Category Archives: Housing

City and State Announce New Initiatives at Supportive Housing Network Conference

June 9, 2013 9:46 am Leave a Comment

More than 1,200 people turned out for the Supportive Housing Network of New York (SHNNY) Annual Statewide Meeting yesterday. As usual, they were treated to announcements of new programmatic initiatives and upcoming procurements by both New York City and State, as well as in-depth panel discussions about the state of the Supportive Housing sector, including recent successes, current opportunities and potential threats in the not-too-distant future.

At last year’s conference, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Matthew Wambua announced that the City was “doubling down” on its commitment to Supportive Housing by increasing its goal for the number of units which would go into construction during the current fiscal year from 500 to 1000.  “By the end of June, we will be making this commitment a reality,” Wambua said yesterday.  “I am extremely proud of that.”

And, to reaffirm this commitment, he announced that within the next few weeks, the City would for the first time issue a Request for Qualifications to prequalify a set of developers for projects to develop at least ten publicly owned sites for use in supportive housing.  “This is a multi-boro, multi-site initiative,” said Wambua, noting that several City agencies would be contributing property to the effort, including   HPD, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).  The move is an effort to address the growing shortage of available sites available for Supportive Housing, something which advocates and providers have indicated to be a serious obstacle to future developments.

“We are very pleased with HPD’s announcement of the new RFQ for City-owned land,” said Ted Houghton, Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network.  “We think that they are handling that in exactly the right manner and we look forward to working with them to make the development go as quickly as possible and get new units out to the people who need them.”

Not to be outdone, Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner and CEO of NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), followed up with an announcement that HCR was posting a new Request for Proposals for $23.2 million in capital funding for Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT)-related Supportive Housing projects.  The RFP was posted on the HCR website yesterday.

In addition to this good news, conference attendees heard ample warnings about potential threats to Supportive Housing, not least of which could come through Sequestration-related cuts to federal Section 8 Housing Vouchers.

Marc Jahr, President of NYC Housing Development Corporation, for example, stated that Section 8 provides a critical future revenue source for projects seeking debt financing.  Without Section 8, many projects would no longer be financially viable.  “The fate of Section 8 puts at great risk our ability to provide capital,” he said.

“By our calculations, the impact of sequestration on Section 8 will create a $42 million hole in our budget,” said HPD’s Wambua.  He explained that to meet this shortfall, the agency would have to shrink the Section 8 program and that it would not be providing new individual Section 8 vouchers until the deficit had been filled.  He did note, however, that HPD would meet its commitments to provide project-based Section 8 vouchers for Supportive Housing developments.  “We are not looking to claw back existing commitments that have been made,” he said, adding that HPD also planned to continue issuing new project-based contracts going forward…”although we will be doing it judiciously.”

In total, the conference featured 30 separate workshops on a wide range of topics, including implications of Medicaid redesign on Supportive Housing, programs for youth and other special populations, financing mechanisms, facilities management and more.

Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, delivered the Keynote Address.  Myrick, who was elected in 2012 at the age of just 24, reflected on how it was his social service network and the community as a whole that had provided him with the support he needed to achieve this level of success.  He encouraged the conference attendees to continue to do the good, hard work that they do, helping the disadvantaged to achieve their own full potential.

“We are really pleased with how the whole day turned out,” said Houghton.  “The level of participation shows just how engaged our supportive housing community is.”  He also noted the range of groups and representatives participating in the event.   “We are seeing people from outside the traditional affordable housing world including groups from mainstream mental health care, private development, green energy and others.”

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Council Calls on Red Cross to Speed Sandy Grants

May 30, 2013 6:10 am Leave a Comment

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and a dozen other Council Members have called on the CEO of the American Red Cross to immediately allocate unspent Hurricane Sandy relief funds. The letter comes in response to reports that the Red Cross has not yet spent $110 million of $303 million in Sandy relief funds.

The Council’s appeal came via a letter to Josh Lockwood, CEO of the American Red Cross Greater New York, yesterday.

