From the Brooklyn Paper:

The city is shuttering two much-needed after-school programs in Park Slope and a summer program in Fort Greene because the neighborhoods aren’t poor enough to justify their existence.

As a result, several hundred students who use the Out of School Time programs at PS 295 and PS 282 in Park Slope, along with the summer program at IS 113 in Fort Greene will be left to fend for themselves this summer and in the 2010-11 school year.

“Taking this program away is dangerous,” said Traci Tucker as she picked up her 6-year-old son, Ryan, from PS 282 on Sixth Avenue. “This is for single parents, or families where both parents work, like ours.”

But Park Slope and Fort Greene aren’t poor enough, according to Department of Youth and Development spokesman Ryan Dodge, who said that the programs can continue only in the most-needed neighborhoods due to budget cuts.

“[We} examined our entire portfolio and sought to preserve programs that serve the needs of working parents … in high-need areas,” he said.

As a result, the city will cut 33 after-school programs, with nine in Brooklyn getting the axe. Additionally, 31 summer programs will be cut citywide, including 11 in Brooklyn.

In all, the savings will be $7.5 million.