Good morning, good morning.

Welcome to the New York City Council hearing on the committee on finance at this time.

Please silence all electronics and do not approach the days.

Again, I repeat, please do not approach the days.

If you're testifying today, please fill out a slip with the sergeants.

Any questions or concerns you may also reach a sergeant at arms.

You may also testify online via um zoom and uh through testimony at council.gov that is testimony at council.gov.

Chair, give us a minute, we're gonna do translations as well.

So I'll hear uh I'm big on fictima magazine in New York, Aliam Lagnal Malaya.

A testimony at Council.nework.gov.new York.gov.

It's a contactama, Fayorga Mohawbal at Rocky Belang.

Okay, thank you.

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Donc encore une fois, garde votre telephone sur silence afin de ne pas perturber l'audience.

Donc vous pouvez également vous rapprocher des sergents, des agents de security qui sont à chaque portillon to demande les appareils de cut.

Merci.

On yara Magotoli Monhandaka and YC Council Lo.

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NYC.gov.

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Okay.

Good morning, everyone.

Oh, yay, we got some responses back.

Good morning.

Um I wish I could do the Korean translation, but sadly, I'm not fluent.

My parents would be so disappointed.

But anyway, I'm glad that you guys are all with us.

And I've been saying this that in our public testimony, uh, in our previous testimonies that um very very excited for today to hear from you all.

Um, as someone who was in nonprofit for 20 years and I'm a social worker, I was on your side waiting all day to testify for my two minutes, and so I hear you guys.

Um, I want you guys to know that we are uh going to make sure we get through all of you and we hear all of your feedback.

I'm actually very excited to hear what you all have to say.

Um, so I just wanted to welcome you all to City Hall this morning and thank you so much for coming out to testify.

Okay, so now for the more formal remarks.

Um so before we begin, I want to oh, sorry.

We've been joined by Council members Hudson, Wong Morano, Narcis, Mili, and Jay Sanchez.

Um, so before we begin, I want to remind members of the public that this is a formal government proceeding and that decorum shall be observed at all times.

As such, members of the public shall remain silent at all times.

The witness table is reserved for people who wish to testify.

No video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table.

Um I know everyone's into selfie videos, but yeah, sorry, can't do that.

Um, but you can find the clips online.

Um further, members of the public may not present audio or video recordings as testimony, but you may submit transcripts of such recordings to the sergeant at arms for inclusion in the hearing record.

If you wish to speak at today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with the sergeant at arms and wait for your name to be called.

Once you have been recognized, you will have two minutes to speak on today's hearing on the executive budget for FY27 fiscal year.

And I just want to say I know two minutes, it's gonna go by really fast.

If you guys can try your best to summarize the main points you want to get across, that would be amazing.

And if you hear the buzzer at the end of the two minutes, um, it's fine if you if you're in the middle of your statement.

If you could just try to summarize and wrap up, that would be great.

Um so please keep that in mind.

If you have a written statement or additional written testimony you wish to submit for the record, please provide a copy of that testimony to the sergeant at arms, and you may also email written testimony to testimony at council.nycdeck.gov within seventy-two hours after the hearing.

So I want you to remember you can submit written testimony up to 72 hours after today's hearing.

Audio and video recordings will not be accepted, and believe me when I say this is my last plug, I promise.

Um, our city council finance team who you're gonna see coming in and out throughout the day.

Uh, they literally read every single word of all of your written testimonies, and we take that into consideration as we do our budget negotiations.

So don't think that if you submit, it's gonna just go into the ether.

We will read it, I promise you.

So please uh submit the written testimony on top of testifying today.

Okay, and then when you hear your name, when you hear your name, please come up to the witness panel for the first panel.

We will invite.

So we're gonna hear, and please forgive me if I pronounce names incorrectly.

Um, so the first panel, we have Layla Delgan, Makana Wu, Gayathrie ER, uh, Suken and Abbott.

So if you guys can come up to the witness table, that would be awesome.

And we have been also joined by Councilmember Vilas.

Okay, so feel free to go in whichever order you want.

Okay, you can begin when ready.

Just make sure you push the microphone so the red buttons on.

Okay.

Um, good morning.

My name is Layla Delane, a proud year, a proud three year participant of Girls Inc.

of Astoria.

Today I'm here to urge you to keep this life-changing program at our school.

Growing up, I was often told I was too much.

I have a big personality, I am loud, I speak my mind, and I express myself fully.

And in many spaces, that gets treated like a problem to be sp to be fixed.

But when I walked into Girls Inc., they didn't try to quiet me down.

I said they completely celebrated it.

They took me to my first ever Liberty WMBA game, gave me the space to host host events, trusted me to lead group discussions, and laughed alongside me when I was just being myself.

Because of them, I learned that my big personality isn't something to be ashamed of.

It is my greatest strength.

That is why your DCYD funding belongs here.

Because you aren't just paying for it at the school slot, you are funding the future leaders of the school.

Without Girls Inc., students lose the one place where they can unapologetically be themselves.

Please protect the space where big personalities can grow into big leaders.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Sucana Abbott, and I'm the program director for Girls Inc.

at the Young Women's Leadership School of Historia.

I want to talk briefly about what it takes for a family to walk their daughter through the doors of our program.

So many of our families are working families.

In 2026, for working parents to hand their child to a program every afternoon, trusting their child well-being takes enormous courage.

And yet these families choose us.

That choice is built on trust, and that trust took 12 years to establish.

Here's what that trust produces.

Inside a relationship, a girl can count on our girls start stop racing and start growing.

They show up as themselves, they take a risk in front of people who already believe in them.

That is where a young woman thrives, not in a program randomly assigned to her, but in a room where she is already known and seen as her greatest self.

Thriving young woman is what all of us want in the city.

Girls Inc.

at Tools Astoria has built a competent and compassionate program.

Our competence is in the numbers.

This year's week alone, we served 129 girls against a contract of 90, and every year we sub we surpassed the UI CD's rigorous rubric for program performance.

The compassion is a safe program with familiar faces that a working family can trust and hold accountable.

It is unfair and unjust to assign these young women to a stranger at random.

A new provider chosen randomly through a non-collaborative process only inherits a roster of names.

It does not inherit 12 years of trust.

That trust starts over at zero on the backs of girls and families who need it the most right now.

I am quoting one of our sixth grade families who said Girls Inc.

has been an invaluable partner in supporting the students at the Young Women's Leadership School of Historia by providing a safe, empowering and enriching after-school environment that aligns with the school's mission of developing confident college and career-ready young women.

Their programming offers students meaningful academic support, leadership development, mentorship, and social emotional learning opportunities that are specifically tailored to the needs of girls.

Families benefit from reliable, high-quality after school care while students gain access to positive role models and programs that foster self-esteem, independence, and community engagement.

Continuing Girls Inc.

as the afterschool provider ensures that our students will continue to receive consistent mission-driven support that strengthens both their academic success and personal growth.

You're good.

Hello, my name is Makona Wu.

I am a proud thear participant of Girls Inc.

X Fills of Astoria, and I'm here today to urge you to keep this life-changing program at our school.

As students in an all-girls school, we already know the immense power of an environment designed specifically for young women to thrive.

Girls Inc.

accommodates an elevated environment perfectly.

For the past decade, it has extended our school's mission past the final bell, providing a safe, continuous space where we could truly find our voices.

Through tailored leadership training, hands-on STEM projects, and deep mentorship, girls inc turns the lessons we learn in our classroom into real world confidence.

Without Girls Inc., I would have missed out on crucial life skills like public speaking, managing peer pressure, and building long-term personal resilience.

If this program is removed, future students will lose the vital head start.

If every after-school program could do what Girls Inc.

does, do you believe this community would be here today fighting this hard to keep it?

Please continue to invest in our future, protect our funding, and keep Girls Inc.

at our school.

Thank you.

I'm a school counselor of over eight years at Twills Astoria.

I'm here sharing this great concern at the potential loss of our long-standing after school partner, Girls Inc., and a plea to retain this invaluable, ideally matched resource to our staff and students from all over Queens.

As a former after-school educator myself, I still serve as a citywide consultant for nonprofits on the social emotional stakes of these kinds of programmatic collaborations.

And now as a solo parent, I have never been more convinced that the key to working family life is quality after school and symbiosis with the school day.

This means safe pickup protocol, specialized extracurriculars that parents can't afford, and boutique weekends, skilled staff able to handle all the responsibility of the school day with all the frills that the kids need in those fuzzy hours after they're demanding classes.

Girls Inc.

is the exemplar where faces light up to see the staffers when they come in the building, a consistent level of service documented by their highest possible ratings in DYCD that was not centered in the procurement process.

Their staff has our trust and training that cannot be transferred to another provider.

Emergency protocols, community events, materials, complex anecdotal systems, so an incident never lingers into a Snapchat battle at night.

They are part of our students' reasons for academic growth, attendance.

Their girls and teens have gone on to be interns, their staffers have gone on to be our teachers in this beautiful sisterhood continuum.

These are not line item benefits, they are intentional partnerships.

In our feminist faction of Queens, after school is school.

And reassigning our girls and family is like taking a horn off our unicorn, or in the words of our students, cringe, sus, and low-key messed up.

Our girls inc team every day at 2.35 quiets a dysregulated room of kids to direct the attention to the task, saying, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back.

On behalf of our students, we hope you understood the assignment.

Great, thank you.

Oh, and yes, clapping, we do this in the.

Yes, thank you.

Um, really quickly.

So, uh, was it the I'm assuming the compass center-based or school-based?

Center-based.

Okay, and how many locations is it impacting?

Um, this particular program is paired with uh Twell's Astoria, but there's been other schools in our district, district impacted, but this we lost this provider, and they're the providers still placed at schools, other schools, but they're not at our school.

Okay, perfect.

Um, and I know that the DYCD commissioner, as well as um Althea Stevens, our chair of the youth committee, and a lot of us are definitely fighting for the funding and for the programs to somehow we're there.

I know they're working hard on trying to figure something out, so we'll see what happens there.

But um, just want to thank you for coming out today and advocating for the program, because we know I'm a public school mom, we have public school parents here.

We know how important the after school programs are, so thank you.

Thank you.

And does anyone else have questions on the sure?

Go ahead.

Very quickly, I just want to um thank you for bringing your voice.

You are so much more than enough.

You are perfect as you are.

So keep striving.

Thank you for being here.

Keep having.

Sorry, I gotta be back up, just to remind folks.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

So next, we have our panel from UFT, Karen Alford, uh Mary Vicaro, who we know, Michael Sill, John Camps, and Priscilla Kestro.

Great to see you all.

Yes, feel free to start when you're ready.

Good morning.

My name is Priscilla Castro, and I am the Power Professional Chapter Chair, representing 26,000 power professionals across New York City.

So I'm here today because for the past year and a half, we have been loud and cleared in regards to the power respect check.

And we want to ensure that it becomes a reality.

Every year, we spend 1.5 billion dollars on CARTA cases.

Why?

Because our students are not being service.

They need the paraprofessionals.

We cannot afford to lose our paraprofessionals.

So I'm here today to ask for this body to pass the legislation in regards to the power professional respect check.

Thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

My name is John Camps, I'm the first vice chair of the paraprofessional chapter.

I want to thank you all the count all the council members for their support in this past year and helping us get to this point.

And I hope that we can continue moving this forward and get it past the finish line.

Um the legislation represents a critical step towards addressing a long-standing inequities affecting paraprofessionals who are among the most essential yet undercompensated members of our school communities.

Everyday paraprofessionals just provide indispensable support to the students, particularly those with disabilities and complex needs, helping to ensure safe and inclusive and effective learning environments.

The proposed respect check would provide meaningful financial relief while also helping to stabilize a workforce the schools depend on.

By improving compensation, this legislation will strengthen recruitment and retention efforts at the time when staffing shortages are impacting classrooms across the city.

Equally important, this bill sends a clear message that New York City values the contributions of paraprofessionals.

Recognizing their work is not only a matter of fairness, it is an investment in the quality of education and support of our students that our students receive.

I respectfully urge you to support the passage of this respect check legislation and to advocate for policies that promote equity, stability, and respect for all members of our school communities.

Thank you all for your time.

Good morning, everyone.

I proudly serve as a secretary of the United Federation of Teachers.

I just want to say first of all, congratulations to the students who came here and spoke so eloquently as self-advocates.

And uh on behalf of Michael Mulgrew and the over 200,000 members of the UFT, I want to thank Chair Lee in the committee for giving us this opportunity.

I'm going to start just by echoing what Priscilla and John said.

I know you all have shown your support for the power-respect check, but in a city like this, when people are doing such important work, like helping our most vulnerable students, they shouldn't have to live in homeless shelters.

They shouldn't have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

And that's the reality for some of our paras right now.

We can do better, we must do better together.

We will do better.

I look forward to that passing.

Vice President Karen Alford and Vice President Mary Vicaro are going to get into the details of some of our other priorities we'd like to talk about today.

I know you're aware of them from the legislative breakfast that we had, the city council breakfast.

But one thing I want to say about investing in UFT programs, as you all have demonstrated, you know, is that you are investing in programs that you know work.

I was thinking about it on the train over here today.

Um, and I think we're on our tenth chancellor since Michael Mulger became president of the UFT.

And anybody who's worked in schools or worked closely alongside schools knows is that when you have a new administration come in, the priorities change, not just a little bit, sometimes 180 degrees.

The reading curriculum changes.

Are we breaking up high schools this year or are we putting them back together?

So many different kinds of things just change completely.

And so the programs that you'll be hearing about momentarily, like the United Community Schools, the Teacher Center, the Brave Program, and others, they represent stability and a good investment, and I hope you'll make that again.

Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm Karen Alfred, and I service the UFT's vice president for elementary schools.

I'm going to talk to you today about four programs.

First, United Community Schools, 32 schools across five boroughs, touching the lives of over 20,000 students and families.

An investment in UCS is an investment in educator support, a focus on teaching and learning, as well as integrated supports for families.

And 2025, support from the city council helped UCS schools feed over 71,000 families, and provide over 48,000 health and wellness exams, screenings and check-ins.

These supports translate into increased test scores, better attendance and student engagement at our UCS schools.

Teachers also feel the impact of working and in UCS school.

And we often hear our teachers say they feel more supported, secure, and engaged.

And we know that retention right now is extremely important.

Next, child care.

Investing in our youngest learners is a win for the city of New York.

Our parents, our members, and definitely our students.

We're eager to partner with the mayor and city council to fulfill the promises of universal 2K and 3K and to ensure the successful rollout of both programs.

We want to also make sure that we that providers are paid in a timely manner without delays.

We have to ensure that there's independent, non-network affiliated home-based providers that are included in this rollout, and our youngest learners are provided with the appropriate special education services when needed.

The third program, Brave, building respect, acceptance and voice through education.

We found it Brave as a hotline.

Excuse me.

And it was meant for to prevent bullying across the city.

Our students are able to call us, and one phone call helps to protect our children and our families.

And lastly, Diala Teacher is a homework helpline.

We've answered calls from tens of thousands of students.

We operate Monday through Thursday in many languages, and with your support, we're hoping to continue and expand all of those programs.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

My name is Mary Vicaro.

I'm the UFT Vice President for Education and the Director of the UFT Teacher Center.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak about several initiatives that are making meaningful impact on educators, students, and school communities across New York City.

I'd like to begin with the 46-year-old program, the UFT Teacher Center, which promotes teacher excellence and academic achievement for all students through high quality professional development tailored to the unique needs of each school.

The teacher center's work is grounded in the belief that when educators are supported, students thrive.

The teacher center provided more than 126,000 hours of professional development to educators across the city.

These learning opportunities range from instructional coaching and curriculum support to leadership development and collaborative planning.

The impact is clear.

These coaches help schools implement evidence-based practices and build sustainable systems that continue to develop educators and students long after the workshops end.

We know that the teachers, the UFT Teacher Center providing support in classrooms and directly in schools is not only a valuable resource, but is much more cost effective than using consultants in New York City's schools for teacher training and supporting.

The teacher center has also played a major role in supporting citywide initiatives as New York City Reads and the Reading for All Initiative.

The UFT Teacher Center has teamed up with the Goldie Horn Foundation to introduce Mind Up to over 300 schools, Think Equal to support social emotional learning in pre-K and Common Point for our Wellness Days.

These partnerships have given us the ability to make connections and to extend our reach to educators.

We also provide TCIS to any school that is requesting it.

And just quickly, I want to highlight the MAP program, the member assistance program that for 16 years ago was developed in order to support our teachers and any educator in New York City in response to any training that they need for mental health issues.

50,000 educators across New York City have already used those counseling services.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, and thank you to all the UFT folks that came out this morning.

Um you guys are such huge partners for us in the city council and in our schools.

And to your point, Priscilla, I hear you because when I was in the nonprofit sector, it's oftentimes the folks that provide the most essential work that could get paid the least.

And so uh we are very much um all about uh making sure we're paying people what they're worth and if we can more actually to be honest, um, and also to I see I see you guys up there too.

Um, and to also uh recognize the dedication and hard work that you do for our kids each and every day.

And so I just want to say thank you.

And finally, I'll end by saying that oftentimes a lot of folks say, oh, but it's so much money.

We but you know what?

Oftentimes, and we see this in so many different sectors and industries that um it it pays sometimes to invest because it will um benefit to your point with the Carter cases.

It does save dollars from a practical standpoint.

So I just want to make that point as well.

I know some of my colleagues also had questions.

Sorry, we've also been joined by Council Member Marte, Banks, and Epstein.

And does anyone Council Member Nurses?

Did you have anything you wanted to?

Okay, so Councilmember Nurses.

First, I want to say thank you and girls, girls' power in the back.

They used to say I talk too much when I was growing up.

I'm always somewhere protesting, rallying.

So thank you for being here.

Um, teacher support is a great program.

Thank you, and we understand it, and I think all my colleagues, we got it.

So we're gonna do everything we've been supporting, and uh, I'm sure the speaker got it as well.

Um, as a former nurse, um, registered nurse and ERNES, I know what it means to do essential work um without a paycheck to matches, right?

Um, we hear all the time about schools struggling to hire power professional, not only to hire how we're gonna retain our proof power professional if not we're not matching it.

From where you sit, what happens to our schools and our students if we keep asking parents to do this work at the pay they are getting now?

We're not gonna have power professionals.

Point blank point blank.

That's why we have 1.5 billion dollars of carta cases because students are not receiving the services, so they don't have a power professional, which is a disservice not only to the students but to the parents.

Power professional for me is three, four, five in one.

Just like back in the days, we're just a nurse.

You have to be respiratory therapist, you have to be emotional supporter, you have to be all that, and that's the reason I have so much respect for power professionals and whatever we can do myself personally.

I'll continue with you.

And I know you made me sign your paper to make sure that I stand, and I believe in it.

Not only signing in the seriousness, I do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Anyone else, other of our colleagues?

No?

Okay, perfect.

Thank you so much.

Okay, and next up, we have folks in the youth justice space that are going to be testifying.

We have Messiah Ramkisun from Youth Justice Network, Jason Elaine from Exalt Youth, Anthony Springer from Urban Youth Alliance, Lily Shapiro from Fortune Society, and Megan French Marcelin from Alternatives to Incarceration.

So please feel free to come up to the front.

Oh, you're doing the one here.

Oh, okay.

They're not here yet.

Are they not here?

Alright, so we're gonna skip ahead to the next panel and come back to you guys.

Okay, we have more of our awesome youth and young students.

Uh Sol Sambana, um Praker Verma, Michael Sacey, Harmon Carr, Shirley uh Pennifiel, are you guys here?

Feel free to come to the front if you all are here.

Um Allie Goldfarb and Felix Emerson Simpson.

Are they here?

Oh wait, are you guys coming down from the balcony?

Okay, got it.

I think y'all can see okay, yeah.

Oh yay.

Awesome.

Sorry, so I have Saul Prakar, Michael, Harman Carr, uh Shirley Penefiel, Ali Goldfarb, and Felix Emerson Simpson.

Okay.

Okay.

Are any of these folks here?

Uh we okay.

How about folks?

Yeah, because we had a panel from Metropolitan Expit uh I can't Expeditionary Learning School.

Are you guys here?

No?

Okay.

Alright, so feel free to go ahead.

Okay.

Hello, my name is Melody.

And I am here to testify about how libraries need money.

Zero point five percent to be suspicious.

One reason they need money is that library that the library branch near me has one bathroom and no water fountains.

Most of the time when I am there, there's usually someone in the bathroom.

And if it's an emergency, it's a lot worse to me.

Sometimes some of the library buildings are old and need upgrades.

Also, there are not many fun activities at the library near me.

An activity that I would like to have is book clubs that would help.

Those would help kids learn about some awesome books so they can try it out too.

My favorite library book right now is the cardboard kingdom.

And I would love to talk about it with the other kids so they can try it and see what they think of it.

Also, the library has an elevator.

That's like really slow.

When I step into the library, I can see people, computers, shelves, and shelves of books.

Hard workers working together to keep the library moving, and it makes me feel peaceful and safe.

And those are the reasons that libraries should get 0.5% of the budget.

Oh, wait, sorry, we gotta use hands up.

Yeah, sorry.

We gotta thank you.

But that was awesome.

Go ahead.

Good morning.

My name is Felix.

I think Larry Hugo.5% of the city, but why I wish there were more audio books at the library because I can't really read big books here.

So the audio books can read for me.

There are just a few audiobooks and the money could buy more.

There are not many activities at the butt I would like more activities like in like art clubs.

That the libraries had cozy spots.

For reading, thank you for your time.

We all need more cozy spots.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Good to see you all.

My name is Dr.

Abby Emerson.

I'm a New York City educator, and I'm here today as a member of NYC Plan, the Public Library Action Network, which is a group of patrons and library workers organizing together to amplify, strengthen, and progress the futures of New York City's three public library systems.

It's nice to see some of my our allies here who have um co-signed our ask.

So I'm here to ask that the city council baseline of funding of libraries for 0.5% of the overall city budget for this cycle and all future cycles.

Mayor mom Donnie campaigned on that promise, and to date 11 city council members have also signed off on that commitment.

Councilmember Narcis, Aviles, Epstein, Marte, and I feel like I'm missing one, too.

Um I'll take a look after.

So unfortunately, the executive budget put forth last night uh last month by Mayor Mom Donnie offers libraries across the three systems 526 million.

But that only represents 0.42% of the overall city budget, not the 0.5 is promised.

And that translates to $3 million more than last year, but that figure does not keep up with 3.8% inflation.

And for context, it cost Astoria $13 million dollars to update two elevators last year, so $3 million across 216 branches uh citywide is a bit insulting.

And what is falling uh what is that falling short of 0.5% look like for the patron experience?

Um, for one, as these two young New Yorkers um shared.

Um, our branch has very little programming.

There's the babies in books programming, awesome.

Teen programming, awesome, but there's actually nothing for the childhood age group.

Um, and so we need consistent funding so there can be consistent staffing so there can be consistent programming for us.

Um, libraries, as we know are also central cooling devices.

Our library is constantly closing in the summer because it's frankly just too hot, right?

