Bronx zoo fans snarl at budget cut plan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to slash nearly half of the budget for all city cultural institutions, such as the Bronx Zoo, brings a shiver to the Serrano family of Queens.

That's because three generations of the Serranos see the zoo as a place to take refuge from urban life.

"This is our family escape from our busy work and school week," said Evelyn Serrano, 42, of Jamaica, who was having lunch at the zoo's cafe last weekend with her mother and two daughters.

At the zoo, they can walk under towering trees, stop and watch pink flamingos and Technicolor peacocks, or gaze at giraffes and gazelles nibbling on open fields of grass.

Under the mayor's budget proposal, now under review by the City Council, the Cultural Institution Group would have a $35.4 million cut in its operating budget. This could lead to layoffs, fewer hours and less maintenance to the group's museum, theater and historical cultural centers such as The Bronx Zoo and other Wildlife Conservation Society institutions such as the Queens Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and New York Aquarium, said Margaret Honey, who chairs the Cultural Institution Group, representing 34 city cultural icons.

"This is the largest cut we have taken," Honey said, adding the museums and zoos generate tourism -- and revenue. "For every dollar the city invests in us, we give back $8."

Queens Councilman Jim Van Bramer said restoring some of the mayor's cuts would be "very hard" in a "very tough year."

Cutting zoo hours or eliminating exhibits would be an emotional loss for Jackie Jamison, 50, who spends time there as she copes with multiple sclerosis.

She travels weekly from Oceanport, N.J., to photograph the animals. Since October, she's been shooting three lion cubs.

"I'm not able to do much," she said. "This gives me a sense of belonging to a family. I would be heartbroken if I couldn't come to see the lions. I have watched them grow up. They are like my babies."