“We are deeply disturbed by reports that the Red Cross has not spent $110 million of $303 million in Sandy relief funds,” the Council Members wrote.  “On behalf of our constituents, we call upon your organization to immediately allocate these funds in the spirit of the Red Cross’ mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.  Our communities have faced immeasurable hardships in the six months since the storm. New Yorkers expect The Red Cross to deliver emergency aid, and we cannot accept that these funds should be allocated at a later date to address long-term needs. Sitting on this unspent money is an insult to both the victims of Hurricane Sandy and the generous donors to the American Red Cross. This funding is urgently needed and could be used to fill in the gaps where government funding isn’t available.”

The Council also urged that assistance to impacted nonprofits be expedited. “Priority should be given to non-profits that house/serve at-risk populations where emergency evacuations are difficult and hazardous,” said the Council Members.

“We completely understand the sense of urgency that the council members have; we have that too, but we also need to spend donor dollars as wisely and carefully as we can,” The American Red Cross responded in a formal statement.  “The American Red Cross is cutting checks every day for urgent needs for survivors in New York and New Jersey. Just today we announced a $1.25 million grant to the Brooklyn Community Foundation to help people in that community.

“The needs from Hurricane Sandy are still great and there is more work to do,” the organization continued. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross is there to help with those needs.  Trained Red Cross workers are meeting one-on-one every day with those in need, linking them to social service programs, aiding with security and utility deposits, helping them fill out important paperwork or identifying child care resources. Individual assistance involves going family to family assessing needs – and this takes time.  In addition, the Red Cross is working with a number of other community and partner agencies in New York and New Jersey and giving grants to ensure they have the resources needed to help survivors. We carefully vet each grant request to determine impact and whether the impact is measurable, and we also look for organizations that keep their overhead to a minimum like we do. That way we insure that we’re being good stewards of our donors’ dollars. That process also takes time.”

In addition to Speaker Quinn, the letter was signed by Council Members Donovan Richards, Eric A. Ulrich, Lewis A. Fidler, Margaret Chin, Sara M. Gonzalez, Domenic M. Reechia, Jr., Vincent Ignizio, James S. Oddo, Rosie Mendez, Michael Nelson, Rosie Mendez and Michael Nelson.

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New Coalition Unites to End Homelessness

April 12, 2013 6:01 pm Leave a Comment

Over 100 homeless advocacy and service provider organizations launched a new coalition this week — United to End Homelessness – to help address the homelessness crisis and hold 2013 mayoral and Council candidates accountable for advancing solutions. New York City’s next mayor and City Council will confront record levels of homelessness with over 57,000 people living in shelters or sleeping on City streets as of January, including more than 22,000 children.

“With NYC facing record homelessness, it’s critical that a new mayor and City Council take significant policy steps – together with other stakeholders – to stem the tide of misery in our city,“ said Mary Brosnahan, President & CEO of Coalition for the Homeless. “In order to move us forward, it’s imperative that city leaders increase investment in programs and services proven to help move our homeless neighbors towards permanent housing and self-sufficiency. We must expect no less from the next administration and City Council.“

“Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York often receives more than 300 hundred calls a day from New Yorkers on the verge of becoming homeless,“ said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.  “Living with dignity in safe, decent housing is a basic human need. New York has been in the forefront of trying to ensure this right. Yet, despite this commitment in principle and with resources, too many residents of our City are homeless, doubled up or on the brink of becoming homeless.  Preventing homelessness needs to be a high and ongoing priority for all New York’s institutions and sectors.  As we approach the elections of a new Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate and City Council, preventing homelessness and ensuring safe, decent and affordable housing needs to be a central item on candidates’ agenda.“

United to End Homelessness formed to promote a unified vision to help create solutions for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness during the 2013 election and beyond. As part of its launch, the coalition put forward a platform to outline the necessary steps the next administration must take to help end the homelessness crisis. Its platform focuses on:

  • Ensuring that fighting homelessness and expanding affordable housing is a top mayoral priority;
  • Increasing funding for programs that prevent homelessness, like legal services, eviction and foreclosure prevention, and aftercare services for the formerly homeless;
  • Expanding and improving housing assistance resources: create a new local rent subsidy for homeless people, reinstate and expand priority set-asides for the homeless in Federal, State, and City programs, and redesign the City’s system for placing extremely low-income and homeless households in set-aside units in tax credit buildings;
  • Guaranteeing adequate shelter, health care and services for all people experiencing homelessness without deterrent or bureaucratic barriers;
  • Continuing investments in supportive housing: ensure sufficient funding to fulfill the NY-NY III agreement, create a NY-NY IV agreement that increases the supply of housing units for homeless people, and ensure that existing supportive housing tenants continue to get the services they need by bringing contract rates up to current costs;
  • Preserving and creating more affordable housing for New York’s lowest income households;
  • Improving planning around natural disaster-induced homelessness, integrating it into the City’s overall strategy to assist homeless people regardless of the cause of homelessness
  • Creating an interagency council on homelessness that includes government, non-profit, and consumer stakeholders to implement a comprehensive plan to end homelessness, unifying priorities by sharing data and resources across agencies to enhance system-wide efficiencies.

Click here to read the full platform.

The number of homeless New Yorkers in shelters each night has increased 58% since 2002, and the number of homeless families has increased 66% over the same period. An additional 5,000 people sleep each night in other shelters (including runaway and unaccompanied homeless youth, domestic violence survivors, and people living with AIDS), and thousands more sleep on the streets or in other public spaces. New York City’s youth shelter system is overwhelmed and a record 80% of domestic violence emergency shelter residents are leaving with no safe place to go.

“Ending homelessness should be a top priority for the next administration and we look for the next Mayor to have a plan for doing so,“ said Ted Houghton, Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network of NY. “Supportive housing – affordable housing linked to services – will be a major part of any successful plan: it is the most effective way to house those New Yorkers with disabilities or other barriers that make it hard for them to keep their homes.“

“Homelessness in New York City is a growing crisis that demands attention and action from our current government leaders, and from those who seek to lead our city,“ said Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO/Executive Director of Federation of Protestant  Welfare Agencies.

“Domestic violence can often force victims and their children into homelessness.“ said Carol Corden, Executive Director of New Destiny Housing Corporation. “80 percent of families leaving emergency domestic violence shelters have no safe place to go. We can and must do better to help New Yorkers find safe, stable homes. “

“We can end homelessness,“ said Bobby Watts, Executive Director of Care for the Homeless. “Policy choices that were made resulted in this crisis, and better public policy can get us out of it, spare needless human suffering, better serve our communities and save significant tax dollars.“

“With over 22,000 children sleeping in homeless shelters and hundreds of runaway and homeless youth being turned away because of a shortage of beds, it is critical that the City take immediate action to address the homelessness crisis,“ said Jennifer March-Joly, Executive Director, Citizens’ Committee for Children.

“We are experiencing a crisis in the availability of safe, affordable housing in the community“ said Phillip A. Saperia, CEO of The Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, Inc. “People with severe mental illness and substance use issues, often accompanied by multiple chronic physical health problems, are especially vulnerable to becoming homeless in this environment.“

Filed Under: Domestic Violence, Homelessness, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , , ,

Mayor Bloomberg Challenges City Shelter Laws

April 2, 2013 6:45 pm Leave a Comment

A frustrated Mayor Bloomberg yesterday blasted a policy that allows nonresidents and even foreigners to get costly beds in city homeless shelters with no questions asked, reports the New York Post.

“When I pointed it out, some said that was ludicrous,” said Bloomberg, referring to his recent statement that a person could fly a private jet into Kennedy, take a limo to the city and get a free bed.

“What is truly ludicrous is a system that allows people from across the country and the world to take advantage like this,” the mayor said in response to a report that even foreigners were living large in city shelters.

Inside the Bowery shelter

“Until we are able to ask basic, common-sense screening questions, taxpayer dollars will continue to be diverted from those who truly need it,” he said.

About 25 percent of the roughly 48,500 people living in city shelters are not city residents — including a Polish freeloader, Michal Jablonowski, who gushed about free food, phone and medical care he gets at a shelter on The Bowery.

Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond agreed the rules are too lax — but said his hands are tied by a 3-decade-old consent decree that forces the city to provide shelter space to anyone who asks.

The decree settled the lawsuit Callahan v. Carey, in which advocates sued on behalf of Lower East Side vagrant Robert Callahan and other homeless people.