Um, and additionally, we heard a couple weeks ago when the um the VP of the BPL mentioned unreimbursed wage growth, which frankly means people are not being paid fairly, right?

And we know workers need to be paid.

Um, so New Yorkers need more from their library, and we look forward to a 0.5% that can make that happen considering that circulation is up, attendance up, and the need is up.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And as you know, this council has been strongly advocating for library funding for the last however many years, and so um thank you.

And I almost wanted to ask which library, but I won't ask because I want to also want to call them out.

But um, yes, definitely super supportive.

Um, and we need to make sure that we have the programming because it's not just I think I think we've seen, especially after COVID, how important the library systems are for our communities, and it's not just the books, but it's a lot of essential services that get provided there.

So thank you so much for coming in, and thank you both ladies for coming in and advocating.

Okay, next up we have.

Okay, so next up we have uh John Heislop Hislop.

Sorry if I'm mispronouncing.

Uh Mike Greco.

Vincent Varial, Donald Nesbitt, and John has oh, wait, he's on this one already.

Yay.

Like, I know some of these names, and we've just been joined by our speaker, Speaker Julie Medan.

Okay, great.

You may begin when ready.

I have to follow up to those to those other library supporters.

My name is John Hislop.

I'm the president of Queens Library Guild Local 1321.

Speaker Menon, Deputy Speaker and Libraries Committee Chair Dr.

Williams, Finance Committee Chair Lee, and fellow city council members, thank you for giving me this opportunity to testify on behalf of the over 840 local 1321 Queen's Library Guild members.

Local 1321 members are disappointed.

In 2016, with great fanfare and many news articles, Mayor de Blasio and the city council how did their agreement to quote baseline funding across the three library systems from August 2016, August 26, 2016 City Council press release.

These are their words.

Quote, working alongside the administration, they were able to able to secure 43 million dollar baseline funding, which was adopted through negotiations of the FY25-2017 budget.

Mayor de Blasio's baseline did not stop him from proposing cuts in successive preliminary budgets.

Mayor Adams continued the strategy and proposed cuts in his preliminary budget.

Mayor Mamdani continued the decades-long library budget dance and proposed cuts in his preliminary budget.

With great social media fanfare, he celebrated the tenth anniversary of Mary de Blasio's baselining by announcing his proposed underwhelming baseline.

As we have experienced with mayoral declarations, are not guaranteed baselining.

Local 1321 is calling for our elected officials to guarantee baseline funding and legislate or amend the city's charter to allocate 0.5% of the city's budget to New York City's public libraries, which would be an amount that provides substantial financing for library systems.

With a predictable and adequate funding source, libraries can plan for the future, hire additional staff, provide sustainable six-day service, modernize library infrastructure, maintain clean branches, provide robust IT, and offer additional programs and services.

Furthermore, having baseline will prevent unnecessary conflicts.

Local 1321 and the library's administration is having.

Currently, the administration refuses to recognize and pay a vital group of public library service, public service library workers for their invaluable work.

Mary Mamdani, this country and our city needs you to succeed.

That success comes with a strong foundation of public institutions, including libraries.

Many of our members work in the communities that they live in.

Local 372 represents again 24 uh 2600 school crossing guards who provide protection and supervision through the NYPD.

The need for increased protection for our student pedestrians and members of the communities make it essential for New York City to allocate funding for additional higher hiring of school crossing guards.

Local 372 respectfully requests to restoration of 500 uh open positions and hire some more school crossing guards.

School lunch employees, school lunch employees work hard every day, both in good times and in essential times to serve breakfast and lunch to the community, but uh they are required to go according to federal nutrition standards and guidelines.

This is demanding work as they serve 400 and I mean 946,000 plus students.

This is only second to the U.S.

Army in serving every day.

So local 372 respectfully requests 10 million dollars towards the additional 1,000 school lunch employees.

Additional shruggles that school lunch employees face is air conditioned and proper ventilation if in these spaces.

Many of the kitchens that they work in every day have little to no cooling or ventilation and can reach 130 degrees.

Proper air conditioning would filter our heat fumes and any other um thing that is in the air that can be harmful.

Uh, since SAPIS, since 1971, SAPIS workers have provided a range of mental health and intervention services in the largest school district in the nation.

Local 372 has testified before this panel about the devastating effects of not having SAPIS within schools.

The rise in student reports of bullying comes at a time where we continue when things continue to swallow out of control, um, and their social challenges uh to our students.

Local 372 requests that the city of New York uh matches maintains um and the city council maintains the dollar for dollar two million dollar match uh for SAP is within the state legislator legislative budget.

Um, school support staff in conclusion uh support and are critical to functioning school as functioning school system, they create the space where teachers can teach and students can learn.

Local 372 workers provide these services and are essential to our school system.

Local 372 extends his gratitude to the city council for your support for our titles.

We recognize that there is not enough resources to address every worthy cause or issue throughout the city and it are tough decisions that have to be made, but we thank you for your continued support.

Good morning, Speaker Menon, Finance Chair, members of the City Council.

My name is Vincent Variali, and I am an EMS lieutenant and president of the uniformed EMS Officers Union TC 37 Local 3621.

I represent over 600 EMS sergeants, lieutenants, and captains of the New York City Fire Department.

I've been with the Health and Hospitals Corporation and then the New York City Fire Department for 31 years.

And I'm here once again to report the New York City's best EMS workforce is in crisis.

The same EMS officers, paramedics, and MTs who ushered the city through COVID, rushed through the burning towers of 9-11, and who saved the lives of New Yorkers multiple times a day, every day are being driven out of the ranks due to outrageously low and unfair pay and benefits.

We have EMS members living far outside the city because they can't afford to live in the city they serve.

Some are actually living in on homeless shelters and in cars because they can't afford the rent.

It is an outrage and a slap in the face to city workers who serve all of us every day.

It does not go unnoticed that EMS is one of the most diverse uniformed services in the city, consisting of predominantly non-white and largely female members.

EMS operations representing about 80% of the overall 911 FDMY call volume, however, it only staffs 25% of the FDMY and receives only 16% of the FDMY budget.

At the same time, due to high turnover and nutrition, we are losing EMS officers, EMTs, and paramedics at an astonishing rate.

We are going to lose up to 1,500 EMS members within the next year alone.

And EMS is staring down the barrel of a stunning 70% turnover rate within the next three to five years.

EMTs and paramedics simply cannot afford to remain and feed their families.

This is an increasing response.

This is increasing response times to 9-11 calls to life-threatening emergencies.

The 2026 mayor's preliminary management report just found that in the first four months of fiscal year 2026, response times for life-threatening emergencies have increased up to 12 and a half minutes.

I'm sorry, 12 and 12 minutes 12 to 10 minutes.

Up that's up two minutes and 30 seconds.

That's an extra two and a half minutes while your spouse is having a stroke.

Your parents and grandparents fall and suffer from a serious injury, two and a half extra minutes to wait while you're suffering a massive heart attack, two and a half extra minutes to wait when someone calls about a person on the street on a subway having a severe mental emotional crisis.

In a system where Minutes Manor, we have a system that is completely out of balance and teetering on the brink of collapse.

Without change, EMS simply cannot keep up.

New Yorkers must know that this is now more deadly in our city if you or your loved one suffers a heart attack, life-threatening illness or serious accident or fall.

Health and emergency care in our city is serious jeopardy.

The survival rate is currently at its lowest, a cardiac arrest at 17%.

This is a public safety crisis.

It didn't happen overnight.

It's been a long time in the making, the year with years of neglect and bad decisions.

This mayor didn't cause it, neither did this council.

In fact, this council has been an advocate for EMS over the years, and we want to thank you for your effort and help.

And we know that this mayor is committed to equity, affordability, and fairness.

Pay equity is an affordability issue.

Emergency medical care for New Yorkers must be a priority.

We ask you to help us do what's best for our city and prioritize this issue because it is literally a matter of life and death.

We need to adequately compensate and resource our EMS first responders so they can properly protect and save the people of the city during emergencies.

Thank you very much.

Good morning.

Thank you, Chairperson Lee, and to all the council members.

My name is Michael Greco.

I am the president of local 2507, which represents the EMTs, paramedics, and fire inspectors of the FDMY.

For years, New York City has relied upon EMTs and paramedics to serve as the front line of health care system, responding to over 1.6 million emergency medical calls annually.

They arrive at shootings, cardiac arrests, overdoses, traumatic injuries, and countless other life-threatening situations.

Yet, despite their critical role, they continue to be compensated at a level that bears little resemblance to either the cost of living in New York City or the immense responsibilities they carry.

EMTs starting salaries remain around 39,000, with top pay EMT pay remaining dramatically below that of firefighters or police officers.

This city has long acknowledged a recruitment and retention crisis within EMS.

Yet the budget fails to address the root cause, compensation.

New York City EMTs and paramedics routinely leave to seek livable wage somewhere else.

They result in this result is predictable.

Vacancies grow, overtime increases, burnout accelerates, and experienced providers walk away from a profession they once loved.

The consequences are no longer theoretical.

They are measurable.

Ambulance response times for life-threatening emergencies have increased, with average response times approaching over 10 minutes.

And it's getting worse.

Driven in large part by staffing shortages and increasing call volume.

FDMY's own performance goals remain out of reach.

Not to mention the fact that every day we're holding jobs sometimes for hours.

Every minute matters during a cardiac arrest.

Every minute matters when a child cannot breathe or when a trauma patient is bleeding to death.

Delayed ambulance responses are not merely operational statistics.

They represent New Yorkers waiting longer for life-saving care.

When elected officials choose not to invest in EMS staffing and compensation, they are making a policy choice that directly impacts emergency response capabilities and public safety outcomes.

The city budget reflects its priorities, and once again, it fails to make a substantial commitment towards solving one of the most obvious public safety challenges facing New York City.

The workforce shortage in EMS is not a mystery.

The solution is not complicated.

Competitive compensation attracts qualified candidates, retains experienced providers, reduces turnover, improves staffing levels, and ultimately decreases response times.

New Yorkers deserve ambulances that arrive quickly when their loved ones are experiencing the worst moments of their lives.

They deserve a government willing to invest in the professionals who provide care.

Until the city commits to meaningful EMS pay parity and long-term workforce investment, response times will continue to suffer.

Staffing shortages will continue to worsen, and public safety will continue to pay the price.

The question is no longer whether New York City can afford to invest in EMS.

The question is how much longer can New Yorkers afford the city not to.

And I just want to add in the past 10 years, New York City has hired about 6,000 EMTs.

We are currently 2,000 understaffing levels.

That's an investment of a quarter billion dollars in training that has not gotten them over the 4,000 person hump.

That is the stuff we're talking about here today.

Thank you.

For my testimony, I need a little interactive participation from the city council, if you don't mind.

So uh all the city council members who are from Manhattan.

Can you raise your hand for me, please?

Just the one?

Two.

Right now you're down 14 ambulances as we speak.

How about from the Bronx?

Yeah.

The Bronx, you're down 19 ambulances as we speak.

Queens?

Tiffany Queens?

Yep, Queens.

Rockaway's down one.

Seven.

So that's a big number, especially because Rockway's got a lot of issues.

You know, as you know.

Uh, Queens right now is down about 11 ambulances.

For the evening tour, we are projected citywide to run down 70 ambulances.

Brooklyn right now is down seven ambulances.

Staten Island, you guys win, you're down two ambulances.

But that's two out of thirty for a borough that has doubled in population since I started.

It has only gotten busier, and as you know, with the big fire the other day, they were pulling units from Queens to go there because we don't have enough.

We are losing 10 to 15 people a week, ladies and gentlemen.

Not only is this damaging as the president's just testified, it is a moral injury to not only the EMS workers, fourteen of us of which committed suicide since 2020, and over 45 others have reached out to me personally saying they wanted to do so.

It is killing New York City residents.

You, your constituents are literally dying.

That is not hyperbole.

So this has to be addressed and fixed.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Speaker.

Okay.

I really want to thank this panel for your incredibly compelling testimony.

We are deeply concerned about this issue.

We are deeply concerned about the pay issue for EMS workers.

It is something that I we are absolutely committed to.

The increased response times are unacceptable.

And the fact that the wages are unacceptable.

It it is so I can assure you that this is something we care very deeply about and are going to go to the mat on.

So I just want to thank you so much for your testimony today.

Okay, great.

We have members with a few questions.

First, Sylvina Brooks Powers, followed by Avilas and then Kavan.

Thank you, and just echoing um Speaker Menon in terms of the panel.

Thank you for your testimony.

And thank you for you know making it real.

I noticed you said Rockaway had a total of how many ambulances you said.

Sorry, seven.

Sorry?

Approximately seven ambulances run out of Rockaway.

Seven geographically isolated peninsula.

I'm grateful, has 30, because they also are geographically isolated as well.

First and foremost, I support pay parity for EMS work because EMT, like you should be paid the value of work that you are doing, and that is saving lives.

So full stop on that.

I also wanted to understand since you had a little bit of data with you, because I talked to some of our FDNY as well as EMT folks on the peninsula in terms of what the impact has been since the closure of Peninsula Hospital, which was our trauma facility.

Could you shed a little light on that for me, please?

So yeah, I was a paramedic in Queens uh for a long time, and when they had peninsula, it was a much quicker, not only response to the hospital.

So you would have a two, three minute transport time.

What happens now is I mean, all everyone knows in Queens the Van Wick is never have traffic.

It's a parking lot.

So when you leave the Rockaway with a trauma, it's not only trauma, it's also uh heart attacks.

So the only STEMI center is in Jamaica hospital as well.

So it's about a 20-minute full lights and sirens to get to that hospital.

So that is the problem with the person you're treating.

Now we are not going lights and sirens to get back.

So your district is without an ambulance for 40 minutes at least because it takes us just to get back.

And because we are so busy, that ambulance sometimes doesn't get back to the Rockaways because they're gonna get called for a job.

At this time yesterday, we had a six percent availability of of BLS ambulances, which is EMTs in all of New York City.

Um, an engine company has an 87 to 80 percent, maybe a 75% availability at any given point.

This situation is not complicated.

We are staffed and budgeted to handle about 3,000 EMS calls a day.

We are hitting 6,000 every day.

Can you tell me what the wear and tear is on your members that have to make that route, right?

Because you're talking about what should be like a two to 10 minute trip if it's a trauma matter, now taking 20 to 40 minutes lights and sirens on the parking lot, Van Wick Expressway.

What what and thank you also for putting context in terms of the ambulances not returning because there have been moments where I've had to call personally to St.

John's and to the local FDNY to see if there were ambulances because someone had a heart attack in a park in Rockaway, and I was told that not one ambulance was on the peninsula at that moment.

So now I understand why not I didn't have that full concept in terms of even the return.

Right.

So I mean, if you're asking the stress, it's when you have somebody who is in critical condition and you're in the back of that ambulance.

I don't think I can explain to any civilian.

I mean, I got about 50 of my members upstairs.

If you want to talk to them outside, every single one of them will tell you that trauma story.

Um, it's frustrating, but then it's also frustrating to be at the hospital trying to get there when you find out there's a there's a pediatric arrest.

So you know the system has put you in a position, and now you can't help the next one because of what's going on.

Every single one of my members who are here, and every single one in the sh in in the street right now, they do this not because they're gonna get rich.

And none they do this because they love the job.

And when we can't help somebody, that puts an extra mental toll on what it is.

But I can't stress enough.

This is this is a disservice to New York City because your constituents and the visitors of New York are not getting served the way they should.

When you call 911, you expect one of three things to happen.

If somebody's robbing your house, you expect a cop to show up.

If your house is on fire, you expect the fireman to show up.

If your mother's having a heart attack, you expect us to show up.

We're not showing up right now, and that's a direct problem with the budget, that's a direct problem with the resources and the investment that's being put in the MS.

Thank you so much.

You might I'd like to add something like this is a domino effect as well, because we've heard the UFA president also testify that when fire responds to an EMS call and most of the calls are fire are EMS calls, they are now put off service taking care, treating that patient, waiting for an ambulance to arrive to take care of that patient.

So now when that ambulance is stuck at Jamaica hospital and taking an hour to come back and then get sweet diverted to a call nearby because they couldn't make it back to Rockaway, that fire truck's gonna sit there longer.

So now you have a fire truck off service, you have an EMS truck off service, taking care of another call, it's just a domino effect.

Same thing with the police officers.

If they have a patient that they're standing with, they're waiting longer now, they're off service until we get there.

So it's a dominant domino effect to all emergency services in New York City.

Thank you.

I just want to add one thing to the Rockaways.

I believe the Rockaway boardwalk is the largest in America.

I might be a little off with that.

It's I don't know if it's the largest, but it's a significant stretch.

It's one of the largest for sure.

Yeah, during the summertime, there's one gator staffed by two EMTs covering the entire length of that boardwalk.

So not only do you have the stresses that we just mentioned, but during the summer season, I hope nobody has trouble swimming.

Or there's a shark or anything of those nature.

So just a heads up.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Um, Councilmember Vilas, followed by Kavanaugh and then Nurses.

Yeah, yeah.

Um, thank you so much to this panel, and thank you everyone up who came here.

Um we are well aware that uh thank you is not feeding you.

Thank you is not providing the health care that you also deserve, the mental health care.

And this is one of the most egregious and infuriating situations here for us at council.

Um, I'd like to know how many ambulances just have one EMT.

We don't, um we're not allowed to go with just one.

We it'll always have two EMTs, or it's out of service, or it's out of the or two paramedics.

Um, we're not allowed to send out an ambulance with just one provider.

Thank goodness.

But even uh, EMS lieutenant I will add we're the only first responders that go out by ourselves, just so you know.

Got it.

The only ones we should have a partner or an aide.

We don't have that.

Police has it fire, everybody has one, not EMS.

Got it.

And and how much money is required to get to us to to get to a pay parity.

That's that's an interesting question because it's there's so much more to it than just um what what it would cost as a dollar figure.

What it would take is everybody to get into a room of all the stakeholders.

It would take the Office of Budget, it would take OLR, it would take the mayor's office, it would take city council, it will take the unions and it'll take members.

We have a pay equity lawsuit as well that's outstanding.

So it's not just about the pay, it's about that we are 35% women, we're 51% non-white.

We are systematically kept down in order to fund and and support the equity uh the diversity in fire.

So this would take a massive undertaking and ask the unions how can we get to yes, right?

There is there is a whole bunch of things that we are willing to do, but we need people to understand that this is it needs to be revamped.

This isn't they've been putting the fingers in the dykes for a long time.

I mean, I hate to get too nerdy, but when this country first started and the constitutional convention had to happen, it was either we redo the articles of Confederation or we write the constitution and start anew.

EMS needs to be start fresh and have a whole new brand new idea.

Because if you have 9,000 firefighters to deal with 500,000 calls, and you have 4,000 EMTs to deal with 1.6 million calls, the simple explanation is double our budget.

But it's not just that.

There's so many things.

So we asked to get all the people in the room.

That's what we're asking.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Um I think I'm I'm gonna say double the budget, start there, get all the people in the room right now.

Where do I pick up my check?

Lieutenant, thank you.

Thank you so much for all your work.

Um I'd like to know you.

What is the singular most important um thing for this workforce that you see um needs to happen?

I think in particular, what I'm leaning at is how many people are we losing a week from the services, and what does it mean to have someone who's been in service for 20 years?

Well, I'll answer that in reverse.

I don't know what it means anymore to have someone in service for 20 years because there's so few of us.

You know, EMS, EMTs and medics are like any other medical professional.

We get better with age.

Maybe not the needs, but the experience and and the know-how and the ability to walk into a door and see right there and say, I know what's going on with her.

Just by looking.

It's almost magic.

But that comes with age and experience and time on the job.

And right now, right now, the average age of the workforce is about 23 years old.

When I came on, the average age was about 31.

So I don't have 20 year people anymore.

I have literally the other day in my station, which covers Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, parts of uh Diker Heights and other neighborhoods surrounding it.

I recently put somebody who had two years on the job with somebody who had six months on the job.

The academy classes aren't being filled.

According to the fire department's numbers, not my numbers, not the union's numbers, the fire department's numbers.

We are losing 10 to 15 people a week.

The other day I did overtime up at Station 18, which is in Bathgate, to my Bronx Councilman back there.

I got there a little early.

I was talking to the overnight lieutenant, and as I was standing there, an EMT walked in and said, I quit.

And I said, Why are you quitting?

He says, I can't do this anymore.

I did 10 jobs last night.

I'm working two jobs to pay the bills, and I'm here six years, and I don't see any hope.

And he quit, and that is happening every day.

So, what does it mean 20 years to have a 20 years experience?

It means people are being saved.

It means experience, it means I get to pass down my knowledge and and help the future of New York City and the citizens of New York City.

That's what it means.

Thank you.

And I want to put that into numbers for you.

It costs 42,000 to train and hire an EMT.

That's what it costs.

They aim to do 600 a year.

And if you're losing 599, that's that's where the money's going.

There's a study, there's many studies out that show experience helps with cardiac arrest survival.

Um, and right now that's why we're down to 17%.

It's it takes time to work with an experienced person to walk in and hear a lung sound and know that's rails, that's wheezing, that's fluid in the lungs versus that's an asthma attack.

And and it's those subtle nuances that an experienced provider will bring.

So are you starting an IV to get the fluid out?

Are you doing BIPAP, or are you doing uh uh albuterall to help the wheezing?

Those are seconds, and that's what somebody with time on the job knows.

So it's it's it there's a huge consequence to citizens by by losing that sort of experience.

And it's not like they're going to nursing school or they're going whatever.

They're going they're going to drive for Uber because it's making more money for them to go.

We say it as a joke, and I'm and I'm serious.

It used to be you would go to fast food change to get experience to come to work in a career job.

Right now you're coming to EMS to get experience to go work McDonald's.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, so before we go to Council Member Caban, I just want to pass it to Salvina Brooks Powers who's going to make a special announcement.

Thank you, Chair.

And again, thank you to this panel.

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize some students that have traveled all the way from Wilburforce, Ohio from my alma mater, Wilberforce University, the first privately owned and operated university in the nation.

Welcome to New York City, everyone.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Welcome.

And today's a very special day because you get to see a lot of our civic participation in action.

So welcome to have.

Welcome.

Okay, Councilmember Coban, followed by Nurses.

Yeah, I I mean I just want to start by saying thank you for being here.

Thank you all for being here and for the work that you do every day.

Um I'm gonna start with a comment and then ask a question, but I will say, you know, th this is serious trauma work and vicarious trauma is real, and we're gonna talk about that in a second.

But uh I remember being uh a baby lawyer responsible for people's lives in a very different way, right?

Um, and I cannot tell you how invaluable it was, how necessary it was to have veterans are around me when I was first starting to practice the law, right?

And uh the stakes are even higher when we talk about you know emergency triage.

Uh and I know that you were saying that the the cost is what to train somebody?

It's around 42,000 per EMT.

And then they're leaving, and then you're bringing in a new class to train all over again, and you know, if we're lucky enough to get these wonderful committed public servants to stay in emergency response, you're basically playing to train folks in and other agencies and other response systems.

