Judge Reverses Bloomberg's AIDS Cuts

A federal judge has ruled that proposed cuts to New York City's HIV/AIDS Services Administration — pushed by mayor Michael Bloomberg — are illegal.

Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak put a stop to Bloomberg's cuts to HASA, which would have meant the firing of 254 case managers who work with low-income HIV-positive New Yorkers, according to Housing Works. Pollak ruled that the cuts violated a federal court order and a New York City law that requires a manager-to-client ratio of 1 to 34.

After hearing of Bloomberg's intentions to slash HASA, Housing Works and the HIV Law Project filed a request for a temporary restraining order. Thirty-one-year-old Antonio Smith said in a press release that HASA helped connect him with Medicaid, rental assistance, and food stamps, and that without the group's help, his health would deteriorate.

Pollak is giving the city 30 days to agree to her decision — if officials don't give her notice, she will file an enforcement order.