“People were not thinking of all of the ramifications at the time [the decree was signed],“ Diamond said. “This was written in an era before litigation of these types of issues became common. It was a new world.“

About 18 months ago, the city issued a new rule that would let it turn single people away from shelters if they could bunk with a friend or relative.

But Legal Aid sued and a lower court blocked the new rule, which would have allowed the city to save some of the $3,000 a month it costs to house and feed each adult. The city is appealing the ruling.

“We believe there are reasonable things the city can do to provide a system of shelters for those whose who need it in a way that’s responsible to taxpayers without burdening them with people who have alternatives,“ Diamond said.

Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota called the consent decree a menace to New York taxpayers.

“I do think the court case needs to be challenged. I think the court case should allow the city to have rules and regulations that prevent the types of fraud and abuse that were described in the New York Post,“ Lhota said.

Even some shelter residents said the city should pull in the welcome mat for nonresidents.

“I don’t think it’s fair. People from the city should have the first crack at it,“ said Sharif Smith, 35, who is staying in the same shelter as Jablonowski.

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City’s Sheltering of Out-of-Town Homeless, Mayor’s Response Spark Debate

March 20, 2013 11:10 am Leave a Comment

In response to New York State’s guarantee to shelter the homeless, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, “you can arrive in your private jet at Kennedy Airport, take a private limousine and go straight to the shelter system, and walk in the door and we’ve got to give you shelter;” reported The New York Times.

Advocates for the homeless have called the mayor insensitive, but while Mr. Bloomberg’s wording might have been inelegant, the substance of his comment does not appear to be far from the mark: More people who gave their last address as outside New York are entering the city’s shelter system.

“New Yorkers who don’t have a place to go, we accept that,” Seth Diamond, the commissioner of homeless services, said.

“But New York is becoming a safety net for the country, which is really not the position we want to be in.”

Under a number of court decisions, the city has been required under the State Constitution to provide shelter. The city’s allure for out-of-towners who hope to find work, and its historically lower thresholds for providing public assistance, have tended to attract an uneven number of applicants for emergency housing.

The share of single adults who applied for shelter and listed their last address outside the city rose to 23 percent in December from 19.9 percent in February 2012, the Department of Homeless Services said. The percentage of out-of-towners among homeless families has also been climbing, to about 10 percent last month from 8.4 percent of households in 2009.

That could mean as many as 9,000 out-of-towners in the system over the course of a year. But advocates for the homeless maintain that that estimate is overstated, unverified and distorting.

“It could be someone from the Bronx, who lived their whole life in the Bronx, got evicted, spends some time on the street, applies for shelter and gives their mother’s address and their mother lives in New Jersey,” said Patrick Markee, senior policy analyst for the Coalition for the Homeless.

“The vast majority of the people in the system are New Yorkers,” Mr. Markee added. “There’s always been a small percentage of homeless who came from someplace else.”

With the shelter population setting records — last week, the system housed nearly 50,000 people, including 10,000 single adults and 20,000 children — the mayor has been seeking to defend his administration’s response to the challenges presented by the homeless. He has said that the state’s decision to cancel a rent subsidy program has resulted in fewer people leaving the system.

More recently, he has been reminding New Yorkers that the state imposes few limits on applicants for shelter, particularly on single adults.

Mr. Bloomberg made a point of explaining that among those seeking shelter are people whose last address was out of town.

The department identified the top sources for single adults who listed out-of-town former addresses as New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, California, Puerto Rico, Texas, Connecticut and South Carolina. Among families with children, the top sources also include Massachusetts and Maryland.

Samantha Levine, a mayoral spokeswoman, said that those arriving at intake are asked for their previous residence, “so there are not folks who had been, say, born in Boston and been living in New York City for 10 years.”

Families applying for shelter are asked whether they have some alternative housing, with relatives, for example, and the city tries to steer them to it. Last month, a state appeals court ruled that the city had illegally enacted a requirement that single adults had to prove they had no alternative housing before being allowed into shelters.

Since 2007, thousands of people who gave an out-of-town last address were persuaded to return to their hometowns or another destination and the city paid their way by plane, bus or train.