Uh, and so you guys you guys need and deserve uh a lot more money for all the reasons that you said, but I want to take a second to talk about the mental health impacts.

Um you talked about the suicide rates, and obviously that's that's a number that that's worst case scenario.

I know that uh there are many of your members who are living um with a lot of hardship uh each and every day because of the toll that the this work takes.

And last year the Progressive Caucus fought really hard to get the million dollars for the RemSCO pilot program that would really be focused on maintaining um and helping the mental health of the workforce.

Uh, I want to know, and I know the the answer to this first part, but like, have you seen the money yet?

And what are the um how important is it to continue to invest in the mental health of your members and and the workforce and what are some of the impacts of that?

Um, as far as the REMSCO money, it's it's trickled down, you know.

Uh and as many of us know, trickle down economics doesn't work.

Trickle-down meth care mental care is not working either.

There has to be one-on-one engagement, which is what we recommended to RemSCO and other health agencies that have tried to give mental health responses.

Um we have something called the EMS F the MY Help Fund, which through raising money that was really meant to help members in need, such as when uh the house goes on fire, et cetera, is now paying for their mental health care and it's exploding.

So what's needed is uh a little more nuanced and direct catered to EMS members specifically for what we see and what we do.

Could REMSCO do that?

Yes, of course.

They're REMSCO.

Yeah, I think the issue is that they haven't been paid the money.

They haven't been paid the money.

Yes, the the issues, the the the language is coming down, the conversations are happening, but the actual resources aren't happening.

And you also have to remember right now the system isn't set up to take care of us.

We just finished telling you we have a three percent availability.

So when we when we take that baby to the hospital who no doesn't make it, there should be identifiable identifiable situations for critical stress debriefing.

That person should be taken off the truck for at least a little bit to talk to somebody, but because we're so busy, we have to bury it.

And it's the same old years in you.

What led us to the mental health crisis in EMS is, well, that's your job, you know, just bury it, uh, disassociate.

And and that's what we're respond to we're supposed to do.

So when people want to try and do something for us, you can't because there's no ambulances available.

So we have to go deal with that trauma job, have to deal with that 95-year old woman who passes, and the 95-year old husband tells her this is gonna be the first night ever I've spent without my wife in seventy-five years.

And then you just got great, I gotta go pick up the abdominal pain in five minutes.

Like, it needs to be completely understood, revamped and addressed, and funded properly so the correct measures could be put into place and not a stop gap on every single term.

I also want to add to that.

Um, the issue about time off and all that.

You know, we get 12 sick days a year compared to uniformed services, emergency services that get unlimited sick.

We get 12, and we deal with sick people.

So during COVID, it became such a problem that so many people fell off payroll.

They had to give the excused leave.

Otherwise, they were gonna lose a workforce to have like a third of the workforce without pay.

And not only when you go off payroll, not only do you lose your paycheck, you lose your health insurance because now you're off payroll.

So it's a bigger problem.

You're having a medical problem, you have a mental issue, you're trying to handle, guess what?

You're off payroll now.

Now you can't even get the help you need because your health insurance has been canceled.

So it's a huge issue.

And that's why when we talked about parity and how much would it cost, it's a bigger uh um issue, a bigger issue uh thing to look at because it has to do with mental assistance, um, uh health care, sick leave, all these things have to come into play with this because to tell someone who's dealing with a job it's so complex as this dealing with sick people, dealing with massive trauma.

You remember, we're we're responding to your worst day.

The most horrific things that happen in life is when we're there, and that's our job.

We get it, and and nobody's complaining about it, but a little support for us to do that job would be helpful.

Great, thank you.

Council Member Narcisse.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, start by libraries.

Um, folks think that libraries is just a place you get a book, and I can tell you that librarians have evolved with times.

There's much more going to libraries, so we love libraries in here.

You don't have even to say anything about the libraries.

We're on top of it, and so is the speaker and all of us.

And um for the staff in the hot hated place, it's not only about them, it's about the food because there is a certain degree that you have to hold the food.

So this is serious business, and I'm sure the speaker have heard it, and we're gonna look through it to see what we can do because the workers are very important to us, they're providing quality services to our children that we love.

Um, to EMS as a registered nurse working in the ER, it knows the importance, level one trauma center.

And I do appreciate your work, guys, because you bring the patient alive enough for me to save them in the in the ER.

So, we cannot build uh uh healthcare system structure on people that's not staying because they cannot afford to say what do you say to your workers when they know they're providing a life-saving quality services to our city and yet they are struggling to stay.

And I have been hearing from you things that you cannot even say anything about because it's really the pro they're helping us.

It's a TikTok moment.

Like I always said.

So, what do you say to your workers?

Uh you know, that's struggling through this process.

To be honest with you, uh, when I address the workers, when I go meet the members, I feel shame.

I don't know what else to feel.

I I I I look at people with a thousand yard stare, they look it back at me and they're leaving.

And I feel I feel shame because the President of Variale and Greco have said, we've been here numerous times to ask to fix this problem.

And every time I go back to the members and I go, we're trying, we're doing, we're we're we're we're meeting with this, with that.

You know, in this country, which there are many issues at the moment, to put it lightly, it used to mean something to take care of the workers who were taking care of the people.

And when I go back to the members and they sit there and they tell me I can't pay the rent, literally we have homeless people who have testified here in front of the city council who are EMTs.

When I have people who are leaving because they can't afford uh quality of life in New York City, I feel ashamed.

I feel like from a personal level, that I just spent 23 years doing something that I'm starting to regret.

And I want to thank you and cost-effective as well.

We training costing about how much money we train for how much money to train one EMS.

One is 42,000.

And like I said, I like to look at the 10-year plan.

Yeah.

That you this city has spent a quarter of a billion dollars.

So it's not cost effective.

Unless you like throwing away a quarter billion dollars, and we do.

And my speaker here hearing you, and I'm leaving it as that, and I just highlight the areas because I work with EMS.

They have to bring the patient to me.

Thank you.

And I want to say I am hopeful, right?

I I'm recently elected.

I I run and I do this because I do have faith in my service and I have faith in the fact that this will get fixed.

And having Mayor Mandami here right now, somebody who has fought for affordability, somebody who has fought for the working class, I can I can only have a hopeful nature.

And if you if you ever take that out of me, I'm gonna be very upset.

Yes, with the mayor and the speaker.

That's a business background and a healthcare, being attention passed the bill that we were having a hard time to put in, you know, to get the clarity on the budget on what how people are being billed in the how a hospital and making sure we have equity throughout all how hospitals and the mayor, of course.

No, we can't we're gonna do our very best, I believe.

So the city council has always been supportive of us, you know.

I'm sure we love you guys.

We've had non-binding resolutions for pay parity.

Um, it's just it seems that the other we need to get the other side in uh to really get them to understand.

So we come here every year and we talk to you because we know how supportive you are and we know we need you in our corner to do this.

So once again, we're here begging to my members, thank you.

And Speaker Menon passed the transparency bill for hospitals.

So know it.

Thank you.

Okay, Councilmember Wrestler and then speaker.

Thank you so much.

Uh I really want to thank this panel for being here today and for your great advocacy for for EMTs.

Do I have this right that after five years a new EMT makes fifty-nine thousand dollars a year?

59,552.

We need that 552.

I'm to be clear, you need every penny when you're when you're making $59,000, $59,500, $59,520 after five years.

You know, an entry-level worker in my office is paid more than that.

Um, and they do great work, and I I adore the young kids who come to work for me, uh, the young people that come to work for me, but after five years of working it as an EMT in New York City, to not be able to afford basic necessities is disgraceful.

And this has been an issue that has been uh hanging over us as a city for far too many years, and it's one that we desperately and urgently need to fix.

When you have looked at this and congratulations uh on your uh ascendance, and Oren, thank you for your leadership over the years, and Vinny and Donald, everyone, thank you for your hard work on this issue.

When you look at the cost for pay equity for EMTs, what do you think the range is of what it would cost the city of New York to make it happen?

I mean, if it's simply pay equity where we don't take anything into account, um, I would have to look at the exact budget and see what we are spending on the salary costs and simply double it.

Um that would bring us close to what it is.

Uh they talk about the FDY budget, two point something billion dollars, and they say 90% of it is the salaries.

Well, again, you are paying three times the rate for the salaries of the uniform service, and we are doing three times the work.

So the way I see it, if you double our salary, double our workforce, you'd still save a third of that budget.

So that's why it's always tough to put an exact number on it, but that that would be the the basic.

I think if you doubled our budgeted salary for salaries, and every single one of my members, um, you know, instead of making fifty-nine thousand five hundred fifty-two dollars, made the hundred thousand.

Not only would you keep people, but then instead of hiring six hundred a year, you'd only need to hire 200 a year.

That's right.

Because the retention issues are real, and we're unable to respond in the timeliness that we need to because we don't have enough workers because we're paying people so poorly that they don't stay in the jobs.

I completely agree with you and think this is a smart and necessary investment.

And I just want to note that, you know, at our FDNY budget hearing last week, I was greatly pleased that the commissioner, the chief of department who oversees the fire side of things, and everybody else on the panel said the number one priority for FDNY today, if we have additional resources, is pay equity.

And that was stated clearly by the leadership in FDNY.

I think it is a powerful thing that we have our first former EMT leading the fire department, and uh we need this administration to deliver.

Generally these things happen through collective bargaining.

We know that you all are the folks who have been uh struggling the longest without a contract um in in all of the city of New York.

Uh, through every channel that we have, through every advocacy vehicle we have, we need to be pushing to to deliver a real solution that that does that uh guarantees the wages and the benefits that your workers deserve.

So thank you for your advocacy and for being here today.

Thank you.

I do I do want to point out to have the FDNY come up here because I was in attendance for that testimony, to have them come up here and not only admit that, that should scare the heck out of everybody.

The fire department who never wants to spend money on EMS is now sitting here begging.

If that doesn't scare the citizens of New York, and if that doesn't scare this council and that doesn't scare, you know what?

You you better take that shooting victim and put him in a car because you're gonna have a better response time.

When the FDMY comes up here and says we need to do this, we all better move.

I gotta say to that, I've been I'm 31 years on this job, 16 years as president testifying over and over again.

I've never seen a fire chief of department, the fire side saying that EMS is a top priority because it's so bad.

That is like Mike said, is amazing and eye-opening.

I was shocked to hear that myself.

Lincoln, I just want to add one thing.

That has to happen soon, because we've reiterated over and over how people aren't staying on the job.

People aren't coming on the job.

The academy class was slated for 300.

I believe they only got 158 recruits.

So this has to happen, you know.

Okay, I want to close by once again thanking the panel, but most importantly, I want to thank all of you, the EMS workers.

I I can't thank you enough.

On a very personal note, my father passed away in July, and the number of times that I had to call all of you at a very difficult time, your professionalism, your dignity, your compassion, your care personally got me through a very difficult time, as well as literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of families across New York.

You are heroic.

We owe you a debt of gratitude.

Thank you so much for everything you do each and every day for New Yorkers.

Thank you.

And just before we sorry, and just before we close out, um, just wanted to thank you also, John, for your work in the libraries.

Um Donald, I know you touched so many different aspects of the schools.

I had one quick follow-up question for you.

Um, in terms because I know this there was a program to also increase the number of air conditioners in the cafeterias for the school uh lunch aids, and so I wanted to get a follow-up on where that was at right now.

So the office of uh school and nutrition, um, the leadership there have uh they've been supportive and taking a part of their own budget um and just put it in it into ACs.

Uh we're working with our local uh that actually builds schools at the school construction authority, local uh 1740.

Um, and what they've said to us, not every school, the solution is an AC.

Um, there may be split units that are needed.

There are some kitsches that do not have windows, so uh AC is not something that they can actually support.

Um, the last time we testified here, uh, the capital budget, we requested that it was about 70 million dollars that should go into um a solution um here, but um just to put it, um councilman uh Riley a few years ago in his district, I visit a school in the Bronx, and this school wasn't in a basement of the school, it was on the eighth floor.

The temperature was at least 135 degrees.

The workers couldn't even um, they were sweating so much um that they they had to step outside of the kitchen and have a conversation.

Um this is something that we need to address and address it immediately.

Um, as in those same conditions.

If um if uh uh animal owner had the animal in those conditions, they would be arrested.

Um and so to have workers in those conditions is just unacceptable.

Thank you.

And um finally, thank you so much to our EMS EMT folks.

I just want to echo because our we have a speaker here who really is fighting so hard in a council that's fighting so hard, and there's a lot of folks in this room, and I think one of the themes we're seeing is pay parity, EMT EMS, as well as a lot of our child care workers who are here, um, home care workers.

I think there's a lot of folks here that we need to definitely pay them what they're worth, and it does take a toll on each individual, their mental health, and that's something that we've seen is that oftentimes the frontline workers are the ones that don't get to take care of themselves because they're always taking care of others.

Um but it is top of mind, and just to illustrate how top of mind, I think it was last year or so where the norovirus was going around, and my husband called EMS because I was literally frozen on the floor like this, and I didn't know what the heck was going on, and he didn't either.

So in the middle of EMS coming, I couldn't really talk that much, but one thing I did say was pay parity, we're getting you guys pay parody, we're trying to fight for pay parity.

And then they were like, Okay, just calm down.

Like, we gotta get you to breathe first.

But that's I just as an illustration, that's how top of mind it is, I think, for so many of us on the council, but that's the first thing I thought of.

I was like, pay parity.

So we we will obviously try to continue to fight for that for you all, so thank you so much.

Thank you.

Okay, so we have folks, uh, the next panel.

Catherine Brombers.

Barbara Bale or Bear.

I'm sorry, I can't read.

Barbara Bear, sorry.

Uh Alan Abcohan, Aliah Sumro, Jonathan Chung, and Malaya Shefflin.

Maybe I can have a chair.

Seven or six.

One, two, four, five, six.

And Mark Safman?

Mark Safman, if he's here.

Yes, he is.

Okay.

Okay, great.

Um, so feel free to start and um again, we hopefully you guys have all submitted your written testimonies as well.

So thank you all for being here and feel free to start it.

Yes, hello, my name is Malaya Shefflin, and I am a tax-paying Queens resident speaking on behalf of EMS.

During the hearing on June 1st, FDNY Commissioner Bonsignore stated multiple times that the priority of the department is the stabilization of EMS via pay parity, yet the council decided to focus on the reinstatement of a fifth firefighter from the de Blasio era.

What's the point of having a fifth firefighter if there's no EMS on scene to provide the antidote to the cyanide poisoning created by that fire?

And for the MVAs where only EMS can provide medical care, now instead of four firefighters waiting around for an ambulance to arrive, you'll have five.

For what?

A return to the old days?

But hey, if you're going to be so focused on the past, let's take a look at 2001's local law 19 and 2020's resolution 1062A, which were enacted to recognize and pay EMS as the uniform service they are instead of as civilians.

Somehow you're able to ignore these two pieces of legislation while also being allowed to introduce legislation to raise your own salaries.

Council members already make a salary of $148,500 while we have members of EMS living in their cars and in shelters because they can't afford to live in the city they serve.

What are any of you doing that warrants a $24,000 raise?

Are you risking your lives to save the lives of others when you go to work?

Have you gone through extensive training to become a medical professional who administers the same interventions given in the emergency room?

Have you had to maneuver an ambulance through New York City traffic or give CPR to a patient while keeping balance in said ambulance?

No.

You sit up there in a position of power that was given to you by the people of this city.

You work for us, and we are dying.

You may not care that Adam Benhamu, who waited 41 minutes for an ambulance before NYPD transported him themselves, died due to your failure.

But there have been instances of firefighters and their families needing an ambulance, and they too ended up waiting.

These are the people you would think absolutely would get preferential treatment, and yet they waited over 40 minutes while their condition worsened.

I hope you're understanding the gravity here.

There are no more strings to pull.

EMS attrition rates are already higher than they've been in recent years.

If this budget passes without pay parity, there will be a mass exodus, leaving an already severely understaffed service in shambles.

But maybe the rumors are true.

Maybe the city wants EMS to collapse in hopes of breaking their unions to ultimately combine all under one.

And while your continued inaction fans the flames of a systemic EMS collapse, you or a loved one may find yourselves in need of their services.

There already aren't enough paramedics and EMTs to go around.

So no matter who you are, council member or not, you or your loved one may die while waiting for that emergency medical care.

You may feel indifferent about sacrificing the lives of your faceless constituents, but the time will come when it affects you directly, and your shiny title and bloated salary won't be there to save you.

Only EMS can do that.

Okay.

Good morning.

My name is Alia Sumro, and I'm the deputy director for New York City Policy at the New York League of Conservation Voters.

Thank you, Speaker Menon, Chair Lee, as well as members of the Committee on Finance for the opportunity to testify.

I have submitted longer written comments that go in depth about NYLCV's environmental funding priorities.

We appreciate the City Council's environmental commitments and their preliminary budget response, as well as the Mamdani's administration's commitment to the environment and the executive budget.

I'm gonna use my time today to outline just a few of our environmental funding priorities.

Uh I'm gonna start with parks.

So uh as a member of the Playfair Coalition, we appreciate the administration's baselining of 15 million for parks in the executive budget.

This means that 161 of the 276 temporary or one-shot positions will be guaranteed a job by June 30th.

This is a critical step forward, but we urge the administration to baseline the remaining $8 million, which would mean that $115 critical park staff who will lose their jobs by June 30th would be guaranteed permanent jobs.

Um, along with the Forest for All Coalition, we really appreciate that the city published the first city's first ever urban forest plan, and we request 150 million to help fund and implement this plan.

Uh moving on to buildings, um, again, we appreciate the administration's commitment to implementing local law 97 with 1.8 million for the new co-op and condo hub for New York City Accelerator.

We want to continue to underscore the importance of funding to help implement that law.

Moving on to transportation.

We appreciate the city council's support for fair fares, and along with other advocates, we really urge the city to expand eligibility to 300% of the federal poverty level.

Um, and my written testimony outlines more on that front.

When it comes to zero waste, we are pleased to see the strong funding for waste containerization, and we support the community composting network's uh funding request.

Um I'll wrap up.

We really look forward to working with the city council as well as the administration and advocates to ensure that our environmental and climate uh programs are funded.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Okay.

Go ahead.

You can you oh yeah.

Oh, okay.

Um.

Well, good morning.

Uh, my name's Mark Safe.

Um, uh, I've moved to New York City in 1997.

And I've been here about 30 years.

Um, in 1986, I had an acoustic neuroma move, and I started living as a deaf-blind individual.

Uh June is deaf-blind awareness month.

Um, Alan Keller's birthday is on June 27th.

Uh she was born in the same year as Roger O'Kelly, who was the first black, deaf blind man to graduate from law school.

Uh, they're vastly different people, but um they're both amazing.

Uh Alan Keller, people look at her and they remember her name.

Uh Helen Keller was someone who took, dealt with a lot of people who were in positions of power like yourselves, uh, absolutely uh were ignorant.

Um we're here to talk about um the basics of deaf blindness is a combined vision and hearing challenge.

I'm not deaf.

I'm not blind.

You can't talk to someone who's blind, you can't talk to someone who's deaf and expect them to understand anything about being deaf blind.

Uh huh, unfortunately.

Uh people don't understand that, and both no one really understands that.

Uh in America, there's 2.47 million deaf blind.

Uh in New York, we have approximately 120,000 deafblind individuals.

Uh in the city is two uh 51,228.

There's about 197,000 people with vision challenges and 181,000 people with hearing challenges.

Comes from the American Community Survey.

I reached out to the Institute on Disability.

Um, helping write a law to create a statewide co-navigator program.

Um, our deaf blind community.

Uh you have to understand that there's a range.

Um I am cited deaf blind.

Uh the majority of our population is older because as you get older you'll you lose your vision and hearing.

Uh, the leading causes, we have Usher, charge, and down syndrome.

Um, the fact that it's a combined vision and hearing challenge, uh, it's very difficult to diagnose.

I mean, you have Usher, your vision might not be declining.

You'll lose your hearing, but your vision might not be declining.

Um, key issue here is communication access.

Um, our communities in order to participate.

We need communication access.

It's 2026.

Um, tremendous difficulties getting this arranged.

Uh I know that the rent guidelines board doesn't make accommodations.

Uh we had issues with, there's a lot of issues.

Um, but if we could talk about uh the moped budget.

Um moped budget.

This is a little analysis that was done earlier.

Uh myself and two other deafblind people met with a budget analyst and uh disability committees people, uh the attorney, analysts.

Uh we told about the code navigator program, the code navigator program, uh we use tactile ASL, which is a touch-based form of the ESL.

Um, and people help walk around, you know, help you provide you um just environmental information so that you can go about conducting your business.

We don't have that program in New York.

Uh our programs are connected to you VR vocational rehab.

If you want to go for a walk, go to the gym, get your nails done, go to a you know, holiday party, religious services, you get no help.

So our community is largely trapped in their homes.

I know you'll do you sit on your you sit in your apartment because you can't get anyway.

Um, we're 12% of the population disabled people are.

You're harming us.

Your ignorance, your fear.

Our mayor doesn't show up for disabilities, and he ignore the disabilities for him while running.

He spent 20 minutes with Chris Alvaris and gave a 20-minute interview.

You ignore our communities, you don't understand our communities.

Uh the idea that uh want to fully fund Moped at 850,000 thousand disgusting.

You people are grouped with Nazi generals here, the beginning you know performance metrics.

You're harming our communities through your ignorance, your fear.

It's disgusting.

It's 2026.

You're denying our populations the right to live.

Health care, education, jobs.

We need to take uh integrated holistic approach and fact is if you fund open open at 800,000 you're like you're not serious I totally disgusting you're cutting our communities you you're denying us opportunities you're denying us you're denying us rights and you we got a mayor talking about social economic justice and you people don't know what the hell you are talking about your staffs are ignorant I talk with these people it's just like they did not they they included pretty much everything that we talked about.

Sorry Mr.

Salman we're gonna we're gonna take a look at your recent testimony but as chair population in York is limited yes and it's kind of like that's that's nonsense I gave them that information sorry uh no because we're we have to try to keep it but one thing I will say though is that as chair no no as chair of the disabilities committee previously yeah so as as chair of our disabilities community before um the eight hundred thousand dollar budget is definitely a lot lower than what is needed and so we totally hear you on that and I know that our chair is fighting for a higher budget for that so thank you.

Thank you thank you so much.

Okay sorry go ahead and good morning I I'm uh happy to testify and I uh am happy to follow this gentleman uh my name is Barbara Baer and I'm the program director at the New York Foundation for senior citizens for home sharing and respite care and Chair Lee I'm gonna follow your direction and uh synthesize my testimony so uh I want to say that uh home sharing and respite care uh is cost effective and compassionate and uh the uh home sharing and respite care services uh are in line with our mission of um keeping seniors at home keeping them from being isolated from uh being depressed and from being institutionalized our home service home sharing service is done by social workers and we match I think as you know uh hosts and guests and uh we match hosts and guests at a rate of uh four thousand dollars per person so that it matches under ten thousand dollars and I want to point out that uh when we I match uh two people I think of it as an affordable housing match and I remember that uh building an affordable housing unit costs five hundred thousand dollars so we do think you know for uh seniors it's an interim way to save money and give them safe housing and secondarily with regard to uh respite care we place uh home health attendance in um housing and the seniors pay nineteen dollars and sixty cents uh per person in contrast to forty dollars uh when you one goes to a um home agency.

