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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