The city’s Project Reconnect has encouraged 2,443 single adults to return to their hometowns, the city said. The average transportation cost was $269, considerably less than the cost to the city of providing them with shelter, which is about $76.24 a day for single adults and $103 a day for families with children.

In the same period, 2,024 families (with an average of three members each) from out of town have left the city for other destinations, at an average cost of $192 per person.

Officials said the out-of-towners are encouraged, not required, to return to where they came from; their access to housing at the destination is verified before they are sent there. The top five places they leave for are Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Marc La Vorgna, the mayor’s chief spokesman, said Mr. Bloomberg’s remark about a private jet was “illustrating the strict nature of the current law that says we have to provide shelter for anyone, no matter what.”

“Twenty percent of the residents in homeless shelters are from outside of the city,” Mr. La Vorgna said, adding, “His point is we provided shelter to all, and we are the only place in the nation that does.”

Filed Under: Finance, Homelessness, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , ,

Quinn Lays Out Plans in State of the City

February 13, 2013 10:54 am Leave a Comment

Council Speaker and Mayoral Candidate Christine Quinn laid out her vision for the future in her State of the City speech yesterday.   She focused on a number of key issues, including several of interest to human service providers and advocates, particularly affordable housing, child care, and workforce development.

“Simply put, we face an affordability crisis in our city and it cuts right at the fabric of New York,” Quinn said.  “Affordable housing is at the heart of this crisis.”  The Speaker went on to lay out a four-part plan to address the affordable housing issue.  “I have a plan to build 40,000 new middle income affordable apartments over the next ten years,” she said.  “That’s quadruple the current rate of middle class housing construction.”  Quinn plans to finance the effort through savings from other governmental efficiencies, better use of existing Capital Budget allocations, and borrowing during today’s period of extraordinarily low interest rates.

The Speaker also called for a Permanent Affordability Act which would give building owners a new tax exemption, by capping their property taxes at a certain percent of their rental income, in exchange for a requirement that they keep their units affordable.   And, she called for pilot programs to turn existing market rate housing into affordable housing through a series of tax incentives.

Quinn addressed the issue of child care as another key element in the City’s affordability crisis, noting that for many families it is an expense that actually exceeds the cost of housing.   “It won’t surprise anyone here that New York City has the highest child care costs in the country – over $19,000 per year on average for infant care,” she said.

In response, the Speaker proposed a Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit.   “Right now the city offers a credit only to families that make less than $30,000 – which leaves middle class families to fend for themselves,” she said.  “Our Middle Class Credit will be available to more than 90,000 additional families, anyone making up to $150,000 a year. It will build on existing state and federal credits – so a family with two children making $75,000 a year will receive a total annual benefit of $2,040. This is real money in the pockets of middle class families.”

And, she called for efforts to create new jobs while simultaneously strengthening the workforce.

“We need to make workforce development a central component of our economic strategy,” the Speaker said.  “But to put it mildly – our current system is a disjointed mess.  Eight different city agencies currently spend more than $300 million each year on workforce development programs in New York City.  These agencies don’t communicate or coordinate, and there’s no standard measure of accountability for the many programs that they fund.  Some programs are just required to hit a target number of job placements, without any regard to how long people stay in a job, or whether it pays a living wage. We’ve heard stories about New Yorkers spending hours training for jobs in health care that are currently being phased out.

“Today I’m proposing a thoroughly reinvented workforce development system to bring middle class jobs to the five boroughs,” she continued.  “A system that’s driven by real world demand, has clearly defined metrics and goals, and rewards lasting results.”

The Speaker outlined a system under which a job seeker would be “immediately greeted by a trained professional who will conduct an in depth interview to assess his interests, skills, and any barriers that might prevent him from finding success in a job… Under our new system, every center will have access to the same data – so we can tell what classes he’s taken and what interviews he’s been sent on… Staff will have access to up to the minute labor market information, compiled by egghead economists, but based on data and conversations with real employers.  So they know exactly what kinds of companies are hiring, and what kinds of jobs are in demand.