So uh thank you all for your uh work.

I have to say that I think our program is terrific, and the amount of money we're asking uh compared to this incredible budget uh is peanuts.

And on the other hand, when I listened to the testimony about EMT, I found it really daunting.

But I hope you will consider home sharing as an effective way to get some affordable housing to seniors and I thank you so much.

Oh, mic.

I want to keep the mic.

I'm sorry.

That's all right.

Good morning.

My name is Catherine Bromberg, and I'm a senior staff attorney with the in the employment law project at the New York Legal Assistance Group.

I was uh meant to be testifying here along with other nonprofits, but unfortunately they got stuck in the security line.

Um, so I'm testifying on their behalf as well.

Uh, the employment law project at NIALAG provides client-centered community-based legal advocacy for low wage and immigrant workers facing exploitative labor practices, discrimination and harassment.

NIALEG strongly supports increased funding for the New York Commission on Human Rights, which is needed now more than ever in a climate where employees face far greater federal hostilities to their rights.

An approximate 10% cut to funding for the commission would be a blow to the already besieged agency and its attending staffing shortages.

We asked the city council to support an increase to the commission by 10 million dollars to a total of 25 million dollars.

This revision to the budget would be minuscule, comprising only 0.02% of the city budget, however, the impact would be vast.

The commission has been operating on a shoestring budget, and further staff attrition will continue to deprive many low-income New Yorkers of means to vindicate their rights.

It has at times only been equipped to hire one staff member for every two who depart.

Further cuts will not only harm the employees at the commission, but would diminish their ability to provide services to so many workers in need.

There are simply not enough employment attorneys in the city to represent every working class client, and it is even more difficult to find advocates where damages may be low due to employees' meager wages and lower back pay awards.

Therefore, one of the most significant assets of the commission is its ability to support pro se employees.

Now cases languish for years at the commission as each time a staff member departs, it can take six months to reassign a new employee to a case, leaving clients in the lurch and without consistent support.

And where cases cannot be settled, clients may wait a literal decade before they're able to be heard at oath.

In this climate where the EEOC is also much diminished in capacity and is now prioritizing reverse discrimination in areas such as national origin and race.

Support for our workers in the city is all the more essential.

Moreover, they can no longer file.

Not undocumented immigrants may no longer file at the EEOC because they risk having their information shared with DHS.

We thank you very much for your time this morning.

Thank you.

Good morning.

My name is Caitlin Garbo.

I'm subbing in for Jonathan Chung.

I'm the manager of public policy and advocacy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City, NAMI NYC.

We deeply appreciate your support, Chair Lee and all members of the council for your uh previous support of our organization, and we respectfully ask for that support again in the next fiscal year.

Um, NAMI NYC is specifically asking for our own restoration of 250,000 for the Youth Peer Support Initiative, restoration of $500,000 for NOMINYC's peer programming through the peer support specialist initiative and 150,000 in speaker initiative funding for NAMI NYC's family support services.

These investments will enable us to expand the reach and capacity of our helpline, our evidence-based education programs, more than 30 monthly support groups, outreach presentations, and family and match mentoring programs, among many other things we do and underserved communities throughout New York City.

Additionally, as the council considers the executive budget, um, we would like to highlight a few other things, uh resources to bring vacant supportive housing units back online, the expansion of the capacity of crisis respite centers and crisis stabilization centers, expanding the number of school-based mental health clinics, additional housing opportunities for justice-involved individuals living with SMI, and we urge the city to increase baseline funding for IMT teams to at least 66.3 million dollars, 22.8 million dollars for ACT teams, and $6 million dollars for FACT teams.

Um, and while we appreciate the increase in funding for B-Heard, we are still falling short.

We want to make sure that there's citywide coverage, 24-7 availability.

Mental health crises can happen anytime, anywhere in New York City, and we deserve crisis response led by professionals and peers trained in de-escalation and trauma-informed care.

We also believe that the correct crisis intervention today model for crisis response should be adopted.

And lastly, just again, for more than 40 years, Nami NYC has supported lives and families.

We strengthen the community.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you, and we'll be in touch.

And please read our full testimony written online.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just wanted to say deeply appreciate all of you here because we know you're providing such essential services on the ground.

And of course, I was used to be a board member of Naomi New York City, so definitely appreciate in the legal services, seniors, environmental programs, all super important and things that we are definitely fighting alongside you all on.

So thank you so much for your work.

And I know that Malaya left, but I wanted to actually just for the record comment that we hear her concerns and her frustrations, and that is why, as we saw in the last panel, uh we do, you know, want to reiterate the importance of our EMS EMT workers and that they do need to be paid a salary that is livable.

So, okay, and does anyone have questions for this panel?

Oh, Councilmember Morano.

Uh thank you to Miss Sumro from uh NYCLV.

Setting aside some of the policy areas where reasonable people can disagree.

One thing I think most New Yorkers agree on is that flooding has become a real quality of life issue.

It certainly is in my district.

In your testimony, you call for investments in stormwater infrastructure and flood mitigation.

If the city had an additional dollar to spend, would you rather see it spent on a new climate initiative or on fixing the kind of chronic neighborhood flooding that residents deal with after almost every major rainstorm?

And what are the highest return investments the city could make right now?

Yeah, thank you for the question.

Um so I think to answer your question, I think having it seen as both ways, climate and immediate, having projects that immediately address stormwater flooding, which residents face all the time, is very important.

I think that as NYLCV, we try to continue to advocate for more funding for short and long medium and long-term solutions because these big gray infrastructure projects won't happen overnight.

So it's really important to have shorter terms.

I will say that NYLCV along with a few other uh resiliency groups are really appreciated.

That in the executive budget, 10.6 million is being allocated to the Department of Environmental Protections Bureau of Coastal Resiliency, which is very important.

I know that is not an end-all be-all, um, but that funding is very important to help DEP staff with coastal resiliency uh projects.

Again, that's coastal resiliency.

We still want to see more funding go toward stormwater and inland flooding.

Um, so we continue to advocate for more funding on that front, such as cloud burst projects.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

And um I didn't recognize formally Council Member Dinowitz, Brooks Powers, Kaban, Wrestler, or Deputy Speaker, and also Council Member Maloney who have also joined us.

Um thank you.

So oh, and Council Member Krishnan.

Um thank you so much to this panel, and thanks for sticking to time.

Okay, thank you.

And next up we have uh Mark Dunitz.

Sorry if I'm mispronouncing, Sean Kraling, Julian Kim, Lewis Cy, Michael Kimmel, and Dairy Oliver.

So if you all can come to the front, that would be great.

So Mark Dunitz, Sean Kraling, Julian Kim, Lewis Sai, Michael Kimmel, and Derry Oliver.

Okay, so as a reminder for folks that came in a little later, we are trying to stick to our two minutes as best as possible.

And so if you hear the buzzer, if you could just summarize uh your testimony comments, that would be awesome.

So feel free to go in whichever order you all want.

We could start on this side or this.

Yes.

And just identify yourselves, yeah.

Speaker, chair, members of the committee, thank you for having me.

My name is Mark Dunetz.

I'm the president of New Visions for Public Schools.

I'm asking you to restore $8.9 million for the New Visions data portal in the fiscal year 27 budget.

I spent my entire career in New York City education as an ESL, as a social studies teacher, later as a founder of a career in technical education high school for television and film careers in Queens, and now leading a 37-year-old trusted nonprofit staffed by people who made the same choice to spend their working lives in our public schools.

We didn't come to this work as a technology company.

We came to it as educators.

That's why we built the portal.

The people doing this work, counselors, social workers, teachers, principals, simply did not have the tools they needed.

The information to help a student was scattered across systems that didn't talk to each other.

So with input from thousands of educators, we built the tool we all wished we'd had when we worked in schools.

Today, over 18,000 staff across the system use this software platform to plan for students, catch the ones falling off track before it's too late, coordinate with people supporting them all in a single real-time view.

It's how districts manage citywide initiatives, and it's the only mechanism connecting school data to CUNY, ACS, DYCD, DHS shelters, and the hundreds of community providers our most vulnerable students rely on.

Cutting this investment or reducing it by a few million also threatens more than five million dollars in annual philanthropic investment that extends every city dollar, and it develop derails a development roadmap built with scores of partners across city agencies and CBOs.

And there's no cheaper path.

For-profit vendors would charge many times more than this contract for the same scope.

And as we all know, the DOE has no precedent for building software this complex in-house.

Turning our backs on what took a decade to build would take it would be a tremendous setback for our schools, our social service providers, and the students and families they serve.

Thank you for your time.

Go ahead.

Good morning, and thank you for having me today.

Oh, sorry, for the button.

Yeah.

Just make sure the red lights on.

There you go.

Oh, closer.

Close?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yes.

Good morning.

Uh, thank you for having me today.

My name is Sean Crayling.

I'm founder and chief executive officer of Crayco, Inc.

Uh, between 2023 and 2025, Craco provided educational services to schools within the New York City Department of Education.

I'm here today to provide testimony regarding what I believe to be significant financial map feasance and systemic failures within the New York City Department of Education.

Based on my experience and the available evidence, I do not believe that these actions were the result of a single individual's conduct.

Rather, I believe that they reflect the coordinated actions and omissions of certain officials within the New York City Department of Education, Community School District Three, and the Office of Special Commissioner of Investigation.

In my view, these individuals fail to uphold the responsibilities to students, families, taxpayers, and the public trust.

The consequences of these failures extended beyond administrative matters and directly affected the students whom these institutions and individuals were entrusted to serve.

Under the leadership of Superintendent Kamar Samuels, who now serves as Chancellor, District 3 contracted for world language services for two school years, each year using the billing structure that District 3, in essence, Kamar and his team recommended that we use.

In essence, we were instructed to bill using two organizations because payments to a single vendor that was not yet approved, could not bill more than twenty-five thousand dollars.

Both agreements contemplated review through New York City's New York City Department of Education's established approval processes, including review by legal and appropriate governing authorities.

At no point did the New York City Department of Education contact Craco to communicate any objections, request revisions, identify compliance concerns, or otherwise indicate that the agreement or the payment structure was improper.

Early in the 24-25 school year, Craco raised concerns regarding substantial pass-through balance and what we believed was the misappropriation of grant funds that had been designated for world language instruction, but instead being used for ESL or ENL programming.

This coincidentally triggered an SCI investigation to me and my organization, despite Mr.

Samuels' direct involvement.

In my view, the failure of the New York City Department of Education, Community School District 3, and the Office of Special Commissioner of Investigation had consequences extending far beyond the treatment of Craco.

A particular concern is the case of New York City Department of Education teacher who was previously investigated by SCI for allegations of inappropriate conduct towards students, including allegations of sexual nature.

Central Office, Department of Education, ultimately entered into a settlement agreement with the individual in 2024.

Despite the seriousness of these allegations, the teacher remained retained his certification, and to my knowledge, remained eligible for benefits associated with his public employment.

It is my belief that the New York City Department of Education, Community School District 3, and Office of Special Commissioner of Investigation committed willful misconduct defined by their contumacious actions, fiduciary negligence, and blatant disregard for student learning, well-being, and safety.

I urge this committee to act accordingly to ensure that the stewardship of public schools and funds to ensure the stewardship and public of public schools and funds that our students and community deserve.

Thank you.

Hello?

Not that I am aware of.

These six words, not that I'm aware of, is how the DOE's head of contract and purchasing answered on the record this past March when Speaker Menham asked whether they audit consulting contract.

Good morning, Council members.

My name is Lewis High.

I serve on CZ26.

Hold on to these six words.

It sets up a double standard.

The speaker also asked DOE for copies of 600 contracts.

Three months later, she still doesn't have them.

This said that in a resource constrained environment, producing them takes months.

Now compare, on May 8th, the DOE's own CFO told CC 26 that every school filing a budget appeal must be audited.

District 26 has 12.

Eight of them in your district, Shirley.

And they've been audited every single year for over a decade.

So the small schools in the city get treated like they can be trusted with lunch money.

The no-big consultancy contract doesn't even get looked at.

Here's what that cost.

When my son, Logan, was in fifth grade, PS162 had to cut a teacher.

Art, computer, music, gym, or science.

Science lost.

Not from mismanagement, but from a formula that doesn't fund schools like ours.

At a moment when the whole world is arguing over AI, the New York City public school couldn't keep a science teacher.

Because the DOE funds the small schools like it's the stone age.

So I'll ask two things.

One, put one question to the DOE on the record.

When the school gets appealed money, do you claw it back the next year?

Two, baseline this funding, so schools like ours stop losing their science teachers.

12.8 billion dollars of contract budget, no transparency, 12 small schools in District 26 audited every year like the criminals.

My son is Logan.

He's in sixth grade now.

He should have had a science teacher.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Julianne Kim.

I'm a parent of a student at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education in Astoria, Queens.

Um, I'm very moved by your work and also from hearing about all the needs you're called upon to support.

So thank you.

I'm here to continue supporting a recurring need across many of the testimonies I've heard today, commitment to investment in one of our most critical assets of our future, which is our children.

In addition to all of the pressing needs already spoken about today, our children need safe, modern, purpose-built spaces to learn and grow.

They need school buildings.

My son's school is a thriving, highly ranked school serving an extremely diverse community in Queens of high performing students and future leaders.

And yet the school is overcrowded in a falling apart building with no communal space to gather, no gym, no auditorium, and questionable drinking water for the kids.

I ask that you please protect BSGE's promised funding for a new building.

The city must keep its promise to ensure BSGE remains fully funded for our relocation, protecting the budget allocation that has already been designated for our new site.

I just want to reiterate the follow-through with that.

But I'm also here to support the broader district.

I ask that the Office of Management and Budget officially allocate the funds needed for the school construction authority to build the promised 600 seat middle school and two 650 seat elementary schools.

That I understand these schools were promised to the community but have not been officially allocated in the budget.

There's a growing need in the Queens community.

Our local Queens North community is rapidly rapidly growing.

There's been wonderful affordable housing initiatives, and I highly support Julie Wan's initiatives to support the community, city council member.

Without these new seats, schools will face severe overcrowding, breaking a critical infrastructure promise made to neighborhood families.

A strong community needs fully funded elementary schools and middle schools so students can thrive before they reach high school.

And I'm here today to ask for your support.

Thank you.

Members of the committee, my name is Michael Kimmel, and as a parent of a student in MS 177, I've been deeply troubled by the organization behind rewarding our after school contract to a new provider after having Manhattan youth work with us for over 10 years.

I knew very little about the DYCD prior to these events, so I'd like to take a moment and highlight some of the DYCD's guiding principles on their own website.

Number one, opportunities for all, prioritizing investments to help eliminate disparities in under-resourced communities and to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

By taking away our provider, the DYCD is doing exactly the opposite.

We applaud implementing all the new after-school seats across the city, but no one at the DYCD has explained is why it is necessary to take away from some and to give to others.

Shouldn't our goal be that all schools have the provider they prefer?

Number two, stewardship.

Responsible management of city resources by valuing accountability, integrity, and transparency and delivering impactful results.

Where do I even start?

Was it transparent when families in these communities were not consulted in this decision?

Was it transparent when principals were forced to sign NDAs so as not to discuss these bids with the families who are affected by all this?

Where is the accountability?

To my understanding, the DYCD has not responded to our questions and demands anywhere but in the press.

And shouldn't their number one goal be to listen to those they serve?

Three, being a learning organization, fostering professional development, continuing quality improvement, and a culture of excellence and adaptability for ourselves and those we serve.

If this organization is truly about quality improvement and adaptability, then why are they not listening to the parents?

Lastly, community voice.

DYCD strives to improve the quality of life of New Yorkers by collaborating with local organizations, investing in the talents and assets of our community.

You're taking away our kids' coaches and mentors, teachers and friends.

You're forcing an organization on our school that has no ties to our community.

Last month in front of this committee, the commissioner of DYCD stated that she believed our kids are resilient and will survive this change.

And if you are listening, you could hear a collective scream from every parent across the city.

These are the kids who are learning to read and write when COVID hit.

Some are still catching up, while many of them, many in our community still have social and emotional problems stemming.

Maybe we should stop hurting our kids intentionally and hope they will come out on top.

That seems against the principles of the DYCD that I've laid out here.

But do you know who has come through for MS 177, time and time again?

Manhattan Youth.

There is no email that goes unanswered, no phone call unanswered, no question left up in the air.

They work tirelessly to make sure that not just that our kids are safe, but that they thrive.

While the DYCD has many ideas written on their website about the culture they want to create, the organization that truly embodies every one of those principles is Manhattan Youth.

I strongly urge you to reverse this heinous decision.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um I know that a few of our members have questions.

Uh we'll start with Council Member Jinowitz.

Thank you, Chairley.

Um, so this council uh has been clear and consistent.

Um Speaker Menon on the leadership of Speaker Menon, myself, uh, the council and particularly the committee on education are which I chair are deeply concerned with these with contracting, including no bid contracting, uh, the efficacy of contracts and the lack of oversight uh in DOE contracting in particular.

Um I want to ask two of you some questions so we get a better understanding of what it is like in the DOE, these the decisions that are made and how that how that impacts our children.

Um Mark, I want to start with you from New Visions.

You testified it's an 8.9 million dollar data portal, and you said it leverages how much money in private funding?

Consistently, five to six million additional year.

Okay.

So the total cost of the portal is 14, 15 million dollars, but the DOE pays 8.9 million of that.

Correct.

And we estimate that a private for-profit vendor would probably charge a minimum 25 million dollars for this level of personalized software development.

And they had testified at the executive budget hearing uh for my committee that you work with DYCD, DHS, ACS CUNY, almost every single school.

They testified 1,543 schools, that's almost all of our schools use the portal.

Um, can you but what they testified though was that much of your data was duplicative, and that this would be a savings because the data already exists.

So can you talk about the importance of the portal or why you believe the portal's necessary for data that they say is duplicative?

Sure.

Um, the challenge that I faced as a principal challenge that administrators, teachers, counselors face across the system is not that the data exists somewhere, but that the data exists in too many different places, uh, and that any time it one wants to do anything with that data, one reverts back to practice from 20 years ago of downloading spreadsheets onto local machines where the data's stale, where the plans live in multiple places, where it's impossible to collaborate across organizations.

That is the problem that we have solved with the portal.

It is not just a one-way reporting tool, as are the tools that are presented as alternatives in-house.

It is a complex case management, project management, initiative management, student planning tool.

Administrators, counselors, teachers can enter into the portal plans.

They can create groupings for reading groups for after school programs for internships, and then they can track and collaborate to implement those programs and to understand how students are doing against the goals of attendance, graduation outcomes.

And if this contract were cut, what would what do you predict the impact would be directly on our students?

It's very predictable.

The alternative is a set of one-way reporting tools where data lives fragmented across multiple systems.

We would return to a period in which counselors, administrators, teachers are downloading endlessly spreadsheets of sensitive student data onto local computers and writing formulas and manipulating data in myriad places, unable to collaborate with one another.

It simply will take away the single most important and valuable collaborative tool for student planning.

Furthermore, there is no tool inside the Department of Education's ecosystem that connects in any significant way to all of the other agencies and CBO providers in CUNY that have to collaborate to support students and their families.

And when did you when did this portal open up?

When did you first start using this?

The DOE start using this portal.

Uh 2016 it launched.

There were four years prior to that, in which we developed tools uh in spreadsheets, so it's about a 13-year project with uh this particular tool, 10 years at this point.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Mr.

Mr.

Crayling, I um you had testified about some of the um issues with contracting, and I want to be clear that the same thing I said at the committee hearing that the reports we've seen in the news are deeply troubling.

Um and not just because it deals with one individual.

I'm not interested in talking about one individual, that's not what this is about.

This is about a system that has flaws.

Uh, system it's 386 million dollars of our city's budget are spent on these small contracts below 25,000 or 15,000 dollars from individual school budgets.

Not a lot for an individual school for each contract, but in the aggregate is a serious amount of money.

Uh it was revealed there's serious lapses uh in oversight, uh, and now we have uh more reporting uh that people in the DOE um you know engaged or allegedly engaged in conduct that that speaks to the need for the for the oversight that we need in the council.

It speaks to the need uh for procurement or contract reform.

Um so I don't want to speculate on an individual's actions or or anything like that.

Um but given the apparent lack of deep oversight um for these smaller contracts and the number of cases that have been investigated and substantiated, which are all online for for anyone to look up, we do want to hear about your experience with the Department of Education and procurement, your experience navigating this.

So you held a contract with the DOE for placing temporary foreign language teachers within city schools.

Can you talk from the beginning about the procurement process that you went through?

Of course.

Um if I maybe just get a little closer to the microphone.

I'm new to this.

Um of course.

If I may, I would just like to apologize first if my testimony seemed a little under prepared or flat.

Uh, it's a while, so I'm I'm asking you, it's okay.

I just I'm just asking you from the start, like the procurement process that you went through.

It's okay.

So, um we our team initially reached out to District 3 as the individual district.

Uh originally reaching out to uh Mr.

Samuels.

He then passed it off to another official at the district, and from that point, it was about nine months or so, and uh Mr.

Samuels and the other officials said we'd like to move forward, and we provided them with a contract, they conceivably reviewed the contract, signed the contract, and then at that point, they realized that we were not an approved vendor, which we didn't know anything about because it was the first time that we were doing business with New York City Public Schools, and as I'm sure you all know, New York City public schools do business in a different way from most places, even New York State outside.

I've heard that rumor, yeah.

Yeah, it's quite interesting.

So we had no knowledge of this, and when they found out that we are not an approved vendor, they shared with us, well, there's this other way that we can bill.

You have another organization, and you could bill from both of these organizations so that you don't go over 25,000.

And it was framed in a way that seemed fine, appropriate, business as usual.

So we didn't question it, but we were not also, we also were not in the position to question it.

So we moved forward accordingly and started to bill from both organizations, and even interacted with procurement specialists from central office, and they knew of these splitting between two organizations and never raised any red flags.

So there wasn't like so.

From the beginning, there was no one at the DOE to kind of walk you through the process of how to become a vendor or what the expectations were for non-contracted vendors.

That those steps didn't happen.

So we did have to, I suppose, become a vendor in order to be in the I think it's famis in the payment system.

Yeah, it's that so we had to go through some type of approval for that, which we did do for both organizations, but past that there was no additional approval or anything of the kind from central office.

So you so you worked with numerous people within this district, and and none of those people uh at any of those points um kind of walked you through what what the limitations were and why you were discussing splitting between two organizations, those things didn't happen?

No.

Okay.

Um are there changes you would recommend to the DOE procurement process based on your experience?

I think that there needs to be a greater deal of oversight, and I think that building administrators need to be trained on procurement.

