The city has launched a new initiative to persuade immigrant children to attend school instead of selling food and drink on the side of the road, which can be dangerous.
A multi-agency task force secretly established two months ago, made up of officials from the Department of Child Welfare, the Department of Education and the Mayor’s Office, to end domestic and gender-based violence, The Post reported last week. In response to this revelation, they plan to shift their focus to roadside support activities from now on. How young immigrant children routinely peddled on the main streets of southwest Queens.
The task force is now focused on efforts to persuade migrant parents in evacuation centers across the city to send their children to school.
“We’ve been discussing this issue for almost two years, and I’m glad to finally see the city addressing this issue,” said Councilwoman Joanne Arriola (R-Queens). “I just hope that the task force doesn’t waste too much time conducting unnecessary surveys and focus groups before it can actually go to the streets and start making changes.”
City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said the task force would prioritize “the welfare of the child and the potential for exploitation.”
“Their work includes making sure school-age children are enrolled in school, informing parents about safe after-school programs available to their children, and ensuring that the communities we partner with This includes referrals of childcare centers to based organizations wherever possible,” Mamelak said.
More than 185,000 immigrants have arrived in the Big Apple since spring 2022, and the city is caring for about 65,000.
The city has already spent about $3.5 billion responding to the immigration crisis, and Mayor Eric Adams expects that cost to soar to $12 billion by the end of fiscal year 2025.
