CITY HALL — For generations, kids in the five boroughs have relied on crossing guards to get safely to and from school, but on Monday, union leaders said possible budget cuts could jeopardize that tradition.
Outside Tweed Courthouse in lower Manhattan, representatives for DC 37 and its subsidiary union, local 372, activists and elected officials spoke out against a possibility that the city will not fill 483 vacant school crossing guard positions.
DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said most of those vacancies threatened in current budget negotiations are on Staten Island, and contrasted that with the efforts to bring more traffic cameras to the five boroughs.
“Staten Island has a big problem,” he said. “A camera is not going to save a child. A camera is not going to save a life, so for those communities, they’re disproportionately hurting.”
The city employs 2,219 crossing guards, who make between $18 and $20 an hour for a part-time job that is four hours a day.
Estimates put the cuts’ savings at $7.5 million from the $43 million budget for crossing guards, who work for the NYPD. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has launched a “program to eliminate the gap” that’s implored city agencies to find savings wherever they can.
A City Hall spokesperson pointed out that the closed job vacancies were not layoffs, and that the city had taken steps to increase street safety, including street redesigns near schools.
“The Adams administration is laser-focused on keeping students safe – going to school in the morning, at school during the day, and going home in the afternoon,” the spokesperson said. “There is a national labor shortage and that is making it harder for lots of people to hire. We always are working to fill positions, but removing vacancies is an efficient way to achieve savings. As with any agency, if the NYPD fills all budgeted positions for crossing guards, we will work with them to increase capacity.”
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