New York: The City Where You Have to Pay to Play

Here are some of the things we gave up in New York City when bankers and national and state officials told us to "live more frugally" in the 1970's

Free tuition at the City Universities
Music programs in the public schools
After school and night centers in the public schools
Recreation supervisors at vest pocket parks around the city
Maintenance workers at parks capable of maintaining ball fields and trimming vegetation

As a result:

Public Schools only have after school and music programs through private grants, participation in special programs or funds raised by their PTA's
The city's most popular parks are maintained largely through private funding through organizations like the Central Park Conservancy and the Prospect Park Alliance.
The city's baseball and soccer leagues are all maintained by private funding and large portions of the city's young people have no opportunity to play organized sports at all.

This was not the New York City I grew up in. In this city, you have to pay to play, whether it is a sport or a musical instrument