It's a large task, and I think that we can't just expect every ordinary administrator to know how to handle procurement.

There's policies, there's law in place for a reason.

Um but I think with the right type of professional training and maybe designated individuals, right?

Maybe uh like we have in New Jersey, where I'm from, uh, schools have business.

Welcome to New York.

Well, I could tell you a thing or two.

So, you know, a business administrator who is the person who's able to transact on behalf of the district.

So that person is empowered to transact on behalf of the district, but also has a credential and the training to transact, right?

So they know that they have a fiduciary responsibility, they have a license associated with it, and they're expected to exercise great discretion and make decisions that are in the best interest of these district financially, but also in the best interest of students learning and protection.

Yeah, I would note that there was uh there is no requirement for principals or school leaders to be trained on procurement uh procedures, even though they deal with with massive budgets that it's not a requirement that the DOE has of these building leaders, and that was again something they testified to uh at the hearing.

Um I'm I think one of the things that concerned me most as a as a teacher, as an educator, as a father, uh, was the reporting that there was a place in one of the classrooms a teacher who had a problem code in their file for making remarks uh certain inappropriate remarks to a student, and the problem code means they are not supposed to be hired by the district ever again.

Um and so I'm trying to understand what happened.

It was reported there was a problem code on one of the teachers.

To your knowledge, whose responsibility is it to vet the teachers, and are you provided information from the DOB DOE about which professionals have problem codes in their files such that they would have been barred from entering or teaching in a New York City public school classroom?

Um I think it's a shared responsibility by the district, you know, central office, the individual districts, and any vendor to ensure that the individuals we're putting in the classroom are safe adults for our students and have the requisite education and so forth to be in that classroom.

Um unfortunately as a vendor that wasn't approved, we did not have access to this problem code, which resulted from inappropriate conduct, including uh touching of some sort, just to clarify.

Yeah, there were allegations of touching of and racial remarks as well.

Yes.

Um, however, interestingly enough, district three did run clearance checks on some of our teachers, and I have copies of those, but not on that teacher.

I never received the clearance check.

So the teacher arrives to the campus, right?

You're going to teach in person, they're gonna take your social security, they're gonna do their HR functions, and they did so for some teachers, but for this teacher, we never received anything.

It was only months later that we learned that there was a problem.

Um and unfortunately, when we pushed back to understand the problem, we were met with resistance and basically told it's none of our business.

So I just want to make sure I understand the district never you didn't have access to those files that would have indicated that there was a problem code on the file.

You otherwise do background checks on every single teacher that you place in these schools, or that you recommend to these schools?

We do, and we ran an extra background check on this individual because I was in disbelief because I needed to understand, well, how did this get through the cracks?

Was this person not reported to the to the authorities?

I mean, if somebody's touching a child, they should be reported, right?

To the police, district attorney, something of that sort.

Um, so I reached out to our legal counsel and said, could you please investigate this further?

And there was nothing.

But I learned later that it was because it was under locking key in a settlement.

Are there any other recommendations?

So we've heard some recommendations about access to um these files or DOE having access to them, training.

Um are there any other recommendations as someone who's experienced uh the these contracting these contracts uh that you would make and want to make sure that this 386 million dollars that we spend every year, which can of course potentially lead to someone with a problem code in their file entering our classrooms, that there's greater oversight over this money that it's spent diligently, and that our students are safe.

Are there any other recommendations having experienced it uh that you would make to this to the committee?

Sure.

I think that anything related to finance should also be guided by student protection.

So if there's any type of spending, we need to make sure the spending is not going to result in exposing students to predators or anybody who could possibly be dangerous, and that means that Central Office and SCI need to be more forthcoming with this information.

I need to have more discussions with buildings and with vendors, and further, I would urge anybody who's able to take action to really look into why it is that the Department of Education can settle with a teacher and not report them to the authorities if the teacher has been accused of touching children or making sexual marks at children.

Why can a settlement make that go away and allow that teacher to continue to work in other public schools in the state, private schools, and charter schools, just not New York City schools.

Why is New York City allowing passing the trash?

Okay, thank you so much for your testimony questions.

Thank you, Chair.

Okay, speaker Minon.

Uh thank you very much.

Okay, number of questions for the panel.

I think I'll go in order.

Uh Mark, on new vision.

So we are very concerned about this cut.

Um, as we said in the education hearing, this is something that we think is uh wrongheaded and that we absolutely want to get the cut reversed.

Can you talk a little bit about what the implications of this cut mean?

I know you had your testimony, but is there anything else you want to add?

Yeah, I guess I would just reiterate what a unique resource it is for the New York City Department of Education and more broadly the social services and education sector to have long-standing nonprofit doing work at this level, what it would mean is essentially setting us back 10 years to a time before we had tools to connect the education department to other agencies, and to a time where counselors, principals, district superintendents really don't have the type of modern management tools that are taken for granted in every other sector of the economy.

Okay, thank you.

And then let me go, Lewis.

I know you testified about the and Sean, both of you, in terms of the no big contracts.

So I I will say, and I know Chair Dinowitz said this, so we are very focused on no bid contracts in general.

The council passed my bill a number of months ago to eradicate the long-term use of no bid contracts and to only allow them to be used in a true emergency.

We are very focused on DOE contracts, you know, as you both have referenced, and it's something that we are going to continue to push for and ensure that um we receive these contracts.

It's uh the contracts are about 12.7 billion dollars of the total DEO, not the no bid, but the contracts in general of the DOE budget.

So this is something of great concern.

So thank you for your testimony today.

I I don't know if other members are gonna have additional questions for you.

Um I do want to also, Michael, say to you on Manhattan Youth, we are uh completely in agreement with you on Manhattan Youth.

It is unacceptable that DYCD made this change.

We have sent uh a letter to DYCD.

We met with the commissioner.

I am deeply concerned about the lack of transparency over the um choice to suspend Manhattan Youth, the provider that has been providing after school programming for over 25 years to great acclaim in communities, not only in my district, I know in Councilmember Brewer district, council member Maloney's district, council member Epstein's district, and many other districts.

So we are on the case, and I can assure you we'll continue to push on that.

Thank you.

Okay.

Uh we have Councilmember Morano, Brewer, and Wong.

Thank you.

Mike, a couple of quick questions from Mr.

Kraling.

Uh Mr.

Quailing, one thing I heard in your testimony struck me, and I just want to make sure I understand it accurately.

Uh, you're saying that when DOE determined your company wasn't an approved vendor, the response wasn't stop the contract, but rather an explanation of another way to structure the billing.

And if that's accurate, it suggests the problem may be bigger than any one individual.

Is your testimony that the procurement system is so complicated that administrators are effectively being forced to navigate loopholes rather than follow a straightforward process?

And if that's true, how widespread do you think that is?

Yes, that that is accurate.

When we when they determined at District 3 that we were not an approved vendor, the solution was, well, hey, you have another organization.

We can split the billing.

We can bill from both organizations so that we're not going over the 25,000, and we can also use the funds that come from the superintendent's office, which is another 25,000 dollars, as I understand it, in order to make this a reality.

And I would imagine it's the result of the difficulty of the procurement process, and perhaps, you know, really the inability to to work through the bureaucratic mess that we're often faced with in education.

Uh and Mr.

Kraling, frankly, while the contracting story is troubling, uh, what concerns me is what Councilmember Dinowitz brought up.

Even more is this issue involving the teacher with the problem code.

You testified that neither your company nor other outside vendors necessarily had access to information that would have alerted you to serious prior allegations involving that individual.

Is it your view that DOE's failures in this case weren't just financial failures, but failures that potentially put student safety at risk?

And what specific change would you make tomorrow to ensure that no vendor unknowingly places someone in a classroom who shouldn't be there?

Um, yes, that that is exactly it.

It was more than a financial failure, it is a failure of student protection, which should be the most which should be our first priority when we work in education is to ensure that our students are safe, because when they are safe, they can learn.

Um I would offer, as I offered prior, um, further access to teachers' backgrounds so that we as vendors and as individual districts are able to access their backgrounds fully.

No settlements, no irrevocable retirements that are able to shield these teachers from further scrutiny, able to really conceal their uh egregious behavior, sexual misconduct, verbal misconduct, which is exactly what happened here.

A settlement and a code of uh irrevocable retirement allowed this teacher to make his way to our organization, pass a general background check, even one that was run by one of our attorneys, so that's a higher level, no marks, able to get into the school.

And it was only until the time that the district requested an email address that they said, oh, this person is not supposed to be in our classrooms.

But why?

Well, they're they're retired.

Pensions would get something to slip and fall.

Oh no, it's much more serious than that.

Well, if it's much more serious and a teacher's been accused of touching a child or sexually uh something in any way, verbally or not, that should be referred to the authorities.

It should not be settled so that the teacher continue to benefit financially from pension and retirement and then continue to work in a private school or a charter school or a school in New York State, because we know that's a separate system, right?

Passing the trash essentially.

So you raised the concerns about passing the trash where someone leaves one school system after these allegations but still able to find out work elsewhere.

Do you uh you believe that's what happened here?

Should New York City be advocating for a system where substantiated misconduct follows an employee rather than disappearing when they move to another school, another district or another sector of education?

Of course.

If it's in the name of student protection, then it's what we need to do.

And finally, are you asking this committee to conclude that SCI reached the wrong conclusion, or are you asking us to conclude that SCI failed to investigate all of the relevant facts?

Because in a lot of ways they are different allegations.

What are you thinking?

Uh, which investigation?

The one into my organization and me or the one into the teacher in question.

Well, both.

Well, I wasn't party to the first investigative investigation into the teacher.

I can only read the investigation as it's as it was written.

Um, so I will allow you all to read that for yourselves and draw your own conclusions.

But again, I do know that it was not referred to the district attorney, whereas the investigation into me in my organization was referred to the district attorney.

Why?

I do not know.

We weren't charged with any type of misconduct of that sort.

Um I do think, however, the investigation into me and my organization was inaccurate.

It was it had a predetermined conclusion.

It had a narrative that it wanted to carry out from start to finish, protecting certain individuals, and ultimately it allowed me and my organization to be the scapegoats for the very poor decisions of Kamar Samuels.

Thank you, Mr.

Crayling, for being so forthcoming.

Thank you, Chair, for your patience.

Councilmember Brewer, followed by uh Wong.

Thank you very much.

I too just like the speaker have a question about Manhattan Youth, and um I have several schools in the same situation.

My uh question is in my situation, the group, nothing wrong with them, who got the contract, don't do competitive sports.

And my middle school students, three schools, they are excellent schools.

They don't need to be honest with you, youth development, they don't need arts education, they have all that.

They need competitive sports.

And I'm just wondering if that's the same situation that you're in.

Yes.

First, I want to just clarify that I'm here today, not only as a parent of MS 177, but I'm lucky enough to have the time to be at this meeting to testify.

So I'm representing all parents with children who are facing this situation across the city.

I don't want to reflect that it's not just ours, but it that is my community.

Yes.

The organization that's taking over uh our after-school contract currently is the uh YMCA of Greater New York.

Now, anecdotally, because I don't have access to information, we were told by a number of other schools that they do not offer competitive sports.

So I proceeded to try and contact with someone at the Greater YMCA of New York to get answers about our school and what that, as well as a continuation of care plan, right?

This is we're taking away caregivers, we're taking away coaches, we're taking away mentors.

I would like to know what your plan is to mitigate that.

And not once since this has been announced, not one time have they recorded I've called people, I've emailed their entire organization, they have not answered one call, one email to me, to anyone else in my community.

Now, I'm not saying that's a problem with the organization.

What I am saying is a reflective of the lack of transparency and accountability in this process.

Okay, thank you very much.

But it is competitive sports that they offer youth, and that's what your students want.

That's what I'm trying to get at all.

I mean, but it's a wide range of programs.

It's DD, it's competitive sports.

Two we have a uh a population of around 280 some kids in our school.

Do you know how many kids take part in the Manhattan Youth Program?

Over 230.

That's an 88% participation, that's going to drop when you lose sports, when you lose book club, when you lose e-games.

All of that's gonna go down, and essentially what you're going to have to do is have kids basically being herded into a classroom and on their phones for three hours a day.

Thank you very much.

Is that it?

Okay.

Councilmember Wong?

Yes, thank you, Chim.

Um, Mr.

Crayling, um, I have questions for you.

Very quick.

This is a yes or no question.

Um, um, I read the New York Post article written by Susan Edelman.

Uh she published an email, data September 5th, 2023, in which uh Mr.

Kamar Samuels, uh, the superintendent of District three at that time, wrote to you, acknowledging that your company is not an approved vendor, has no MTEC, uh, and could not provide services beyond twenty five thousand dollars per vendor ID.

He then signed a hundred and eighty thousand dollar contract with you anyway.

Is that right?

Yes, that is correct.

Okay.

That email does not appear anywhere in the SCI's final report.

So my question is did you provide that email and that signed contract to SCI investigators?

I provided them with everything that they requested.

They requested very few things.

When I offered more, they declined.

Okay, next question.

The June 21st, 2024 billing breakdown, the one explaining the invoice splitting scheme across uh language learning network, L L N, and the Reimagined Education Group.

That was addressed to Deputy Superintendent Graham, but also CC directly to Superintendent Samuels.

SCI quoted in that email in his final report, but remove the CC to Samuels.

Is that right?

Yes.

Did you point that omission out to SCI investigators?

I have yet to meaningfully engage with SCI.

I did reach out to them on Friday and on Monday, I followed up with probably 20 PDF files.

And I'm waiting to hear if they will meet with me.

They said that it's a possibility that they'll meet with me to discuss further.

Okay, final question.

Email you that he was opening a confidential investigation.

Is that right?

Yes, coincidentally.

Okay.

You objected to that cancellation in writing.

Three months later, Samuels promoted the deputy superintendent, SCI recommended to be fired to serve as a senior director of strategy.

Is that right?

I'm not sure of the date, but I do know that Mariella Graham was surprisingly promoted to that role.

Okay.

Were you given a reason to the contract cancellation?

No.

Okay.

Anyone contacted you after the SCI news and but before the cancellation?

Before the cancellation, no, and after my interview and production of documents, SCI did not contact me again.

I didn't receive a report, I didn't receive follow-up, no request.

They went silent.

Okay, um, thank you, Mr.

Crainley.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Okay, great.

Um, do any other members have questions?

Oh, sorry, we've been joined also by Councilmember Brewer, which I already called, as well as Gutierrez.

Um, does anyone else have any questions?

But I want to say thank you for your advocacy, because with you, you know, giving us sharing your information, then that helps us, you know, to push where in the children in New York City are very important to all of us.

And as a parent of four, I'm here to advocate and do whatever we have to do.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much.

And to your point about the after-school programs, that's something that we are definitely fighting for.

And Lewis got to give a special shout out to CEC26.

Uh, so yes, thank you so much for your time today.

Thank you.

Thank you, Charlie.

Okay, next up, we have a group of students in the house.

Uh Amani Davis Braun, Gray Bruce, or Burse, Birchet, sorry.

Um, Liel Daven Davenport, Derry Oliver, Grant Gianna Macintosh, Hela Musa.

This is all one panel.

We're just gonna call them up and then they can go Camilla Spillman, Sophie Mode, Jalen Mendez.

I don't think we have enough seats, but we're gonna, if you guys can take turns and then swap out, that'd be awesome.

Jalen Mendez, Liam McCarthy, Summer Jara, Najma Abraham, Adam Reyes, Jasmine Claddock.

And oh, we have Scott Daly from New York JTO.

Okay, so students are.

Feel free to begin in whichever order you guys feel free to feel comfortable.

Go ahead.

Thank you so much.

My name is Sophie Mode.

I'm a New York City public school graduate, class of 2021, and I currently work with the New York City Youth Journalism Coalition to expand access to journalism education for every student in our schools.

As people who care about education and young people, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to addressing the plethora of concerns facing the largest school system in the nation.

And there is no one solution, but we're here to speak about one that checks a lot of boxes.

Access to journalism education.

The students speaking after me will testify to the profound impact journalism has had on them, their peers, and their school communities at large.

You'll hear from them the urgency for journalism education in this moment.

How it fosters a culture of belonging and inclusion when divisiveness is so high, how it builds media literacy when disinformation continues to rise, how it gives their school leadership, the DOE, and you all the opportunity to hear about the issues that students and teachers care about when students have so few outlets to make their concerns heard, and how it generates career pathways that are sorely needed, particularly in building a news industry that is actually representative of our city and country.

And that is on top of the reading, writing, research, leadership, critical thinking, creativity, technical and communication skills it develops, making it a strong answer to an upcoming challenge schools will face, the new portrait of a graduate framework that will be required.

Journalism education is the answer to the questions of our time.

It's a necessity for true democracy, and it must begin in our classrooms.

We urge you to create and fund the journalism for all citywide initiative in the FY27 budget.

Journalism for all is not a short-term solution or quick fix.

It is a tested wraparound model for total support, designed to scale across the city while still ensuring support meets schools where they are instead of forcing them into a one-size-fits-all model.

Currently, very few schools offered any sort of journalism education, as shown by local law 27, which the council passed last year, thanks to Councilmember Joseph.

And it also showed that access is starkly divided along the same acquity equity gaps that plague our school system.

We've already seen the impact of journalism for all in our pilot cohort in schools like many of the students who will speak today.

And I'm so excited to introduce you to our student leaders who can tell you firsthand about the impacts of access or lack thereof.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Can I press the button?

Yeah.

Hello?

Uh oh, she's just testing it.

Hey y'all.

My name is Lear Davenport.

I'm 17.

I'm representing a school without walls located near Wall Street.

My school has a journalism for all program, and it's important for me as a photojournalist because I have a lot of opinions and political opinions that I want to put out there.

I want to have a medium to put my voice out there.

And unlike me, who as here I'm using my voice, there are some students who have trouble finding their voice and finding a place to use their voice, finding place to chime in, whether about their local community or bigger communities that go beyond a neighborhood.

At the same time, a lot of students also struggle with where to start in where they should chime in and try and help.

So I feel like youth journalism is what gives people these voices, especially during times of extreme discrimination, extreme climate damage, and extreme silencing.

I should have to make that clear.

And um, it's extremely important that we get a say in the systems that we have to pick up.

We don't want to be left with too much to do.

So yeah, journalism for all and youth journalism as a whole has been extremely useful for me, and some funding for it would be nice so that we can get more students like me and like the wonderful people here with me to speak on matters that they find important to them, and to have more people up here, not only talking about journalism, but also about any issues happening in New York City.

Love you.

Hello, my name is Camilla Spowman.

I'm 17 and I go to Weston Secondary School.

I'm a part of my school's journalism club and elective through journalism for all.

So my school previously had a school paper, but over the years it completely fell apart.

Our advisor was really busy, and journalism programs like this require a lot of effort.

Also, we didn't have any funding.

Journalism for All this year was able to revitalize it.

We, in the elective, we've learned about what makes a good story and how to pitch one.

We've talked about and practiced interviewing and how to formulate strong questions.

We've learned how best to structure an article and written many of our own.

We've experimented with photography, thinking about what can make a good photo, what could fit a certain topic, and what could catch readers' attention.

For our first print edition, our advisor was able to get it to English teachers in every grade to share it.

We wrote about exam stress, AI in the classroom, the new state phone policy, local politics, and more.

One student interviewed a vendor that sells coffee and pastries in the cart next to our school.

He's someone that everyone knows of, but no one had ever thought to ask anything of.

I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are here before you because of a crucial belief that student papers are important.

They help us build develop, they help us build and develop writing, research, and critical thinking skills that are vital not just for school or future careers, but for people's lives.

However, they also provide something just as important.

A rare opportunity for those of my age, a formal outlet for students to talk about the world around them, issues in their community, interests they care about, problems they may see in the world, or even good parts in their community, such as the impact of a local street vendor and bring light to them.

That's something I continue to have access, I want to have continue to have access for.

Something I hope more students and my school are able to do, and something that I hope that more students across the five boroughs are given access to.

For this reason, I urge you to fund journalism for all.

Thank you.

That was perfect.

Good afternoon.

My name is Jay Lee, and I'm a 15-year-old student at Lyons Community School, and I'm here today to ask you to support funding for journalism for all so more students across New York City can have opportunities like I've had.

Being a part of journalism has helped me grow in so many ways.

I've learned how to research like appropriately and interview people, write articles, and communicate effectively, but more importantly, it helped me find my voice.

One of my first assignments was interviewing another student at my school.

And I was so nervous beforehand that I kept practicing my questions over and over again.

But when the actual interview had started, the students shared personal challenges they had faced, and it made me realize how much it means to people when you take the time to actually listen to them.

And when I published their story, it made me feel proud because I had I was able to tell a story that actually mattered to a person and not one that people just felt like needed to be published.

Through journalism, I've learned how every person has a story worth hearing, and journalism has allowed me to help keep my school community informed, celebrate student achievements, and give students a platform to be heard.

And I hope you will support funding for journalism for all so more students can find their voice like I did.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Hale Musa, and I'm a senior at the high school of telecommunications arts and technology.

My school has a journalism program through the journalism for all, and it has had a profound impact on me and my school community.

Through journalism, I've learned how to research, interview, fact-check, and tell stories that matter.

More importantly, journalism has taught me how to listen to people, understand different perspectives, and use my voice to inform and advocate for my community.

As a student leader who is deeply involved in issues of equity and student engagement, journalism has given me another way to create change.

It has helped it it has helped me develop critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills that I will carry with me throughout college and my future career.

The stories my classmates and I write highlight the experiences, achievements, and concerns of students in our school.

Journalism helps ensure that students' voices are heard and that important issues are brought into the conversation.

It creates a stronger, more connected school community where students feel informed, represented, and represented.

Access to journalism education has empowered students like me to become more engaged in our community and more confident communicators.

It gives us the tools to ask questions, seek the truth, and to share stories share stories that might otherwise go untold.

I encourage you to fund journalism for all citywide initiatives so that more students at my school and across New York City can have access to these valuable opportunities.

Investing in student journalism is an investment to the next generation of informed leaders, storytellers, and community advocates.

Thank you so much for your time.

Sorry.

Good afternoon and thank you for allowing me to speak today.

My name is Imani Davis Brown.

I am a 25-year-old and I am a graduate of the Youthville program.

Youthville has truly changed my life for the better.

Before joining the program, I was struggling to find work.

I applied to many jobs, but no one will call me back.

I also wanted to earn certifications and build a career.

But many training programs were expensive, and at the time I simply could not afford them.

Coming into Youth Build was a rewarding experience for me through the program I earned my CNA, PCT certification, along with my CPR certification from the American Heart Association at no cost.

I also gained valuable hands on hands on experience through my internship and was connected to job placement support after completing the program.

UhVail gave me more than certifications.

It gave me confidence, guidance, support, and meaningful relationships with both the staff and other young people in the program.

While attending Youth Build, I also earned my GED and now I plan to continue my education and become a nurse in the future.

If it was not for Youth Build, I honestly don't know where I will be today.

This program gave me a real opportunity and helped me build a brighter future for myself.