“If Joe is ready for one of those jobs today, we’ll give him interview coaching and resume prep, and set him up with a prospective employer. If he needs more specific job-related skills, he’ll be enrolled in a targeted training course, to help him qualify for a good paying available job. And once Joe gets that job, our work won’t stop there. Workforce staff will check in regularly with both Joe and his employer. We’ll make sure Joe continues to have the support he needs, so he doesn’t just keep that job for a month, but can turn it into a lifelong career. We can do this. The foundation is already in place.”

Filed Under: Child Care, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Left Flat: Innovative Programs but No COLAs

January 24, 2013 3:33 pm Leave a Comment

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo rolled out his proposed FY2013-14 Executive Budget on Tuesday, expressing obvious pride and satisfaction that he would once again be able to close a $1.3 billion budget gap with no new taxes.  The $136.5 billion budget – the Governor’s third – is built on a base of fiscal and programmatic reform during the two prior years, he emphasized.

“By making difficult decisions over the past two years we have brought stability, predictability, and common sense to the state’s budget process,” Governor Cuomo said. “Two consecutive fiscally responsible budgets have drastically reduced the deficit we face in this fiscal year and those we will face in years to come. As a result, we are able to make critical investments to build a world-class education system, support job creating projects in all corners of the state, provide assistance to local governments, and rebuild communities that were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.”

As previewed in the Governor’s State of the State Address a week earlier, the budget features a number of programmatic initiatives strongly favored by the nonprofit human services community.  These include:

A $25 million proposal to support Full-Day Pre-kindergarten in lower wealth school districts;

A $20 million Extended Learning Time proposal to provide increased learning opportunities through high-quality extended school day or extended school year programs;

A Community Schools proposal to support the integration of social, health and other services, as well as after-school programming to support students and their families.

A Minimum Wage increase from $7.25 to $8.75 an hour;

A $1 billion House NY proposal to finance the creation and preservation of more than 14,300 affordable housing units over five years;

Creation of a $100 million “Pay for Success” social impact bond program to undertake cost effective human services programs over the next five years;

Expansion of the “Close to Home” Juvenile Justice Reform initiative to additional counties outside New York City;

Continued “Right-Sizing” of prison capacity through the closure of two prisons – Bayview in Manhattan and Beacon in Dutchess County, to save $18.7 million in 2013-14 and $62.1 million in 2014-15;

The regionalization and restructuring of state psychiatric centers by creating “regional centers of excellence” to diagnosis and treat individuals with complex behavioral health issues, with expected savings to be reinvested in community-based services.

The development of 1,000 supported housing units for residents of nursing homes (including 400 by the end of 2014), 4,000 supported housing beds for individuals in adult homes (including1,400 by the end of 2014), and 3,400 beds for the homeless housing program in New York City (including 634 by the end of 2014).

Filed Under: Child Care, Children, Finance, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Top News, Youths Tagged With: ,

Staten Island Non-Profit Recovery Fund

November 30, 2012 4:09 pm Leave a Comment

The Staten Island Foundation has announced a $500,000 matching grant to build long-term recovery support for Staten Islanders who have been hardest hit by the effects of Superstorm Sandy.

“Local service organizations have been on the front lines responding to those devastated by the storm, despite the fact that many of these same organizations and their staff members are also storm victims” explained Betsy Dubovsky, The Staten Island Foundation’s (TSIF), Executive Director.

In response, The Staten Island Foundation has created The Staten Island Non-Profit Recovery Fund (SINP Recovery Fund). The Staten Island Foundation will match the first $500,000 donated from other philanthropic sources to this fund.   The SINP Recovery Fund will make grants to Island nonprofit organizations in order to help them meet the long-term challenges created by this disaster.  The fund will also provide grants to aid in preparedness planning for future emergencies; provide funding for unreimbursed repairs to nonprofit facilities and grounds; support organizations whose fundraising efforts have been undermined; and aid collaborative efforts to help Staten Islanders in need.

“The one silver lining that might have been gained from Hurricane Katrina is that we have a fair idea of what sorts of demands will be placed upon our already-stretched-thin resources” continued Dubovsky.  “However, we are also learning the best solutions to these problems including examples of how philanthropic organizations can work in concert with each other and with government and the community to ease the effects of the storm’s aftermath.  The outpouring of support from around the country, and the world, has been phenomenal. Now comes the task of matching these resources to those most in need and doing it efficiently and fairly.”

