City Hall, NY – New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm and Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Vanessa L. Gibson announced an agreement to restore over $77 million in funding for vital programs and services in the Fiscal 2020 Budget. These programs and services, all of which were deemed priorities in the Council’s Preliminary Budget Response, include adult literacy programs, the addition of 5,000 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) slots, Restorative Justice programs, and the Home Delivered Meals Rate increase.
Prior to this agreement, funding for the Bridge the Gap social workers was the only item included in the Mayor’s Executive Budget from the list of so-called “one-shot” programs and services funded in Fiscal 2019. These “one-shots” are funded in the Fiscal 2019 Budget, based on negotiations between the Council and the de Blasio Administration. The absence of the “one-shots” would result in a year-over-year service reduction. The Council is fighting to restore all of the “one shots” from Fiscal 2019 to the upcoming budget. The $77 million restoration amounts to about half of the “one-shot’ allocations.
“These programs and services are critical for our communities, which is why it was a priority for this Council to get them funded. We know that they rely on city funding to help give our constituents the resources they need, and we were not going to let them down. From services at senior centers to translation services at poll sites to tree stump removal, these are all essential services that help run our city. We will keep fighting for a responsible budget for all New Yorkers,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.
“The restoration of these funds will help thousands of youth, seniors, recent immigrants and other New Yorkers who rely on these important services. I am pleased to have worked with Speaker Johnson and Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Gibson to reach this important agreement. I remain committed to fighting alongside the Speaker and Chair Gibson for a progressive and equitable budget,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Finance.
“In the Council, it is our duty to fight for the services that affect the everyday lives of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, which is why we prioritized $77 million in funding restorations for community services. These services include Restorative Justice Initiatives, programming at NYCHA Senior Centers, COMPASS and Summer Youth Employment slots, and much more. We will continue to fight for the continuation of these vital services to ensure that this is a fair and responsible budget for New York City,” said Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson, Chair of the Council’s Subcommittee on Capital Budget.
Negotiations on other Council priorities continues, as well as a more in depth review of the Mayor’s Fiscal 2020 Executive Budget in the weeks ahead.
List of “One-Shots” Restored:
Initiative | Amount | Description |
Adult Literacy | $8,000,000 |
Additional basic literacy programs for English for Speakers of Other Languages and Graduate Equivalent Degree classes for adults who cannot read, write or speak English, in addition to funding support services such as counseling and case management. |
Baselining Bridging the Gap Social Workers | $13,900,000 |
This program supports students in shelters, which includes Bridging the Gap social workers. The $13.9 million will fund 69 social workers to support students in shelter. |
LGBTQ Family Outreach | $200,000 | Provides funding for PFLAG program expansion. |
Restorative Justice | $1,300,000 |
Provides restorative justice in 25 schools, the $1.3 million was previously provided by the Council. |
Offer Translation at Poll Sites | $640,000 |
Funding of $640,000 to support an agreement with the City Council and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) to launch a supplementary program to provide poll-site interpretation services in languages not covered by the Board of Elections. |
Remediation Programs | $2,000,000 |
Funding will support continued growth and development of new curricula for courses, workshops, summer programs and other interventions, as well as professional development for instructors and advisors across CUNY’s community college campuses. |
Beach and Pool Season Extension | $1,722,596 |
The Fiscal 2019 Budget included $1.7 million for the Summer 2018 pool and beach season extension. The funding allowed DPR to extend the City’s pool and beach season past Labor Day by one week, until September 9, 2018. |
Parks Maintenance | $9,553,205 |
The Fiscal 2019 Budget includes a restoration of $9.6 million for 50 additional gardeners and 100 City Park Workers (CPWs) to help maintain neighborhood parks. Because the restoration funded 150 positions, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) funded additional three positions to ensure that all Council districts received two CPWs and one gardener. |
Tree Stump Removal | $1,000,000 |
The Fiscal 2019 Budget includes an additional $1 million for tree stump removal, bringing total funding for tree stump removal to $3.1 million in Fiscal 2019. The additional $1 million, which was not baselined, and allowed DPR to remove an additional 3,000 stumps at an average cost of $330 per tree stump in Fiscal 2019. As of January 5, 2019, approximately 2,709 street and park tree stumps have been removed. |
Crisis Management System | $2,360,000 |
As part of the budget adoption agreement, the Fiscal 2019 budget baselined $9.3 million in Council funding and provided $2.4 million as a one-shot. The $2.4 million has been restored and will support school conflict mediation programs, legal services and therapeutic services. |
Post-Arrest Diversion | $1,025,000 |
Funding will support Post-Arrest Diversion programs for drug users charged with non-violent low-level drug offenses. |
Home Delivered Meals Rate Increase | $2,840,000 | Rate increase for home-delivered meals |
Senior Centers | $2,800,000 |
Additional funding to support DFTA senior centers that were previously funded by the Council |
Add 5,000 SYEP Slots | $11,900,000 |
Funding will support 5,000 additional slots for a total of 75,000 slots in Fiscal 2020. |
Child Care Contracts | $4,500,000 |
$4.5 million for six child care contracts previously funded by the Council. |
COMPASS | $6,200,000 |
In Fiscal 2019, the Administration baselined $8 million and provided $6.2 million in one-shot funding for Fiscal 2019 to support programming for children in grades K-5 under the Comprehensive Afterschool System of New York City (COMPASS NYC). The restoration will continue to support approximately 6,000 COMPASS slots. |
Foster Care Taskforce Recommendations | $7,800,000 |
This $7.8 million is to implement three recommendations of the Foster Care Task Force: 1) $3.3 million for Kinship Navigators to continue to increase adoption and Kinship Guardianship; 2) $2.8 million to improve family visiting with parents; and 3) $1.7 million for Workforce Employment to support foster care agencies in preparing youth for the workforce |
TOTAL | $77,740,801 | |
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