Four Jewish members of the New York City congressional delegation—Gary Ackerman, Jerrold Nadler, Eliot Engel and Anthony Weiner—oined eight other area members of Congress to urge President Bush to keep Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) at least at their present level for New York City.

Weiner reported in a Jan. 26 news release that the Bush administration is considering cutting the nation's $4.7 billion community block grant program in half--which on a proportional basis would reduce New York City's share from $208 million to $104 million.

“In May 2004, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson touted CDBG funding as proof that ‘this Administration is committed to helping our most vulnerable neighbors,” Weiner wrote in a letter signed by the others. “We are writing to ensure that the administration’s actions match its rhetoric in support of our nation and our City’s hard working families.”

Other members of the New York City delegation are Joseph Crowley, Carolyn Maloney, Gregory W. Meeks, Major R. Owens, Charles Rangel, Jose E. Serrano, Edolphus Towns, and Nydia M. Velasquez 
         —Donald H. Harrison