Port Chester Schools, Carver Center to Lose State Funding in Budget Cuts

New York's protracted budget battle ended last week, with legislators passing one of the latest budgets in state history.

The $136 billion spending plan is a win for some.

Hedge fund managers who live outside the state won't face a proposed tax increase on their earnings.

A proposal by Gov. David Paterson to allow supermarkets to sell wine was nixed, a move celebrated by liquor store owners.

Another Paterson proposal, which would have added a penny-an-ounce tax to soda and some other beverages, also was shot down.

But there were plenty of losers, too.

A plan that would have allowed SUNY and CUNY schools to set their own tuition and engage in economic-development projects without state approval was pulled from the budget after holding up talks.

Aid to public schools was slashed by hundreds of millions of dollars, which includes a $125,000 cut to Rye-Port Chester schools. And non-profit organizations around the state are missing out on $200 million in state grants that are typically awarded each year after Paterson last month vetoed more than 6,700 grants.

The spending, known as member items and commonly referred to as 'pork', is often relied upon by libraries, little leagues and community groups like the YMCA to bolster tight budgets, especially in harsh economic climates. With municipal tax revenues down and private donations on the slide, the vetoed grants represent yet another layer of cuts to local groups.

According to documents from the governor's office, a $10,000 grant for the Carver Center on Westchester Avenue was on the more than 6,700 items on the chopping block.

The Carver Center is one of the area's largest community centers, offering residents everything from after-school programs to a food pantry and classes in English and Spanish. Joe Kwasniewski, the center's business development director, said the $10,000 grant would have been used to help pay the salary of the director of the center's after-school program.

The veto of the grant "will definitely have some effect on our programming, because we already have a tight budget as it is," he said. "Tuition for the afterschool program is so low that we can't rely on it to pay salaries. That's really just to pay for materials."

About 130 Port Chester kids are enrolled in the program, which is the only fully licensed afterschool program in the village. Kwasniewski said the Carver Center is looking for alternate sources of funding in order to stave off tuition hikes or make big cuts to some of its programs.

"But I couldn't make any promises," he said.

State Assemblyman George Latimer, D-Rye, usually takes part in the grant program, and has doled out a number of member items during his six years in the Legislature. But this year, he said he refused to request any grants because of the state's $9 billion deficit and the crunch that the recession had placed on the state.

"We knew it was going to be an exceedingly difficult year financially, and it was hard to justify squirreling away that money for specific projects," he said.

Not requesting any grants "just seemed like the kind of decision you would make in your own personal budget. You may buy something expensive in a year when times are good that is valuable, but some years you just don't have the money for something like that."

Most of the grants for the Port Chester area were sponsored by Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Port Chester. Oppenheimer wouldn't comment for this article, but spokeswoman Debra Lagapa said the senator is opposed to Paterson's vetoes.

Other nixed items in the area include a $5,000 grant for the Port Chester/Rye Council of Community Services and $8,000 for the village of Port Chester. Village Manager Christopher Russo did not return calls seeking comment on the grant.

Some county and statewide services that typically receive large state grants each year are missing out, too. State agencies administer services like HIV/AIDS treatment, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and housing for victims of domestic violence through programs that often rely on state aid to pay salaries or cover rent and utility bills.

The Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WestCOP) oversees an array of community service projects, ranging from after-school programs to job training courses.

WestCOP Executive Director Winston Ross said the organization had requested several large grants, one of which would have covered salaries for nurse-examiners who provide free medical services to victims of sexual assault.

"It's a difficult situation," Ross said. "We either have to let go of staff, or decide whether to end a program altogether."

Ross added that WestCOP receives state funds annually, and has come to rely on the aid to cover crucial programs.

"Our services are dependent on county, state and federal funding," he said.