This is why I support the NYC Youth Build Collaborative Request to restore and baseline its historical funding level of 2.1 million in the city's FY 2027 budget.

This funding will help continue providing education, workforce training, civic engagement, and supportive services to hundreds of young people across New York City who deserve the same opportunity that I was given.

Thank you again to Youth Build and to everyone here for listening.

Great, thank you.

Go ahead.

Oh, sorry.

Oh, thank you.

Good morning.

My name is Gianna McIntosh, and I'm a sophomore at Millennium Brooklyn High School.

And journalism is important to me because it has become a way for me to build a legacy, to understand my community, to ask better questions, and to tell stories that matter.

My school doesn't offer journalism class, but we do have a club.

And it only operates for only one hour.

And every week I leave wishing that we had more time.

I want journalism education to be part of everyday learning so that these skills can stay with me and shape the way that I see my world.

By funding journalism for all, you can show this commitment to students like me and to the future of our city schools.

In our club, we write teacher features, club spotlights, reviews of school plays, student perspectives on political events, and opinion pieces about issues that matter to our generation.

But it is difficult to fully invest in journalism when we do not have the time or the resources to grow these skills.

We need space, guidance, and support to make journalism education real.

And learning how to report, to write and to research, and to ask questions has given me confidence and purpose.

It has taught me that my perspective matters and that storytelling can create connection, understanding, and change.

That is why it is so important for the city council to fund journalism education.

Even if students do not become journalists, these skills still matter.

They teach us to think critically, communicate clearly, and to better understand the world around us.

Every student deserves the opportunity to learn how to navigate media and information, not just the students who already know how to speak up.

And supporting journalism education means investing in young people's ability to participate, to question and to contribute to their communities.

In a time when misinformation spreads easily and young voices are often dismissed.

Journalism education is not optional.

It is essential.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sorry if we could just keep it quiet.

Shh.

Okay, go ahead.

Hi, members of the committee.

I'm Adam Reyes.

I'm Max.

I'm part of the Dreams Youth Build, and I just wanted to talk about how Dreams Youth Build means to me.

I've got certifications like culinary and construction.

I finished my OSHA, and I've also got my NCCR.

And we're just asking for.

One second, sorry.

So uh 2.1 million, so we can get things going for other students, such as myself and others to um experience what I experienced, which is um a community that helps one another and doesn't let you down.

They go head to head for you and they fight for you what they need.

Um sorry, a little nervous.

Uh but not only that do they help you as teachers, but they help you on the sidelines with like um health, um, getting you a job afterwards, you know, finding you a place where you could settle and like know what you're doing in the future.

Uh yeah, basically, and they treat you like family.

Awesome.

Thanks.

And you do great.

Okay, is any are there any other students?

Oh, right here.

Oh, sorry.

People are swapping in there.

Oh, got it.

Okay, perfect.

Go ahead.

Good morning.

My name is Deary Oliver.

Three years ago, I sat in the same seats as a recent graduate of Cobble Hill High School, advocating for funding journalism for all initiative.

Now, I am back as a rising junior at Syracuse University, majoring in policy studies, loss design policy with a minor in African-American studies to advocate again.

The youth journalism coalition has given high school students access to opportunities that are hard to find, and I am proof of that.

Growing up low income, I wasn't lacking drive.

I was lacking access.

Journalism programs, leadership opportunities, and internships often came with a prize tag that my family could not afford.

Most of these opportunities also required a network that was non-existent for me.

The youth journalism coalition opened doors I cannot open on my own.

The organization meant so much to my development that I have written about the work we have done for journalism for all in my college application essay for Syracuse University.

As a previous student leader within the organization, I developed leadership skills.

I now apply as president of college democrats at Syracuse University.

Through the Youth Journalism Coalition, I had the opportunity to write for Team Vogue about my advocacy work within the organization and to publish an article about my experience with mental health and the education system as a black girl.

Which led to me, which led me to write for the Daily Orange today.

And just recently, I have I hosted the MOK Young Changemakers event at the Apollo Theater through connections I built during my time in the organization.

The opportunities and skills I gained through the Youth Journalism Coalition have directly advanced my college career.

And these students next to me deserve the same.

I ask that the New York City Council continue to fund an initiative that was there for me when other programs were not.

Thank you.

Okay.

Uh good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the executive budget.

My name is Gray Berth, and I'm a senior at School of the Future High School.

Uh today I'm testifying on behalf of the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding, a group of more than 120 organizations advocating for the resources needed to ensure every student receives a high quality education with a focus on those who have the greatest needs.

We are pleased that Mayor Mamdani's fiscal year 2027 executive budget continues funding for several important education programs that previously had funding set to expire this year.

However, the executive budget leaves out funding for other critical education programs that are currently benefiting thousands of NYC students and their families and are funded only through this June.

Unless funding is restored in the final budget this year, thousands of students will use access to the to the following programs: sensory exploration education and discovery, otherwise known as the seed program, which supports students with intensive sensory needs, restorative justice, which helps students stay in school, repair relationships, and resolve conflicts instead of being suspended, the mental health continuum, which provides expedited mental health care to students at 50 high needs schools, immigrant family communications and outreach, which helps families receive information about their child's school in a language and mode they can access, and student success centers, which allow trained youth leaders to build a culture of college going and help their peers with the college admissions process.

Uh, we appreciate that the city council called for continued funding for these programs in your response to the preliminary budget.

Uh, but we do urge you to ensure that the final budget restores and baselines funding for these programs so that students and families can continue relying on them next year and beyond.

Uh, we also call on the city to make additional investments that are needed to support students, uh especially the students who have the greatest needs.

Uh thank you for the opportunity to testify.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Uh, good morning, council members.

My name is Liam McCarthy.

I'm a high schooler in the city.

Uh how many of you have been to a zoo?

I'm here to testify today for the Wildlife Conservation Society and the impact that increased funding to city zoos in the aquarium can have on New York City high schoolers.

Uh, as a middle schooler during the pandemic, I obviously did not spend a lot of time outside.

Uh and my mother was desperate to get me outside.

Uh unfortunately I was apathetic to the world outside my phone.

Uh, but thanks to her, you know, begging by the end of my summer in middle school.

Uh I began volunteering at the Prospect Park Azoo as a discovery guide.

During my four years and 550 plus hours of volunteering, uh, I talked to adults and children, I talked to people of all ages uh about issues that I myself had only just learned about through the zoo.

Uh my knowledge of climate change, invasive species, and environmental justice went from non-existent to extensive in just four years.

Uh, but as important as the whole conservation aspect of the WCS youth program is, the program is also responsible for the development of a lot of my social skills, like public speaking.

Uh before the program, I would get nervous and I would freeze up at the simplest of questions.

Uh, but by my senior year, I was giving wide-scale narration during C line training sessions to hundreds, if not thousands of people at a time.

Still kind of scary to think about.

My experience is not unique.

I've made dozens of friends through this program who have gone from shy kids to passionate, outgoing young adults.

While many teenagers today are struggling with real-life social interaction in this increasingly online world, many teenage discovery guides have been developing in the opposite direction.

Since they're owned by the WCS, much of the ticket revenue at the City Zoos and the New York Aquarium go toward funding global conservation efforts in more than 50 other countries.

So the bulk of these zoos' local operation funds come from outside.

This means that programs like the Discovery Guide program really do live and die on the whims of government spending.

The FY2027 budget proposal for the WCS is down by several thousand dollars this year.

I've heard a lot of big numbers today, so this is not a dramatic change, but it does worry me for the future.

By maintaining and expanding this program, more high school students have the opportunity to learn about conservation along with essential life skills to help them develop into engaged, well-educated citizens.

Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning, Chair Lee.

Come on, good morning, committee leaders.

My name is Jasmine Kredak, and I'm 18 years old.

I attend Dreams Youth Bill located in Brooklyn, New York.

Before joining this program, I was lost and unsure about my future.

Dreams Youth Bill gave me the structure, the self-discipline, and a confidence I needed in myself to be who I am today.

So, joining this program, I earned my CPR certification, completed my 30 hour construction safety training, graduated with my high school diploma, and was accepted and enrolled into the University of Maryland Global Campus.

I then became a registered behavior technician, and I'm continuing my on-girl career, hopefully, to become a BC ABA.

I would love for a young I would love for other young adults who feel as lost and uncon unconfused about their future to know that there's faith and there's hope for them.

Programs like Dreams Youth Bill give young adults and young people the opportunity, the education, encouragement, and support that they need to believe in themselves and for a better future.

There are many young people who need guidance and support and don't have the access to the recesses, the resources too.

I urge the community, the committee to support New York City Youth Bill Collaborative requests for 2.1 million.

So more youth across the New York City could continue receiving the opportunities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Is that are there more students?

I don't want to cut anyone.

I know Scott Daly, also you're part of this panel.

If you could come up as well.

Oh no, but we need you to if you could grab a mic.

Yes.

Thank you.

Am I back on?

Here I go.

Thank you very much.

Sorry for the disruption.

Chair Lee, thank you very much.

Council members, thank you very much.

My name is Scott Daly.

I'm the senior director of the New York Junior Tennis and Learning, better known as NYJTL throughout the city.

We provide free tennis lessons for kids throughout the city of New York in all five boroughs, in all 51 council districts.

We've been doing this for over 51 years.

Right now, right now, we pay our starting salaries with everybody who starts.

Kids, our own SYEP, who come up through our program $20 an hour.

I'm grateful for the money we've gotten from the city council in the past.

We're asking for an increase this year, up from $800,000 to $1 million.

What do we do?

We get kids off their phone to get them off their screen to get them outside.

Physical activity.

We know the value, as a council does, of kids learning by participating in an activity, by getting out there.

They learn socialization, patience, they learn how to win.

They learn how to lose.

They know how to react.

They learn how to get involved with one another.

The kids that come up through our programs, we know they can't always get out to the tennis sites that we have.

So in addition to the programs at the parks and at the full-size tennis courts, we bring tennis to kids in the schools through a program called our school time tennis program.

We teach any gym teacher, physical education teacher, throughout the city of New York.

We will train them.

We give them the free equipment.

We want them to bring it in to their curriculum during the school day.

We send our top staff in there to bring this.

What is it all about?

It's giving an opportunity to kids who otherwise would never have that opportunity.

Are they all gonna turn out to be Serena Williams or Arthur Ashes?

No, that's not the point of what we do.

I want to thank the council for the continued support.

And I look forward to seeing you all again.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Um, and we've also been joined by Councilmember Joseph.

I don't know if you wanted to kick us off with any sort of questions, comments.

Yeah.

Thank you.

So happy to see you guys here, um, journalism for all and all the young people.

Thank you for showing up on budget after budget to advocate for what you need.

We always say your voice matters.

Um, I'm a forever educator, so young people have always been the center of the work that I do.

So thank you for being here.

Thank you.

Oh, go ahead.

I'm just so excited.

I'm so grateful to see the youth in New York City.

You are the future leaders and you are leaders right now, and take the time, educate one another because you came here to educate us, and I have my journalists that even follow me in my office and to tell me what I need to do in terms of mental health.

And thank you.

I'm looking at I'm so proud of you, young lady.

So, this is you making the changes, you leading.

And now you're not shy, you can go around and get others to come out to do the same.

I'm so proud of you all.

Thank you.

And thank you for your leadership to help our kids play tennis and do all that.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you so much.

And of course, we know New York uh JTL does a lot more than just the lessons, but it's a lot of team building, social emotional learning, all of those things that you provide with your students.

So thank you.

And of course, journalism for all.

Thanks for pointing out the importance of getting outside and not being on your screens, which we know is a big problem in our schools right now, with our students.

Uh, my kids included.

Um, and and so you really have stepped up as leadership.

And I remember Derry and others testifying here a few years ago, and it's so amazing to see how you all have grown.

And hopefully us older folks won't create too many problems for you all to fix.

So yeah.

Thank you so much, everyone.

And I just want to thank you for putting me in a youthful group.

Oh, sorry.

Uh Tiffany Kavan has a couple of questions.

Sorry.

Yeah, I I mean I just want to start by saying like, you know, I I echo the sentiments of my colleagues who are just deeply grateful and proud and impressed by all of all of you and the students have cycled in and out.

Um and also, you know, I want to really stay grounded and rooted why you are here.

You are making an ask of us.

You are telling us where our dollars need to go.

And you know, one thing that I want to highlight uh across all of your testimonies is that you have really beautifully articulated the ways that not just these programs have changed you and your trajectory and how you navigate the world, but those of the people around you.

It's uh, you know, you're talking about ever on behalf of everybody in your organizations.

Um and the other thing that really stands out to me is that you all named numbers that are we have an over a hundred billion dollar budget.

We're talking about thousands of dollars that are a drop in the bucket, and to see what that return on an investment is.

We are here and we've been doing these executive budget hearings for a couple of weeks now, and thank you to the staff who work so damn hard to make these things happen.

But but but we talk about these really big um numbers and they're important things, but like my goodness, the transformative things that we can make happen in your lives and the the future of our communities, it's the best return on the budget we could possibly get.

And so thank you for making that point really, really clear, so that when we go in and we are negotiating and fighting um for these dollars, we're we're making really compelled compelling arguments, and I can say that like I just I deeply appreciate you.

You know, uh like whether these programs help get you to that job, that union job in a trade that you want to be in, or that graduate program, or that whatever it is that allows you to take care of yourselves and the people you love around you, is all a beautiful path.

You know, like I uh I am I'm a lawyer, I was a public defender before I did this work, and I tell people all the time only 5% of lawyers are Latinas, and it's not because we're not smart, it's not because we're not brilliant, it's not because we don't want to be lawyers, it's because we don't get the same damn opportunities and access to programs and resources uh and experiences that other people get.

And then when we get them, we rock with them and we do big things, and you're already doing big things.

So I just I want to thank you again.

Thank you all.

Okay, so next up, our next panel is Kyron Banks, Leila La Gesico.

Sorry if I'm mispronouncing.

Um, Reverend Kevin McCall.

Amber Nicosia, Ramona Ferry.

Ferrar?

Ferrar Ferrer, Oliver Nicholson Jr.

And Sylvia Morse.

I think we may need a couple extra chairs.

Okay.

Is everyone here?

Okay, feel free to begin.

Good afternoon, chairpersons and members of the city council.

My name is Reverend Kevin McCall, and I'm a civil rights activist, been doing this work for a very long time.

I'm actually outraged.

I'm outraged because we have to be able to do this budget dance every down on year to talk about black and brown and New Yorkers, people that live in this community, people that really don't have a say at the table.

The mayor's proposed budget regarding NYCHA is absurd.

He wants to try to keep NYCHA as private as possible.

NYCHA is the oldest public housing that we have in this country.

It's up to the city council to oppose it.

It's up to the city council.

Before we had a DSA mayor, we had city council members that believe in the fight for to preserve public housing.

Before we had a DSA mayor, we had council members that was in our district that knew what it was to come to our family days that knew what it is to be able to knock on doors to ask those individuals for your vote.

You guys were elected to protect it, to elected to invest in and elected to fight for it.

Yet today, under the banette, the banner of preservation, you'll be asked to accept a plan that continues to transfer the public access and the public authority and public control into the private hands.

The mayor needs to understand, and you need to up, you need to not support his privacy plan that he has regarding NYCHA.

He needs to continue to understand what it means to save Section 9 in public housing.

For years, residents have had the same story.

So if you want to do the right thing for New Yorkers in your districts, those of you that have public housing, put the those things to the side and keep NYCHA public and not private.

That's what you can do.

Thank you.

Um, thank you, Chair Lee and fellow members of the committee and council for the opportunity to testify today.

I'm Sylvia Morse of Pratt Center for Community Development, a community-based planning and research organization.

Um, we join our fellow members of the New York City Community Land Initiative, or nicely, you'll hear from today, in urging City Council to advance its support for permanently affordable community-controlled land and housing by increasing funding for the citywide community land trust or CLT initiative to three million dollars in this year's budget.

Pratt Center has a long history of researching strategies uh for affordable and equitable planning and housing in New York City.

Our report on community land trust gaining ground identified CLTs as an essential tool for advancing neighborhood affordability and fighting displacement, particularly in historically low and moderate income communities of color.

The report identified policy recommendations to scale and sustain CLTs citywide, including the three we call for here today, increasing funding for the City Council CLT initiative, which has been instrumental to CLT's affordability projects, addressing contract delays, and providing funding for CLT acquisitions.

Funding the initiative at $3 million for FY27 up from $1.5 million in FY26 will provide essential support to 23 organizations, including 19 active CLTs and four citywide technical assistance organizations, including ours, up from 15 groups across the city.

Pratt Center has not previously been funded through the Citywide CLT initiative, but as members of NICE, we've provided assistance on multiple CLT-related projects each year, ranging from research and mapping projects to longer-term community engagement initiatives.

This past year, for example, we partnered with the Real Edgemere CLT to design and facilitated community engagement to identify priorities, community priorities for commercial and community spaces on two lots on the CLT.

In addition to individual TA, we develop and provide educational materials and programs on city land use policies such as City of Yes and land use ballot measures and help groups understand what the impact will be for their organizations and communities.

We'd be able to expand these services, technical services to more CLTs across the city with additional funding.

We also urge council to support the creation of a $50 million CLT acquisition fund.

Mayor Mamdanny's campaign platform included the creation of such a fund, which is essential to enable CLTs to seize opportunities to bring land and housing into permanently affordable community control.

And finally, we echo what you'll hear from other members today about urging city council to help address chronic delays in registering discretionary funding contracts, which hamper the impact of this funding.

Um, including expanding community-controlled deeply affordable housing, and thank you for your time.

Good afternoon, Chair and Council members.

My name is Karan Banks, Deputy Political Director for 32BJ.

32BJ represents cleaners, maintenance workers, door person, security officers, and many other property service workers, with approximately over 90,000 members working right here in New York City.

I'm speaking to you today on behalf of approximately over 5,000 cleaners and handy persons employed by the New York City School Support Services and represented by 32BJ to urge the City Council to fully fund our city schools' cleaning and maintenance workforce.

These hard-working men and women employed by NYC SSS work under a contract with the DOE to provide school facility cleaning and maintenance services.

They are essential in keeping our schools and communities running.

This year, they've ensured schools can reopen safely and quickly after repeated extreme weather events.

Our members have cleared ice and snow, sometimes reporting to their school site before the storm starts and staying until the storm ends and ensuring that the parking lot sidewalks are clear and safe.

They've helped keep buildings open when sites were used as warming centers while the cold got even worse.

They've worked up to 16-hour shifts just to return back to work the next morning during regular hours.

They are tirelessly dedicated to the students in their communities, and the DOE budget should reflect that.

The cleanliness and safety of New York City's public school buildings must be a top priority in this budget.

Maintaining our school sites is necessary to facilitate student learning as it creates a dignified and positive educational setting.

Yet every year, the school funding's budget is left structurally underfunded, often leaving students, learning environments in a state of disrepair.

Simply put, NYCSS should not be stuck in a perpetual state of facing cuts in hours and positions of the workforce.

This year's executive budget slate 734 million for our school janitors and handy person, despite spending this year already reaching over $830 million.

That's a hundred million dollar gap.

We cannot allow our children's learning environment to suffer.

We urge the administration and city council to come together and fully support and fund our city school's cleaning workforce.

Thank you.

Thank you, Karen.

Sorry.

I mispronounced your name.

It's good to see you again.

Good afternoon, Chairley and members of the City Council.

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

My name is Leila Logizico.

I am the district leader representing Chelsea, Assembly District 75 Part A.

And I am here to speak about the 1.5 billion dollar in city capital funding currently budgeted for packed and trust conversion of public housing.

We ask that the city council reallocate this $1.5 billion currently in the HPD Capital funding and direct it instead to NYCHA Section 9 comprehensive modernization.

Section 8 privatization brings higher eviction risk across RAT pack conversions.

Public housing residents deserve repairs, but not a legal architecture that makes housing instability easier.

The city keeps saying that there is no money for Section 9, actually, beyond the city, many, including uh our uh partners in Congress.

And yet, here we are staring at a 1.5 billion dollar already in the budget.

It's easy.

We're not asking for more money, we're just asking for reallocation.

That money should go to comprehensive modernization for the basic physical repairs NYCHA residents have been demanding for years.

Every dollar in this budget should be judged by a plain standard.

Does it preserve public housing, improve conditions, and keep residents in their home with public accountability?

If the answer is yes, fund it.

If the answer is a 400 page transaction with private partners and footnotes, it's a red flag.

Don't fund it.

It is really critical for Fulton and Elliott Chelsea, the developments that are in Chelsea and slated for demolition.

It will be 100% cheaper, meaning that it will cost half less to renovate the buildings than to demolish them.

Also, I want to flag that the smart loan created a new financial instrument created to support demolition is a fiscal disaster, and I'm happy to elaborate more on that.

It is really urgent and imperative to fund repairs and preserve the homes, keep public housing public.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chair Lee and the members of the committee.

My name is Amber Nicasia, and I have the honor of serving as the board president at Ped South.

We're a campus-style limited equity community.

We're regulated by HPD.

We have 15 buildings spread out over 21 acres, and we're home to more than 5,000 New Yorkers, making us one of the largest affordable cooperatives in New York City.

And at a time when there's a housing crisis, we are very proud to be part of the city's housing solution.

But maintaining that affordability is increasingly difficult.

Built in 1962, Penn South is aging and already requires significant capital improvements that ensure that our residents, the majority of which are senior citizens, are living in homes that are safe and consistently healthy.

Over the next several years, we'll begin our largest and most expensive capital projects, under crown utility piping, boilers, chillers, roofs, elevators, and facade work.

We have found out because of a technicality, we may not be eligible for J-51R, something we've relied on historically to be able to serve the needs of the residents affordably.

At this time, when we're already struggling financially, we have to now be able to comply with local law 97.

Just to be clear, make no mistake, we are fully supportive of the city's climate goals, and we want to be able to meet the challenges of local law 97.

However, with the amount of work that needs to be done on an infrastructure level, including the electrification of a power plant, geothermal, and other improvements, we are saying to you, we could only accomplish this through partnership with the city.

Please, we are willing and able to come to the table to find a solution.

Thank you.

Hi everyone, my name is Guatuque Ini Naru.

My colonial name is Ramona Ferreira, and I'm the founder of Safe Section 9 and a tenant at Mitchell Houses in the South Bronx.

I'm here to urge you to oppose Zoran's budget for public housing.

This proposed budget should alarm the entire city.

It is the largest transfer of public monies and assets in recent history, and it will destroy the only truly affordable housing we have in New York City that locks your rent to your income, not to AMI.

Zoran wants to transfer management authority, development rights, long-term leaseholds, and revenue opportunities associated with public assets to private entities, many of them slum lords, which he wants to punish on the private market.

In the promise of exchange is the repair for tenants, you guys getting less phone calls from constituents complaining about NYCHA and the supposed lower cost for the public.

But in reality, the PAC program fails everyone.

