167px" border=0 hspace=0 src="images/Baldeo_pic_1_15.jpg" width=400 height=320></h2></font> <h1 class="singlePageTitle" align="left"><span class="date"><font size=4>WE DEMAND THE RESTORATION OF EDUCATION AND MTA CUTS AND SERVICES</font></span></h1> <p class="singlePageTitle" align="left"><font size="3">The legislature rightly rejected Governor Paterson's original plan to cut $686 million from classrooms across the state, which would have been devastating, eliminating programs and faculties in the middle of the school year. The Governor is now withholding 10% of school funding-$146 million, in his effort to fix the state's budget. Call Governor Paterson today at (518) 474-8390 and tell him that holding our kids hostage is never an option. Slashing or withholding school funding is not the answer to the state's budget shortfall.<br>Keep up the fight to ensure that the funds needed to keep our schools open are delivered to local school districts and classrooms. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of our kids, or cut programs they are in the middle of completing. </font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><font size="3">It was merely 6 months ago that we were subjected to a 10 percent fare increase from the MTA.<br>Now the agency is at it again, proposing more draconian service cuts, including the elimination of 2 subway lines and 21 local bus routes, steep service reductions on dozens of additional bus and subway routes, cuts to the Access-A-Ride program and student Metro Cards. </font></p> <p><font size="3">In our district, the cuts to the Q56 bus and the Z train would be devastating to working families and students, and to the local economy. Communities across the board will suffer likewise. More than a half million of our students and children who receive free or discounted Metro Cards would suffer. The added cost of these students' transportation will break the budgets of working families across the city, especially those who are not earning a living wage. Worse yet, it will break our kids' will to learn.</font></p> <p><font size="3">Instead, the MTA must follow Speaker Quinn's suggestions to reallocate $140 million of capital funds to temporarily close an unexpected gap in its operating budget. More than $90 million in unspent federal stimulus aid that may be allocated toward operating expenses through a congressionally sanctioned process known as "flex," and roughly $50 million in MTA operating funds that are currently being used to supplement the capital budget would help tremendously. The combined funding boost would be more than enough to offset the $129 million the MTA expects to save through cuts to subway and bus service citywide.</font></p> <p><font size="3">The MTA must also conduct their budget process in a more public and open fashion. It released this package of cuts just one week before they will be voted on. Mandating these cuts with no public input is insulting to taxpayers and a slap in the face to New Yorkers. Before these drastic changes are made, the MTA must give the public a chance to voice their concerns, and examine its books. We demand transparency and public input!</font></p> <h5>UNITED COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE<br>106-11 LIBERTY AVENUE, Suite 202, OZONE PARK, NY 11417<br>Telephone (718) 323-0791<br>Fax (718) 848-6203<br>Email: <a href="mailto:AlBaldeo@aol.com">AlBaldeo@aol.com</a></h5> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img style="WIDTH: 706px; HEIGHT: 670px" border="0" hspace="0" src="images/BaldeoonMTAandGovcuts.jpg" width=480 height=548></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.thewestindiannews.com/we-demand-the-restoration-of-education-and-mta-cuts-and-services/">Link: thewestindiannews.com</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2009-12-24/Local_News/Civics_Pols_Rail_Against_MTA___For_Planned_Service.html">Link: thetimesweekly.Com</a>&nbsp;</p></span></span></span></div></div></blockquote></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="990" width="100%"> <div align="left"></div></td> <td height="990" width="238">&nbsp; </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr> <td height="100%"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="780" height="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="63" background="images/bg_down.gif" width="780"> <div style="WIDTH: 780px; HEIGHT: 40px; PADDING-TOP: 13px" class=tah11 align=center><strong>&nbsp; <font style="COLOR: #bc8282">AlbertBaldeo.Com © 2005</font> </strong></div></td></tr> <tr> <td height="100%" width=780>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></body></html>