Hundreds Rally for Beacon School

Hundreds of students and parents rallied with local leaders at Russell Sage Junior High School on Tuesday afternoon, urging the mayor not to cut funds for what they call a crucial local program.

The Beacon School at the junior high has been a cornerstone of Out of School Time programs in the area for years. Hosted by the Queens Community House, it is the after-school home to dozens of children from across the borough.

According to City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, D-Forest Hills, the Mayor’s Office is using its zip code as the justification for eliminating the program, saying that Forest Hills is financially more well off than other communities.

“It’s not true,” Koslowitz said. “Forest Hills is a working class community.”

While the area definitely has its fair share of haves and have-nots, other local leaders said, the point is rendered moot by one simple fact: the students at the Forest Hills Beacon Program don’t all hail from the immediate area.

“The idea that you’re going to do an assessment based on zip code is absolutely flawed. What you’re not taking into account is that most of the kids in this program are not from this zip code, ” Hevesi said, calling the elimination of the Beacon program one of the ‘dumbest and worst’ decisions the city could make.

Warren Fink, a parent with a 10-year-old daughter in the program, said he couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without the program.

“She lost her mom when she was five-years-old, and the Beacon has replaced her mother in many ways,” Fink said. “How do you explain to children and especially my daughter, ‘you lost your mom at five, you’re going to lose the Beacon at 10.’”

Fink’s daughter, Meriem, said the program meant more to her than she could put into words.

“If I was not in the Beacon, I would cry, because when I’m here, I learn so much,” she said.

Throughout the rally, former program students who have become mentors, parents and other local leaders, including state Sen. Toby Stavisky and Congressional candidate Grace Meng promised constant action from now until June, when the city’s budget is finalized. As of now, Hevesi said, the city claims to be $2 million short of the needed funds.

“We are going to fight very hard to keep our Beacon programs open,” Koslowitz said. “These children need a place to go after school. The parents have to have peace of mind.