It privatizes public housing, it hands over the units to private management under long-term leases of a hundred years, and it is now going to cost taxpayers 2.8 billion dollars to repair developments slated to be handed over to companies like Wavecrust, which your constituents are already suffering under.

This budget then asks tenants that live in public housing section nine to accept privatization.

And if you don't, you continue to live in a slum-like condition.

That is racist, it is inequitable, and it's unacceptable in New York City.

A privatization strategy is only fiscally justifiable if it lowers costs, preserves affordability, creates public value, and improves outcome.

PACT doesn't do any of these.

This is why the citywide council of presidents, the residents to preserve public housing, safe section nine, and neighbors helping neighbors.

The largest groups in the city run by tenants is asking you guys to invest all monies in Section 9 comprehensive modernization and to do an impact study on PAC and RAD.

Until that impact study is completed, you should put a moratorium on this harmful program.

Hello, my name is Oliver, and I represent the New York Young Communist League.

I was born and raised in the Bronx and currently live close to the Boston Secor Houses, which used to be publicly funded and managed by NYCHA under Section 9.

But on September 26, 2024, NYCHA converted the apartment to Project Based Section 8, allowing Wavecrest management to take control of the property and receive public funding while doing so.

On January 24th of this year, the Boston Court houses experienced a horrific gas explosion that killed one, injured 15, and displaced over 100.

Residents later told Pix 11 they reported an electrical fire and smell of gas a week before the explosion, but WaveCrest did nothing.

The Boston Secor explosion is a cautionary tale.

What project-based Section 8 leads to displacement, injury, and death.

Right now, the city has plans to have 1.5 billion dollars go towards HP HPD, which fuels project-based Section 8 conversions.

One such attempt being the demolition of the Fulton and Elliott Chelsea houses in Chelsea.

This demolition is guaranteed to displace the current residents and create luxury towers.

Most New Yorkers will never afford.

We must not create or bankroll any more disastrous project-based Section 8 housing.

I, along with my comrades in Young Communist League, call on the city council to reallocate the 1.5 billion from HPD's budget towards comprehensive modernization of Section 9.

Stop handing over public housing to greedy companies who'd rather see tenants displaced or dead than taken care of.

Prevent the demolition of Section 9 housing like Fulton and Elliott Chelsea, keep public housing public.

Thank you so much to this panel.

Do any members have questions?

Yes.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the panel members, particularly on NYCHA.

I want you to expound a little on the uh leasing signing.

Uh we know that the administration is a big supporter of RAD PAC, which is a get rich scheme and a big giveaway uh to private developers.

Um, can you expound a little on particularly on the uh this lease signing scam that the uh developers are using to scam the residents to sign this lease and sign their life away?

So under the program, uh NYCHA has to secure new leases from every tenant, because as he said, it's project-based section eight.

So the subsidy doesn't get attached to a family, it gets attached to a unit.

And in order for HUD to release the financing, the subsidy has to be demonstrated that it's going to be received by that apartment.

So it is critically important for the management company and the partners to come in with full units or justified empty units.

So that's why you have so many vacant ones being held and being bookmarked, right?

Because it makes it easier to get a subsidy for a unit that's been empty than for one where a tenant is fighting.

So at Boston C Corps, we actually lost the campaign to stop privatization.

And the tenants were holding out and refusing to sign their leases.

What happens at that time is that NYCHA and the management company, in this case Wavecrust, then start a campaign of harassment.

And that campaign can range from forcing tenants into rental arrears.

I have a family right now at Boston C Corps that owes 64,000.

And this is a senior elderly retired woman and her retired daughter.

This is something that you see across the city.

Another scam that the developers will run is that they'll try to intimidate the tenants.

They'll intimidate the tenants by saying that you're going to get evicted, that you're living in limbo, that NYCHA will not provide repairs.

If the tenant has a critical repair, like a flood, a fire, a gas leak, NYCHA will refuse to address and respond to that family, saying that they need to sign the lease to actually receive the repairs.

So it leaves the tenants unprotected.

And then the newest thing that we're seeing is today, former council member Diana Ayala, deputy speaker, in the last session, actually shared on our Twitter page, which is Safe Section 9, that there is a management company now offering raffle tickets to tenants that are holding out and refusing to sign their leases.

So some of these prices include an Xbox, a flat screen TV, gaming consoles, and other incentives, and these prices are tier one, tier two, and tier three, right?

So what you're seeing now is that even when a tenant tries to hold out to their financial detriment and then to their legal detriment because they lose guaranteed legal representation under NYCHA when they've tried to evict me.

The tenants at Boston C Corps were now hunting for lawyers for them.

And when they show up at court, they no longer have the protections or the grievance process that NYCHA actually provides them.

So now you're facing eviction without an understanding of the law, without the support of the legal system in a legal court and housing system that you guys know is completely overwhelmed by the slum lords in the private market, right?

So it's really ironic that Zoran wants to then throw 500,000 more families, right, into a private market that's proving to you that they can't actually give us affordability, protection, benefits or rights.

And if I can just add one thing, as it pertains to uh Fulton and L.

Chelsea, as you know, uh the uh the developments are uh slated for demolition and uh reconstruction.

Um, right now there's a halt uh because of a court case, but you know, if NYCHA and uh related in essence, their partner had their way, then this is uh the outcome that they're uh looking for.

Although no permit has been secured by them.

There has been an aggressive harassment campaign on the tenants uh with all sorts of tactics, including uh, you know, harassing uh seniors uh very early in the morning, very late at night, uh, refusing to give the recertification papers unless they also sign the lease, refusing to uh replace mailboxes so that mail would not be delivered.

Uh the uh entire deletion of uh the uh uh intercom name system so that uh folks who live in the buildings could not actually be buzzed and uh you know receive the the care that they need, lots of seniors are in these buildings, the harassment campaign has been actually documented in a complaint that it's my understanding is going to be filed uh in court, and we see this pattern uh of uh behavior that is shared also by uh Ramona.

Um, and what we see at Fulton and other Chelsea is actually a large number of tenants who have been incredibly intimidated and who did sign Section Eight uh leases and who wish they didn't, and now they don't know how to walk this back for a project once again where the Section Eight uh uh subsidy does not even exist.

They don't even know that they will have an apartment.

Right now it is only Section 9.

Section 8 has not been approved.

Uh, and yet those uh leases are uh being signed by by tenants.

So it's incredibly problematic.

Uh the information that is being circulated is incredibly misleading.

There is a lot of confusion on the tenants' end because they're given inaccurate information over and over.

Um, and this is something that uh, you know, can be addressed.

I understand this is the budget hearing once again.

1.5 billion dollars earmarked in the HPD bucket.

This needs to be taken out of this bucket and put into the NYCHA bucket for comprehensive modernization.

Once again, we present a super easy ask.

We're not asking you for more money, just for money that has already been committed.

Instead of putting it this there, putting it over there, and uh this will really help saving public housing and making sure that public housing remains public.

Thank you for your testimony and your advocacy.

Thank you.

Uh, Councilmember Kaman.

Uh and thank you all for your your testimony.

I I know that there's a lot of work to be done when it comes to public housing, and it's gonna take a lot of um uh you know, different strategies and investments.

And I I wanted to ask you about uh a particular thing that that the Progressive Caucus is um fighting for, and just want to know if you think that this would be helpful.

We were you know excited to stand with the chair, public housing and the speaker on this.

Um, but you alluded to this.

We have a ton of vacant units um across NYCHA.

We have a backlog of over 6,000 units, and thank you to council member wrestler who's really been doing a lot of work on on working with uh folks in your communities to collect the data, but 6,000 units that's more the entirety of Queensbridge and Red Hook houses together.

Um right now, one of the things that we are calling for in the budget is a 170 million dollar um fund to expedite the vacant unit repairs in NYCHA.

The city, I think was really impressed by like the pothole blitz that we saw, and we liken it to being like, well, why can't we throw money in up front to do a blitz to be able to turn over these, you know, fix up and turn over these units as soon as possible to make sure we have um families in them in our our section nine housing.

So I I just you know, right now the the city is currently preparing apartments at just 390 a month, and you know, if we could increase that rate to a thousand a month, we could fill all of the vacancies in a year, you know, not two years, three years, five years from now.

So I just would like because you guys are speaking really knowledgeably about a lot of the issues and and what needs to be done.

But want to know if if that is also something that could be helpful in the two things very quickly, and Ramona is gonna speak more eloquently, but just two points that I would like to make.

The first one is um I believe that there's a number of programs, including the city of Yes, that did earmark funds specifically for that.

So I think this is really important that we make sure that these commitments uh that that were obtained last year are actually put to work.

The second thing I will say is that this number, 6,000 units, is only the units that are slated to be renovated and rented.

Keep in mind that NYCHA has been in a pattern of taking units off the rent roll, and they do not show in this number.

At the last hearing on this very topic in 2025, we get did get to a sort of a like accurate count.

The number of units is 10,000 units.

There are 4,000 units that have been taken off the rent roll, and they're perfectly suitable, or maybe they also need to be repaired.

But I think it is really important for the city council to go after those units.

They're being warehoused deliberately by NYCHA so that they can be converted to Section 8 through the privatization scheme.

So what I'll add is that we actually as a coalition submitted a response to the Progressive Caucus.

Um we appreciate you guys trying to address this issue, but it's actually um misguided because working on empty units means that the unit across the hall from me is going to be rehabilitated and a new family's gonna move in, and I'm still not gonna have tiles.

Right?

And that's the problem.

So the only way to ensure that NYCHA is fiscally responsible and that we have proper oversight over their programs is to put the money into comprehensive modernization.

So we sent the email on Thursday to every member of the Progressive Caucus.

Can we do both?

I guess is my is my question.

And can you would you be able to bear out why if we didn't put enough resources towards it and staffed up like we have in other areas?

What you're gonna end up doing is you're gonna be repairing units for families coming off the wait list, yeah.

And those of us already living in units that are facing unsafe conditions are gonna have to continue to face those unsafe conditions until we identify the revenue streams, which we also have in our testimony to actually provide comprehensive modernization.

So if you're putting in funding at a level that addresses the needs of an entire development at a time, the way that we propose it be done is that you actually tackle developments based on their fiscal needs assessment, which is something that NYCHA publishes.

So in the city, development number one is Wagner Houses in East Harlem.

You can remodel and provide comprehensive modernization to Wagner with 65 empty units for 670 million dollars.

That's half of what Zoran wants to spend.

The next development then becomes Ravenswood, and they have about 112 empty units.

So if you do comprehensive modernization, you are going to be addressing empty units, and those empty units will be then used to switch families in and out of their own units as those are getting comprehensive modernization, and then when the program actually finishes with the development, the empty units are then open to the wait list.

But I think it's really I don't even know what word to use to describe it, but the idea of me having to sit in my apartment and watch someone else get what I have not been getting, creates a two-tier system, and that's not something that public monies should be supporting or investing in.

So comprehensive modernization based on fiscal needs is the only way to ensure that all public housing tenants get what we have actually paid for for the last 25 years.

Because contrary to popular belief, it's not like I'm sitting in my unit and I have rent arrears, I pay my rent every month, and every development has at least 10% in that community that's earning 120% AMI.

So that means that there is money being paid into NYCHA, and that money needs to start getting reimbursed to the tenants already there.

It shouldn't be a process by which you skip those of us with the biggest needs and the largest capital deficits to then facilitate a beautiful experience to brand new families.

Thank you.

I deeply deeply appreciate the information and the advocacy that you're bringing to table.

I we've got a lot of work to do.

I look forward to continuing to talk, and I I hear you on that.

Um, my parents grew up in the well, first they were in the Milbrook houses and then the Woodside houses.

Uh and so, you know, I I spent a lot of my time in the scar.

I think Woodside is like number four.

And when the tenant coalition spoke, we agreed that the fairest way to actually do it is to go based on the fiscal needs, which tells you that tenants are so accustomed to having to wait for repairs that we are fine waiting.

We've waited 15 years.

Five, seven, eight more years waiting, knowing that you get to keep section nine is worth the wait to all of us.

But what's not worth it is watching band-aids continue to be applied to public housing in New York City.

Right.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

And thank you so much to Councilmember Banks, who chairs the committee on public housing for your advocacy as well.

Um, because when we had our round table conversation, Ramona, I I really appreciate you uh being here today and remember you basically uh derailed your advocate.

No, it was so informative, super super informative.

And these these are the reasons why we have the round tables because it's very in a positive way, yeah.

Yeah no it's very eye-opening.

And so I want to thank you all for your advocacy and just on the point really quickly that Amber you had brought up about um the local law 97 um just so you know this also s significantly impacts my district because we have the most number of co-ops and condos that um are very much not the high rises but garden style uh that are very maybe like two stories high but very you know flat and wide and so they have a whole other set of challenges that a lot of the high rise buildings don't have in terms of compliance and so I think we're trying to see if we can get um a hearing on that because I totally agree with you we agree with the goals um that are put in place with local law ninety seven but it's just about how we're gonna financially help folks and buildings get there so if we have a hearing we'd love to have you guys come out then too okay thank you all so much thank you thank you okay are you all feeling okay yeah I actually this is exciting because I love I time flies when you're having fun um and not that this matters or means anything but um my staff and I did bring a bowl of candies we put outside just to keep your sugar levels up so if you need but we're not allowed to eat it in here so feel free to go outside and eat the candy okay all right so next we have Messiah Ramkissoon from Youth Justice Network Jason Elaine from Exalt Youth Anthony Springer from Urban Youth Alliance Lily Shapiro Fortune Society Megan French Marcelin from ATI and we also have Kaisha Caraballo from Dreams Youth Build and then Shannon Brown from also Dreams Youth Build.

Okay.

So Jason I'll go first.

Okay and then we'll go to the thing yeah so let's switch it's great to see you all you want to see you stay there no so I'll go first and we'll go down the line and then go to start with great so feel free to start whenever you guys are ready in whichever order just push it so that you see the red button.

I mean the red dot yeah all right um thank you chairly and members of the committee my name is Megan French Marslin and I am testifying on behalf of the New York City alternatives to incarceration and reentry coalition we are a network of 12 organizations that provide community-based services to justice involved New Yorkers in fiscal year 25 our organization served more than 69 thousand New York City residents we appreciate the administration's restoration of funding for ATIs and re-entry services in the executive budget including increases of three million and five point nine million respectively these investments reflect a commitment to the evidence based public safety strategies that reduce reliance on incarceration and strengthen communities however additional investment is needed and the fiscal case is clear rightland costs over 500 thousand dollars per person per year meanwhile a recent um uh fiscal analysis of the programs in our coalition showed that ATIs generate more than 60 million in jail savings each year and more than 70 million in state prison costs every year put another way for every dollar invested in ATIs the city realizes approximately four dollars and seventy cents in savings we therefore are urging the administration to add an additional $10 million to ATIs and reentry services, respectively, and city council to build on the administration's commitment by providing an additional 2.4 million in discretionary funding to the coalition through the ATI and reentry programs initiative so that we can scale these programs and serve New Yorkers in communities better.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, committee members, and thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.

My name is Jason Aline, Chief Program Officer at Exalt.

Exalt serves justice impacted youth aged 15 to 19, many of whom are chronically disengaged from their schools, overage and unaccredited, and reading at a fourth grade level.

Our powerful model comprised of tangible skill development classes, paid internships, and robust alumni network equips our youth with the tools and experience necessary to not only avoid recidivating, but truly experience the best that life has to offer, because that is what our young people deserve.

Utilizing this cross-sector approach, Exalt has achieved remarkable results with young people that in many ways society at large has not.

We are proud to say that 75% of the young people that come to us with open court cases have their sentences reduced or dismissed.

98% are on track to graduate by age 20.

And even two years after graduating from our program, 95% do not recidivate.

This is a huge savings to our city and state, as the estimated cost per year to incarcerate a young person range from 266,000 to as high as 892,000.

Exalt's model is conservatively 18 to as much as 60 times less expensive than incarceration, providing government billions and savings.

We applaud the restoration of funding for alternatives to incarceration programs and re-entry services in the executive budget, including increases of 3.03 million and 5.9 million, respectively.

These investments represent an important commitment to community-based public safety strategies that reduce reliance on incarceration and support New Yorkers in building stable and productive lives.

At the same time, additional investment is needed to bring these programs to scale.

A recent recent fiscal impact analysis conducted by the Data Collaborative for Justice found that the coalition services generated more than 60 million in savings for New York City by reducing reliance on incarceration at Rikers Island, demonstrating that investments in community-based alternatives produce both fiscal and public safety benefits.

We urge the City Council to build on the administration's commitment to providing an additional 2.4 million in discretionary funding through the alternative to incarceration re-entry programs.

The investment would enable our 12 coalition organizations to serve more New Yorkers and further expand access to effective community-based alternatives that promote safety, stability, and opportunity.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chair Lee and members of the Committee on Finance for the opportunity to provide testimony today.

My name is Lily Shapiro, and I am policy counsel at the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at the Fortune Society.

I submitted written testimony, but I want to amplify three issues.

In fiscal year 25, we serve more than 18,000 New Yorkers through our broad array of programs, including more than 1,000 people who participated in our alternative to incarceration programs.

That same year, 83% of those participants successfully completed their ATI programming, and 92% successfully completed gun diversion programming.

So we are proud to be a member of the New York City ATI reentry coalition, and we applaud the restoration of funding for ATI and reentry services in the executive budget, including increases of 3.03 million and 5.9 million, respectively.

But more is needed to bring these programs to scale and expand our collective reach.

The Data Collaborative for Justice recently found that our collective services generated more than $60 million in savings for the city by reducing reliance on incarceration, demonstrating that investments in community-based alternatives produce both fiscal and public safety benefits.

So we urge the council to build on the administration's commitment for providing an additional $2.4 million in discretionary funding through the ATI and reentry program initiative.

And we also urge the administration and council to make the following other investments restoring $9.75 million in the FY27 adopted budget for NYC benefits and to baseline that funding through FY32 for this vital partnership between DSS and community-based organizations, including Fortune.

This is especially critical for people who are navigating the already vulnerable period of re-entry.

And as new work requirements and shorter windows for recertification go into effect under HR 1, our work will be all the more critical.

And finally, as co-leader of the Fair Chance for Housing Coalition, we are deeply concerned about the proposed 1.5 million dollars in cuts to the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Without robust public education and the enforcement that only CCHR can provide, the Fair Chance for Housing Law will be an empty promise to people with conviction histories.

So we urge the administration and council to correct course and instead increase funding by 10 million dollars.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak today.

Great afternoon.

My name is Anthony Springer.

I am the senior advocacy associate for Urban Youth Alliance, or might be better known as Bronx Connect.

Since 1999, we have served, we are service thousands of youth and young adults facing charges in the Bronx.

From its inception, our program has addressed the epidemic of juvenile incarceration amongst youth in New York City.

Over the past few years, we've expanded to Manhattan and Staten Island.

As a part as a as a part of the New York City's crisis management center system and the proud members of the ATI coalition, we have service the Bronx and the city by providing cure violence services, gun violence, gun violence, school-based prevention, community therapeutic services, and employment services, and that can go on and on with all the services that we do provide.

But we we have seen what worked, and one of the things that we see that works around the city is providing access to opportunities, as we we heard the young people say that they didn't have access to opportunities.

So we are we applaud the commitment to the restoration of funding for alternative incarceration programming, re-entry services in their second budget.

Uh, those increases being the three three uh three million and the 5.9 million respectively.

Uh, we believe that these investments represent an important commitment to community-based public uh safety strategies and reduce reliance on incarceration and support New Yorkers by building stable, productive lives.

We have already seen that that uh incarceration is not is not the answer, which is why we're also members of the uh the closed wikers coalition because we understand that that resourcing communities is what works.

We see uh through a lot of our lot of these organizations that we're looking at 90, 90 percent to 97 percent uh uh of people who are in program not going back to the lives that they lived before.

Uh here at Bronx Connect, we we have seen that uh that percentage at around 93%.

So uh we know it works, and we thank you for your time.

Good afternoon, Chair Lee and members of the committee.

My name is Kaisha Caravano, and I'm the senior construction trainer at Dreams Youth Build out in Brooklyn.

I've been with the organization for about a year now and intend to be here for much longer.

Working with this organization has given me purpose again.

It's afforded me the opportunity to continue practicing in my trade, this time as an instructor and pass on the skills and knowledge that I gained through my work experience.

I've built relationships with my students that may very well last a lifetime.

I intend to be a mentor for them for as long as they may need.

They come to Youth Build to find purpose, better themselves, and to find a safe space.

Many of our students come to us carrying challenges that most people don't see.

Some have struggled academically, some have experienced instability, and many simply need someone to believe in them and give them an opportunity.

Youth build gives them that opportunity.

Although they may come to us to learn skills, I've learned from them every day.

I practice patience, active listening, and empathy daily, and have had and have enhanced these skills since joining Dreams.

I've watched students grow in confidence, learn to work as a team, take pride in their accomplishments, and begin to truly believe in themselves again.

What makes youth build special is that we're not just teaching construction or job readiness.

We're helping young people build structure, discipline, accountability, and hope for their future.

We're helping them see that they're capable of more.

Honoring the collaborators's requests would ensure that future students have the opportunity to find that safe space that youth build provides.

It would ensure that programs like ours can continue giving young adults the support, education, training, and mentorship they need to exceed to succeed.

An investment in Youth Build is an investment in young people who are willing to work hard for a better future.

It's an investment in safer communities, stronger neighborhoods, and opportunities that can change the course of someone's life.

I ask that you support the Youth Build Collaborative's request for 2.1 million dollars in funding so that we can continue doing this important work and continue showing young people that they're worthy of opportunity, support, and success.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Good afternoon, all.

My name is Shannon Brown, and I'm the senior manager of youth advocacy at Dreams Youth Bill, and I stand before you today, not just to speak, but to advocate for young people whose stories are often overlooked, misunderstood, and underestimated.

I'm here to urge you to invest 2.1 million into youth bills, specifically the Dreams Youth Bill program, because what you fund today determines who leads tomorrow.

Our youth are not statistics, they are survivors of systems that were never designed for their success.

Many have faced unstable housing, underserved, under resourced schools, community violence, and limited access to opportunities.

They've been labeled at risk, disconnected, or even the least of these.

But I challenge that narrative today.

Because despite every barrier placed in front of them, they are still showing up.

They are still choosing growth over defeat.

They are still choosing purpose over pain.

They are still choosing to be determined to win.

And that's where Youth Bill steps in.

This program does more than educate.

It transforms.

It creates a pathway, a pathway where there once was none.

It equips young people with job training, academic support, leadership development, and most importantly, belief in themselves.

But let's be clear programs don't change lives, people do.

Behind every success story in Youth Bill are educators, case workers like myself, and trainers who pour into these young people daily.

They are mentors, advocates, counselors, and sometimes the only consistent support system these young these youths have ever known.

They don't just touch, they don't just teach skills, they rebuild confidence, restore dignity, and remind these young people that their lives matter.

Fund youth build, funding youth build dreams at 2.1 million is not an expense, it is an investment in reducing recidivism, in workforce development and safer, stronger communities, and most importantly, an investment in human potential.

