More than 100 people packed the recital room at Renaissance Youth Center (RYC) in Morrisania to protest city funding cuts totaling nearly $800,000 that put its afterschool and school-based programming at risk.
Several staff members, alumni, and Bronx families who rely on RYC spoke passionately against the cuts, saying that the decision was made without explanation and despite the organization’s 25-year track record of service to the community.
The cuts to RYC come amid a major expansion of free afterschool programs under the Comprehensive After School System of New York City (COMPASS), run by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), which aims to add 184,000 slots in the next two years.
If the proposed cuts take effect, leaders said RYC would lose at least 35 staff members, most of whom are South Bronx locals, and services would be cut for 120 students at seven schools, plus hundreds more who attend afterschool and weekend programs. On Saturdays, the center operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and can see as many as 450 kids, staff told the Bronx Times.
RYC currently uses three floors of their 3485 Third Ave. building for programming and had hoped to expand to the fourth and fifth before learning of the cuts in early April. The center includes rooms for music practice and performance, coding, engineering, agriculture, architecture and even zoology, home to a gecko, two bearded dragons, three turtles, a giant fish and more.
Bervin Harris established RYC in 2021 and told families and staff he was “heartbroken and disappointed” by the cuts — especially since the organization received millions in public funds just last fall to purchase the building.
When RYC bought for $7 million, at least half of the funds were allocated by Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Assembly Member Chantel Jackson, Council Member Althea Stevens and others. Public records also show numerous past funding awards from council members and other electeds.
“Why would you spend millions of dollars on getting us able to purchase the property, then take away the money to run the service?” Harris said. “Help it make sense.”
Harris said his center offers more than most because of its programming in STEM, arts, sports, leadership and more, and that it plays a vital role in ensuring families have childcare, wifi, food and other necessities.
The center’s importance to the community was especially noticeable during the pandemic, Harris said. “When the schools closed, we were here every day.”
He called for increased transparency into how funding decisions are made and encouraged families to use social media, make phone calls and send letters to elected officials — including Mayor Mamdani, who recently met RYC participants at the Five Boro Bike Tour after they sang the National Anthem.
“After 25 years of showing up for the community, we should be building our future, not defending our right to serve,” Harris said. “This community will not quietly lose a program that has changed lives for decades.”
Assistant Director Emilia Mercado, who has been with RYC for 11 years, said tearfully that finding her job at the center allowed her to escape domestic violence and raise five children alone. All her kids are now counselors at RYC, she said.
“This is my safe place, and I refuse to let it go down,” Mercado said, before leading the group in the RYC cheer.
‘These programs save lives’
Several parents took the mic and said that RYC provides a safe space for their kids, which is critical to their own ability to work, attend school and provide for their families.
One mother said she never would’ve been able to finish her college degree without sending her two daughters to the afterschool programs. Another mom, who said she and her daughter used to live in a domestic violence shelter, said her child with autism is bullied in school but “she loves coming here.”
Council Member Stevens, who represents the neighborhood and chairs the Committee on Children and Youth, said she had 20 years’ experience running afterschool programs before becoming an elected official. From that experience, “I know what a good program looks like,” she said.
Stevens said that two programs in her district, both of which she considers “pillars of the community,” are now facing cuts.
“These programs save lives,” she said. “They keep families together.”
Like Harris, Stevens — who secured a total of $3.3 million towards the building purchase, according to RYC — also questioned the point of investing public funds only to cut programming. “Make it make sense.”
The council member said she is speaking to the current DYCD commissioner and mayor, though the funding decision was made under the previous administration. She also urged parents and young people to contact media outlets and attend city budget hearings.
After all, rallies like the one at RYC saved one of her former programs from cuts years ago, she said.
Stevens vowed to “fight like hell” to protect funding for the Renaissance Youth Center. “This is one of the places we cannot lose.”
After the program, Harris told the Bronx Times that $320,000 was cut from RYC’s center-based program and $468,000 from the school-based program. He also said he sent an appeal letter to DYCD a month ago and has received no response.
Harris, as president and CEO, earns a salary of $250,570, according to the most recent tax filings. But when it comes to the programs he oversees, he said he’s often left scrapping for funds, even after 25 years and a track record he feels is proven to the community.
“I’ve grown weary, he said. “I would think we’re past that at this point.”
The proposed cuts would probably not require RYC to entirely shut down, Harris said. But today, as hundreds of families and staff members depend on him to maintain current services and even add more, he said he’s emotionally exhausted, yet keeping up the fight. “We should be growing, not diminishing.”
This story was updated at 12:21 p.m. to include statement from DYCD.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