“As an organization that serves as a common voice and resource for 150 of Staten Island’s not-for-profit organizations, the SINFPA is keenly aware of the role that not-for-profits in our Borough have played during the initial storm recovery efforts,” said Vincent Lenza, Executive Director of the Staten Island Not-for-Profit Association.”We are pleased that the Staten Island Foundation has continued their role as a leader in our community.  In organizing the Staten Island Non-profit Recovery Fund, along with Philanthropy New York, TSIF has recognized the importance of ensuring that our local organizations are supported in their vital work and that essential programs that sustain the health and well being of Staten Islanders can continue without interruption.”

Philanthropy New York, a membership organization of more than 285 grantmaking foundations and corporations based in New York City, will provide administrative and fiscal services to the Fund and will be guided by a Staten Island community advisory committee.  Individual contributions to the fund are also welcomed and can be sent to Philanthropy New York, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003-3076.

Filed Under: Finance, Homelessness, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Nonprofit Help Center, Small Business, Top News Tagged With: , , ,

City Launches Network of Restoration Centers

November 14, 2012 8:10 pm Leave a Comment

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has launched NYC Restore, a comprehensive effort to connect residents and businesses impacted by Hurricane Sandy with financial, health, environmental, nutritional and residential services, as well as Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) reimbursement processing. The initiative consists of seven NYC Restoration Centers, accessible, neighborhood offices located in the communities that were hit the hardest to provide long-term assistance to New Yorkers. The centers located in Far Rockaway, Gravesend, Coney Island and Staten Island opened yesterday, while the Centers in Red Hook, Breezy Point and Throggs Neck-Pelham Bay will open later in the week.

The Restoration Centers bring together information and referral to all of the City government services available in the aftermath of the storm. FEMA staff is onsite to perform benefits intake, as well as provide ongoing management and updates of applicants’ FEMA cases. NYC Restore also partners with nonprofit community-based organizations including SCO Family Services,  Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, Catholic Charities of Brooklyn & Queens, Jewish Board of Children & Family Services, Catholic Charities Community Services – Staten Island, FEGS, Good Shepherd Services, Red Hook Initiative, Shorefront Y and BronxWorks to provide support services in the Restoration Centers.

The Mayor made the announcement at the Far Rockaway Restoration Center where he was joined by Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs, Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway, Human Resources Administrator Commissioner Robert Doar and Diahann Billings-Burford, New York City’s Chief Service Office.

“We are taking our ongoing relief efforts an important step further by setting up one-stop city offices that make it simpler and more convenient for New Yorkers get the help they need,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The Restoration Centers will be an invaluable resource for the New Yorkers most impacted by the storm – and for the communities hit hardest.”

“As power returns, residents are coming home to put their lives back together again,” said Deputy Mayor Gibbs. “These will be trying times for them and the Restoration Centers bring social and emotional support services to care for their needs, with public agencies and community based non-profits side by side to address the long term effects of the storm.”

“The Restoration Centers will be in locations convenient to our communities – bringing government services to the community in co-located service centers where getting financial counseling, public assistance information, and home building repairs is as simple as moving from table to table,” said HRA Commissioner Doar. “Extended 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM hours of operation will allow residents to access the centers in the early mornings and evenings as well.”

Deputy Mayor Gibbs, along with Commissioner Doar, will oversee the Restoration Centers. Each center will coordinate local resources to accommodate the specific needs of the communities where they are located. Staff from HRA will connect impacted New Yorkers with benefit information such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and temporary cash assistance. Additionally, information will be available regarding financial and rebuilding assistance to residents whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

The Department of Small Business Services also will provide information and assistance on loans and reimbursements to small business owners. Other onsite New York City agencies include the New York City Department of Health, Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Department for the Aging.

In addition, partner State agencies including the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Department of Labor, Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Housing and Community Renewal, and the Department of Insurance will be co-located in the Restoration Centers to help New Yorkers with their recovery needs.

