English class is cut

Queens Counseling Services, an arm of the Flushing Jewish Community Council, said recently that it has been forced to close its “English to Speakers of Other Languages” (ESOL) program.
The program was one of many funded by City Councilmember John Liu with a “discretionary member item;” the sort of fund allocation which is now being called “pork.”
In the wake of the scandal arising from budget gimmicks and misallocation of city funds a handful of City Council staffers, City Comptroller William Thompson put a freeze on all such “member items.”
In an announcement on Monday, May 12, the Council said that it “finds itself in a position of debt and is facing bankruptcy.” The program will be permanently shutdown if the funds are not released by Thompson, or another funding source found, they say.
- Victor G. Mimoni