Give them the resources, give them programs that support them, give them hope, a real chance to grow, and let history show that when faced with the opportunity to uplift, the least of these you choose to act.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um, Councilmember Epstein.

Yeah, just want to be clear about what you're asking for.

Is that renewal of existing funding or new money?

I just wasn't 100% clear.

Yeah, renewal of existing.

Right.

Is everyone has anyone who was asking for new funding?

We are.

Um, we're asking for a 2.4 million dollar increase to the ATI and re-entry discretionary fund over our 12 organizations.

200,000 per org.

So 2.1 new money.

2.4.

2.4 new.

All right.

Thank you.

Of course.

Do any other council members have questions?

No?

You guys are good?

Okay.

And I just want to say thank you for all of your work, because I I'm gonna probably sound very repetitive throughout this public hearing, but prevention, prevention, prevention.

Um, and we know that these programs are life-saving, and we also know that um it saves also the city and state dollars.

I mean the cost of your programming that you all do through ATI and youth build versus what it costs to keep someone in Rikers is it doesn't make any sense.

Um, so I just want to thank you all for your work.

It's very difficult work, so I appreciate all that you all do in the community, and we're very grateful.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, next up, we have Gloria Kim from HSC, uh Adama Bav, Margaret Martin, Ala Shagalova, Justin Wood.

Kelly Agnew Baraj.

Vladimir.

Oh, Vladimir Tali from New York Immigration Coalition.

So if you all can come up.

Sorry, feel like I don't know if I'm dating myself, but I feel like this is prices, right?

Where it's like come on down from the balcony.

Sorry, I know it's taking some time for you guys.

Oh, perfect.

Okay, and feel free to begin.

Whichever, I don't know, Glory, if you want to go first or if you want to serve on the other end.

Okay.

Good afternoon, Chair Lee and members of the Committee on Finance.

My name is Glory Kim.

I'm the Director of Policy at the Human Services Council.

We're a membership organization representing 180 human services providers in New York.

First, I'd like to thank the council for its strong support of intro 0452.

The fact that 28 council members have signed on demonstrates a clear commitment to addressing the longstanding wage inequities faced by human services workers.

These workers carried our city through the pandemic and continue to serve communities under difficult circumstances, yet many remain significantly underpaid compared to their public sector counterparts.

They deserve fair compensation for the critical work they do.

We also appreciate the implementation of the final year of the human services cost of living adjustment this July.

However, we urge the city to establish a multi-year COLA structure moving forward.

Predictable and recurring adjustments would help providers retain staff, manage rising costs, and ensure continuity of care for New Yorkers.

At the same time, these investments can't achieve their full impact unless the city addresses its contracting crisis.

Too many nonprofits continue operating programs for months, sometimes more than a year before contracts are registered and payments are received.

Providers are forced to cover payroll, rent, and program expenses while waiting for reimbursement, placing enormous strain on already stretched organizations.

Nonprofits need a system that treat them as essential partners, not organizations trapped in administrative delays.

We thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to strengthening both the human services workforce and the communities they serve.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And if you guys could just say your name and organization, sorry, before you start.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Care Lee, Speaker Menon, and members of the Finance Committee for convening this hearing.

My name is Caroline Connery, and I am the senior policy director at the New York Immigration Coalition, an umbrella organization representing over 200 immigrant serving members and partner organizations.

Immigrants make up 36% of New Yorkers and nearly half of our workforce, yet our communities continue to face unprecedented attacks from federal overreach to the affordability crisis.

To ensure that New York remains welcome, inclusive, and resilient, we call on council to make bold and smart investments in services that keep our communities safe and our cities running.

We urge the council to protect all New Yorkers and include the following allocations in the budget.

For protecting New Yorkers from federal overreach, 188 million for immigration legal services, including 45 4.5 million for rapid response legal collaboration collaboratives, 40 million for immigrant opportunity initiative, and 40 million for the New York immigrant family unity program, 18.5 for unaccompanied minors and families initiative, as well as 80 million in investments in communities directly impacted by immigration enforcement.

Funding for naturalization programs, the human rights commission, and the mayor's office of immigrant affairs.

We call on an expansion of Promise NYC to 50 million to secure child care for immigrant families and 50 million for adult literacy for health expanding access health funding to 4.5 to educate communities about health access, coverage and benefits.

Invest 200 million in MYC care and 100 million for community food connection.

Hallo Keep 4 million for the immigrant family communications initiative, 8 million for English language learner instructional specialists for high need schools, and 800 million in the capital budget for improving school building quality and conditions.

And we are also calling on 5.8 million investment in the NYC Community Interpreter Bank.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon.

My name is Adam Abba.

I'm the executive director and founder of Africana.

I'm here today because too many, too many of the communities we serve continue to fall through the cracks of systems that claim to serve all New Yorker.

New York City spends thousands of dollars on language line services, yet, despite this, despite this investment, many black immigrants still cannot access services in language they understand.

We routinely see Pula speakers offered French interpretation, so Ninke speakers expected to communicate in English and Wolof, and Bambara speakers unable to find interpretation at all.

Language access is not simply about translating words, it's about ensuring that the people can understand their rights, access health care, enroll their children in school, secure housing, and find employment with dignity.

The current approach is not working.

It is easier to approve French because it's viewed as a convenient solution for French, it's not the first language for many African immigrants.

A person who speaks PULAT is not automatically fluent in French.

I understand that public funding cannot be awarded based on race.

However, the city can invest in organizations with demonstrated expertise serving communities that speak Pular, Wolof, Soninke, Bambara, and other underrepresented African languages.

These organizations already have trust relationships and cultural knowledge necessary to receive reach communities that government systems continue to miss.

We also need dedicated workforce development funding.

Too often immigrant workforce programs are designed around communities that already have significant infrastructure and language support, while black immigrant communities remain underserved.

We need workforce training, licensing assistance, job placement, and career pathways that are accessible in language our communities actually speak.

I also want to address halal food access.

Halal is not an ethnicity, halal is a religious requirement.

Too often conversations about halal food contract erase the presence of black Muslims, despite that black Muslims have been part of New York City for generations.

Black Muslims include African Americans who have families been here for centuries as well.

I also want to raise an issue about DYCD, about 21-year-olds.

So once they're in the shelter system and they age out, they're being kicked out into the street with no services.

It's unfair.

And lastly, I want to say I will continue to raise these issues until there's committed dollars to black immigrant-led orgs.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Alla Shigalova, and I'm the assistant vice president of resettlement and integration services at Common Point, New York.

My testimony today is in support of the new New York City Immigrant Settlement Initiative, NICERI.

Thank you for this opportunity.

NYCERI is an initiative of a coalition of five established immigrant serving and refugee resettlement organizations.

Catholic charities, community services, church world service, Kamba, Common Point, and the International Rescue Committee.

The coalition is collectively seeking $5 million, $1 million for each of the five coalition members to respond to the urgent and evolving needs of at least 4,000 immigrant New Yorkers in a coordinated citywide immigrant resettlement effort.

NICERI is designed to bring resettlement informed case management and other services, not just to refugees but to all immigrants.

Asylum seekers, humanitarian parolees, undocumented immigrants, and mixed status families.

It includes populations that are often unable to access traditional resettlement programs and public benefits.

NYCERI focuses on meeting urgent stabilization needs while also supporting integration and self-sufficiency through comprehensive assessment intake cultural orientation, family strengthening, individualized economic mobility planning, and form and employ formal employment services for those authorized to work.

We commend the city council for supporting immigration legal services at a time of unprecedented changes in immigration policies and increased enforcement.

And want to highlight the importance of wrap around social services that will allow immigrants to focus on their legal challenges while NICERI addresses their basic needs, such as access to food, housing, medical care, and other important needs.

It is a critical and simultaneously opportune time to support the NICERI initiative, while the coalition member organizations still have highly experienced linguistically and culturally competent staff, many with lived immigrant or refugee experience like myself.

In light of massive federal funding cards without NICE, this invaluable resource may be lost.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

It's working, okay.

Good afternoon, Chairley and members of the committee.

Um, thank you so much for inviting our testimony today.

My name is Margaret Martin.

I am a co-director of immigrant and refugee services at Catholic Charities Community Services.

I'm joined by my fellow co-director who will also be testifying.

Um first, I want to thank the city council for its investments in New York's immigrant communities.

Across our programs at Catholic Charities, we serve tens of thousands of New York cities immigrants every year, and the increased investment last year has been critical to our ability to continue providing those services.

We have submitted written testimony detailing a number of discretionary requests to city council.

I'm going to highlight just some of those today regarding immigration legal services.

So first, we have submitted together with coalition members a request for sustained and increased eye care funding through the UMFI initiative funded by City Council.

City Council increased the funding significantly last year.

For Catholic charities, it was almost $3.7 million.

We are requesting this year for Catholic charities alone 3.725, and our other six coalition members, as well as the separate ICARE nonprofit, have their own requests.

Together, the coalition members work diligently to serve as many children, both unaccompanied and with families in New York City as we possibly can.

And just to give you some sense of what this funding has achieved, as a federal contractor to serve unaccompanied children, we risked, we were at risk of orphaning hundreds of cases last year when the federal funding became so unstable and we lost a lot of it.

Because of New York City Council, we were able to keep all of those cases.

We are representing those children today, and we continue to accept new cases, which is particularly critical at this time when immigration judges are ordering children removed, even when they have approved SIG before USCIS.

And we would we are filing appeals for those children.

Without us to represent them, they would have removal orders and they would be subject to deportation.

And I refer you to our written testimony for my other discretionary requests.

Thank you so much for your support.

Good afternoon, Charlie and members of the committee.

I'm Kelly Agnu Barajas.

I'm the other co-director of our immigrant and refugee services at Catholic Charities.

Thank you for your commitment and for this hearing today.

We've at Catholic Charities have been working to serve immigrant New Yorkers for over 75 years with access to legal services, resettlement support, workforce programs, critical resources that promote stability, safety, and self-sufficiency.

We're grateful for your support.

As the need for services continues to grow, the city turns to nonprofit providers to provide these critical supports.

We urge the council to invest not only in immigrant communities, but also to think about the infrastructure that nonprofits need to make these services possible.

It's critical to adjust funding levels to keep pace with rising costs.

And in particular, since Moya has to work with other city agencies to contract with our agency as well as all others, in particular, the indirect cost rate is capped at only 10%, putting us in a very challenging position to further subsidize the work of the city's investments.

In specific program areas, our council asked for continued investment in our adult literacy and workforce development areas.

So more than 2.2 million adults in New York City have limited English proficiency.

But according to NICAL, only two to three percent have access to the classes that they want to take.

So maintaining support for adult literacy initiative and adult literacy forward is critical.

In addition, Catholic charities request five million, as my colleague Ala with Common Point New York explained for our New York City immigrant resettlement initiative, NICERI.

This is a collaborative effort among the city's five resettlement agencies to serve 4,000 vulnerable immigrants with social services, employment services, and lastly, our day labor workforce initiative request 4.97 million across our coalition to continue our important work with worker safety, safety training, outreach, and worker protections at a time that our immigrant enforcement is making folks feel as vulnerable and exposed as ever.

So thank you very much.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chair and members of the council for the opportunity to testify.

My name is Justin Wood.

I'm the Director of Policy at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, or NILPI.

As you know, New York's immigrant communities, disability community, community-based nonprofit organizations, and environmental justice communities have been under huge strain in the past year.

We have a federal administration that has marginalized all of these groups with political attacks, revocation of funding, and other hostile tactics intended to chill advocacy and cut services to people in need.

We are therefore very grateful for the council's support of our and our colleagues' work on immigrant health, on nonprofit defense, on mental health peer support, and other initiatives, and we respectfully request enhancements of these initiatives in the next fiscal year.

We share your deep concern that life-saving services and infrastructure are under threat from federal cuts to Medicaid, education, renewable energy programs, and infrastructure, all enacted in HR 1 of 2025.

In that spirit, we'll submit a written uh statement with a number of substantive budget priorities grouped by city council committee, and I'll just read off 10 of them now.

These recommendations include fully funding the New York City Commission on Human Rights, number two, strengthening special education services and investing in staffing and support for students with disabilities.

Third, fully funding home resiliency and sewer infrastructure upgrades in disadvantaged flood-prone communities.

Fourth, ensuring that DCAS can create a detailed plan for the redevelopment of Rikers Island for sustainability and resiliency purposes.

Fifth, expanding the city's successful energy demand response program.

It's also a DCAS recommendation.

Six, ensuring the city can electrify public and publicly contracted fleets and meet the mandates of local law 140 of 2023.

Just four more.

Seventh is transforming mental health crisis response, and we think major improvements are needed to the Beherd program.

Continuing citywide implementation of the commercial waste zone system, this is sanitation and launching a pilot program to accept commercial waste at city owned facilities, the marine transfer stations.

And then finally, extending the Fair Fares program to include accessoried users over the age of 65 and restoring the accessible dispatch program at the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Thank you.

All very good recommendations.

And yes, I think for the most part on the council, as you all know, and thanks to your advocacy, these are many of the issues that we're trying to fight for.

New York City benefits, we know is a huge one that is going to potentially cause a lot of issues with the services that our community receives and that you all provide, right?

Pay parity, the indirect cost rates, all of the things.

Legal services is also top of mind, and the roundtable conversations have been super helpful.

And so I just want to again say thank you all for the work you do on the ground as well as your advocacy.

I don't know if any council members have questions.

Okay.

But thank you all so much.

Thank you.

Okay.

And next up we have Sol Simbana, Prakar Verma, Michael Stacey, Harman Carr, Shirley Pennifiel, Ali Goldfarb, and Felix Emerson Simpson.

Oh, wait, no, I think they won already.

Yeah.

I love it when our youth speak and come and testify.

So thank you all.

Okay, do you want to start first?

Go ahead.

Hi, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Ali Goldfarb, and I am the Trails Program Manager for Trust for Public Land in New York.

Trust for Public Land's mission is to connect people to nature, ensuring that everyone, regardless of zip code, has access to the outdoors.

Across New York City, we work to expand access to parks, trails, and green space, particularly in neighborhoods that have historically lacked this critical infrastructure.

We transform asphalt schoolyards into neighborhood parks, repurpose underutilized land, and conserve land, like in Staten Island when we protected Pouch Camp.

Today I want to thank the City of New York for its continued commitment to advancing the Queensway, particularly the first section of the project, the Metropolitan Hub.

The planned groundbreaking of the Met Hub represents a major milestone after years of planning, advocacy, and community engagement.

We are grateful to the city, New York City Parks, NYC EDC, elected officials, and community partners for their leadership in moving this transformative project toward construction.

Once complete, the MetHub will provide new opportunities for recreation, outdoor learning, active transportation, and community gathering while serving as the first tangible step toward the larger vision of the Queensway.

A three and a half mile linear park and trail connecting neighborhoods in Queens.

For many residents, especially in communities with limited access to parks and open space, this investment will create safer connections to nature, recreation, and local businesses.

At Trust for Public Land, we remain deeply committed to engaging communities along the corridor.

Community input shaped the original Queensway plan through hundreds of stakeholder meetings, and that commitment continues today through public tours, cleanups, school programs, volunteer events, and partnerships with local organizations.

As the project moves forward, we will continue working to ensure residents are informed, involved, and have meaningful opportunities to help shape the future of the Queensway.

While we celebrate the progress of the MetHub, we also encourage the city to continue advancing future sections of the Queensway.

Completing additional phases will improve access to Forest Park, strengthen connections between neighborhoods, and bring the full benefits of the project to hundreds of thousands of Queens residents.

Thank you again for your leadership and investment in the Queensway.

Hello, Chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Prakar Verma, and I am a student at Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in Forest Hill, Queens.

I wanted to thank the City of New York for supporting the Queensway project, which will benefit my school and my community.

This Queensway will change the underutilized corridor of the abandoned rail line into a fun and fully accessible public space.

The public space will advance environmental sustainability, strengthen community ties through meeting, and preserve biodiversity by revitalizing native plant species.

Through conversations with stakeholders and case studies in my classes and research, I have learned the importance of civic participation in how quality planning, environmental shift, and community involvement can create positive impacts on the lives of future generations for years to come.

Our ecosystem will thrive and that will spread awareness.

We can also engage in activities such as gardening and taking long walks, which is one of my personal favorite hobbies.

The cool thing is that the Metropolitan Expeditionary Campus is connected right to the Queensway.

So students wouldn't need permission slips to enter.

So this means that we can create advancements in education, such as creating outdoor classes and, you know, creating fieldworks, and this creates a huge benefit and allow students to have more opportunities.

I'm super excited for the Queensway as I will finally have a park that is near my house and have an efficient way to meet up with my best friend who lives farther away and have a safer way to get to school.

At the same time, it will also reduce the traffic that leads to a substantial amount of pollution, creating a safer environment and a breath of fresh air.

Thank you, New York City for its commitment to build the first section of the Queensway, the Metropolitan Hub.

I look forward to continuing city investment sections at Queensway to create more safe, accessible green space for all to use.

Thank you for listening to my testimony.

Thank you for giving me the chance to speak today.

My name is Michael Sasi, and I'm a student at Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in Forest Hills.

I'm here today to share why the Queensway is important to me, my school, and my community.

My school is located right next to where the first section of the Queensway, the Metro Hub is being built.

So this project is important to me and many other students.

Right now, there are three and a half miles of abandoned railway that are not being used.

The Queensway would turn the space into something that students, families, and community members can enjoy every day.

It would create a place where people can walk, run, bike, and spend time outdoors.

As a track athlete, I know how important it is to have a safe place to train and stay active.

The Queensway would give students like me a safe, car-free place to run outside of school practices.

It could be used for training, recovery runs, walking, or just staying active on weekends and during school breaks.

Not every student has access to athletic facilities outside of school, so having a free public space where anyone can exercise would make a big difference.

Running is also about more than just fitness.

It helps people manage stress and clear their minds.

Having more green spaces near our school would give students a place to relax, enjoy nature, and take break from the pressures of school.

It could also bring the community together through events, fitness programs, and activities for people of all ages.

I appreciate the city's investment in building the first phase of the Queensway, the Metro Hub.

I believe the Queensway will make our community healthier, greener, and more connected.

I respectfully ask the count the city council to continue supporting funding for this project.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Harman Korr, and I am a student at MELS.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

Last week I co-hosted a town hall at my school where panelists talked about the impact that the Queensway could have on the community, showing my peers what the abandoned railway track could turn into.

A great park.

As a student and community member, I care about having safe and welcoming spaces where people can walk, exercise, and socialize with one another.

My classmates said that they were excited about a place where they can hang out, meet people, and play sports.

In my neighborhood, there are not enough green spaces where families or students can safely enjoy the outdoors.

If we have access to parks and walking paths, it can support our physical health and our mental well-being.

This can also strengthen community connections.

I love to go for walks while listening to music or going for walks with my friends to admire flowers or to bond.

These activities make me feel super calm and peaceful.

And when you see other people doing the same thing, it proves they're not alone.

The Queensway could also provide possible opportunities for learning, volunteering, exercise, and to explore new hobbies.

Funding is important because it will help turn this vision into a reality for future generations.

I politely ask our leader city leaders to support funding for the Queensway project.

Thank you for your time.

Hello, Chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Sel Sambana, and I'm a student of Mells in Forest Hill, Queens.

I am here to thank the City of New York for their support of the Queensway, a project that will directly benefit my school and my community.

I think Queensway is important because of health benefits, giving people a place to socialize, walk, and play sports.

Also important are the environmental benefits for plants and wildlife.

Supporting biodiversity.

I am excited about Queensway because students and other community members can socialize, connect, and share ideas.

Also, to add on, it will be a safe path for MEL students and other of Metro Queens Metropolitan to safer way to get to school.

I would like to thank New York City for building the first section of the Queen's Way.

Thank you for listening to my testimony.

Hello, chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Shirley Penelph, and I am a student of Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in Fortis Hills, Queens.

I am here today to thank the city of New York for their support in the Queen's Way, a project that will directly benefit my school and my community.

I think the Queensway is important because as a student, I the amount of work I get is stressful.

But whenever I feel overwhelmed, I go to a park, seeing the birds and flowers and spending time with my friends and family there decrease my stress because for a couple hours I forget about it.

I am excited about the Queensway because it's going to be a place where me and my friends, family, and people I care about can spend time together.

This park can help me stay active in the outdoors instead of being inside in my phone all day.

It will also bring joy to our community by providing a place where families and friends and neighbors can come together to have a fun time together.

I would like to thank the city the New York City for the for its commitment to build the first section of the Queensway, the Metropolitan Hub.

I hope the city will continue investing in future sections so that even more people can benefit from safe, accessible green space.

Thank you for listening to my testimony.

Thank you all so much.

Sorry, I'm using the wireless mic because my back hurts.

I need to stand.

But thank you all so much for taking time out, especially from your school day, and thank you so much.

We love Trust for Public Land and all the work that you guys do to improve our schools and playgrounds and public spaces.

So thank you all so much for your advocacy and this is what it means to participate and have a civic.

Oh, I didn't really.

There you are.

Go ahead, Councilmember Burke.

I have a question, which is that we have a bill that passed that says a lot of the school playgrounds that are closed should be open summer and weekends.

Do you think that's a good idea?

Some of them are already.

We just want more.

So I want to hear what you have to say.

Don't be shy.

Um that sounds really good.

But the reason, the reason why we are here is for Queens Way.

And I feel like Queensway is a way better because people in our school already know about this project, and we're here to advocate so we could get this project done.

Well, we have the project already, like section already, like some, but I think it would be really good if we the as you, the city, as you guys to continue uh building it because I think this will be very beneficial for the school and the community.

So even though there are other parks and other places, like for the summer and the school, I think this place will also the Queensway will be very beneficial for our school.

Great.

Awesome.

Okay, thank you all so much for coming in to testify.

Yay.

Okay, great.

So next panel.

We have Tito Delgado, Grace Lord, Chloe Jacobs, Diego Figueroa.

Oh, sorry, Figaroa.

Uh Lydia Andre.

And Metin Sari.

Oh, Sandy also, Sandy Rayburn.

You have one of my former interns testifying.

I just want to let you know.

Nice.

I feel like everyone's your former intern.

Perfect.

So I'm just gonna say again, Tito Delgado, Grace Lord, Chloe Jacobs, Diego Figueroa, Lydia Andre, Meton Sari, and Sandy Rayburn.

Right?

Perfect.

Yes, go ahead.

Hi.

I'm here as a long-term resident of Chelsea, a member of the Chelsea Public Housing Coalition, and a taxpayer who expects accountability and transparency from city government, as I'm sure we all do.

I'm also here to ask the city council to reallocate the 1.5 billion dollars in the executive budget that is currently going to HPD to fund Rad Pack privatization of public housing and to change that and instead put it into Section 9 housing and to NYCHA for comprehensive renovation and to immediately improve the lives of Section 9 tenants who have been waiting years for safe, decent the safe, decent housing they deserve.

This administration sees RAD PACT as a solution to the deferred maintenance that NYCHA residents have suffered.