Filed Under: Finance, Homelessness, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Nonprofit Help Center, Politics, Small Business, Top News Tagged With: , , , ,

Local Advocates Turn Attention to “Fiscal Cliff”

November 10, 2012 6:42 am Leave a Comment

With the election over, a group of grassroots, human service, and organized labor groups turned their attention to imminent negotiations in Washington to avoid mandated across-the-board budget cuts, i.e. the “fiscal cliff”, that are scheduled to begin in January. These mandated cuts will total $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years and dramatically slash budgets for both defense and domestic discretionary spending — spending which supports a broad range of human service programs.

Yesterday, local advocacy groups gathered with Congressman Paul Tonko to call on President Obama and the New York Congressional delegation to fight for a “fair deal” in negotiations aimed at identifying an alternative set of deficit reduction actions, e.g. tax increases for wealthiest Americans, to replace the across-the-board sequestration cuts.

“Now that this year’s elections are over, it is time to govern” stated Congressman Paul Tonko. “Our nation is facing a number of unprecedented challenges that demand a thoughtful, balanced approach.  I believe that we can bring fairness to our tax code and strengthen vital programs such as Social Security and Medicare through an honest dialogue and bipartisan cooperation.  It is my hope that the season for politics is behind us and the President and Congress can get to work addressing these issues with clarity and respect.

“It’s time to put the politics aside and focus on the needs of the people,” said Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness. “We need to make sure that any ‘grand bargain’ preserves and protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and puts an end to the tax breaks and special deals for the privileged few.  It’s time to rebuild our economy from the bottom up, since the top down approach has been a dismal failure.”

“The greater danger is that misguided fears about the economy going over a ‘fiscal cliff’ into another Great Recession will lead policymakers to believe they have to take some action, no matter how ill-conceived and damaging to long-term deficit reduction, before the end of the year, rather than craft a balanced plan that supports the economic recovery in the short term and promotes fiscal stabilization in the intermediate and longer run,” said Frank Mauro, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

“Our economy can’t recover if we’re offering a $1 trillion tax cut to millionaires and billionaires,” said Jessica Wisneski, Campaigns Director for Citizen Action of New York. “The results of these elections prove that voters are standing with elected leaders who will fight to protect the programs and services that our working families rely on every day. Our communities can no longer suffer from the greed of CEO campaign contributors whose only interest is to make profits. Our leaders in Washington must rebuild our economy by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%.”

“A faithful budget values every American, prioritizes the common good, and lifts the burdens of poverty,” said Sara Niccoli, Executive Director, Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State. “In the stark terms of line-item income and expenditures, it describes the commitments that we as a people make to each other as one blessed community. Each fiscal decision carries a human impact and a moral implication. The federal budget has the potential to shape the better society that our faiths call us to seek out. As such, a moral budget would establish a fair system of taxation and distribution, invest in people and communities through education and the creation of good jobs, protect the gifts of nature through environmental stewardship, and nurture the well-being of all through access to health care.”

“The election debate and results showed how the American people value Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” said Michael Burgess, Statewide Senior Action Council. “Now, it is up to the President and Congress to respect the will of the people and not undermine or threaten the income and health care security that these programs continue to offer to so many Americans.”

“On Election Day 2012 voters stood up for the American Middle Class and sent a strong message rejecting hatred, intolerance and obstructionism,” said Danny Donohue, president of the nearly 300,000 member CSEA – New York’s leading union. “It is time to end ideological extremism and seek fair, long-term solutions to our nation’s problems that put the needs of people and families first.”

“We must put politics aside and work toward ensuring the ‘fiscal cliff’ doesn’t mean cuts to education, and other programs that help the middle class,” said NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta. “Congress must work in the spirit of collaboration and partnership to avoid sequestration and preserve programs that are so important to New York State.”

“NYSARA members stand opposed to the potential of this “lame-duck” session of Congress reaching a “grand bargain” cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare and cutting Medicaid, to pay for outrageous tax breaks for the richest 2% of Americans. We encourage everyone to contact their representatives in Washington and ask them to put working families first,” stated Bob Carillo, Executive Director, NYS Alliance for Retired Americans.

Filed Under: Aging, Finance, Health, Housing, Nonprofit Headline News, Politics, Small Business, Top News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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