Low-income New Yorkers are feeling left out in the cold with President Obama's plan to slash billions from heating programs.
"I don't know what I would do if I lose even more heat in my apartment," said Shauntasia Ballaird, 19, who lives with her 2-year-old Jeremiah in East New York. "I use help sometimes to pay for heat. Other times, I just turn on the stove to stay warm."
The backlash came a day after Obama unveiled his $3.73 trillion budget plan for 2012 that calls for cutting $2.5 billion from programs that pay heating bills for low income Americans.
"It should be one of the last programs to get cut," said Catherine Piecora, executive director of the Astoria Restoration Association, a nonprofit that helps seniors pay their heating bills.
Desire Patterson, 55, said she can't imagine a winter where she needs to choose between buying food or paying for her heating bill.
She lives with an adult daughter and two grandchildren, a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old baby, she said.
"I would not know what to do. The babies need to stay warm, especially at night," said Patterson, who lives in a low-income building in East New York. "President Obama needs to find other programs to cut. This is not right."
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