Afterschool is not optional — it’s infrastructure

Jody Avirgan and Fanny Manzo-Luna

Afterschool is not optional — it’s infrastructure
P.S. 516, home to a dual-language program and CFL’s afterschool services, is fighting to secure COMPASS funding after federal cuts threatened its future.

Eventually, an administration committed to gutting social services will come for your kids. In Sunset Park, that day came last spring.

The Center for Family Life (CFL) has been a cornerstone of our neighborhood for decades, providing legal aid, social services, and afterschool programs that keep families afloat. At P.S. 516, our CFL-run afterschool program is essential. Ours is a Title 1 school serving working families — teachers, delivery drivers, home health aides — many of whom couldn’t do their jobs without subsidized afterschool care.

Then came the gut punches.

First, the federal government canceled the entire AmeriCorps program, suddenly and without explanation. Many CFL staff members, including young adults who grew up in Sunset Park and returned to serve their community, were funded through AmeriCorps. (Incidentally, Jody worked for AmeriCorps as a young person, and knows how special the program is.) Then, mid-contract, the feds unilaterally declared that 21st Century Grants — another key funding stream — would vanish. Three years into a five-year agreement, CFL was told the money was gone.

These cuts were abrupt, cruel, damaging — and potentially illegal. But they still created chaos.

In response, our school community, including our school leadership, has rallied. We’ve testified at hearings, worked with Councilmember Alexa Avilés, signed petitions, and shown up at City Hall with our kids for what may have been the cutest rally in history. It is clear we can’t rely on federal support. One of the few remaining paths to stability is local: New York City has pledged 10,000 new afterschool seats through its COMPASS grant program, targeting the neighborhoods that need them most.

We’re asking for just 200.

At the moment, the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) is making the list of eligible schools and beginning to administer these slots. The time is now.

P.S. 516 isn’t just any school. We’re home to a thriving dual-language program, beloved by families and central to the cultural fabric of Sunset Park. Without afterschool support, enrollment drops. Programs disappear. Communities unravel.

CFL’s program isn’t an extra. It’s infrastructure.

The City has a chance to step in where the feds have failed — and help ensure Sunset Park remains one of the best neighborhoods to raise a family in New York City.