TESTIMONY
Sienna Fontaine from Make the Road New York on Opposing Budget Cuts to Essential Services
6:39:55
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153 sec
Sienna Fontaine, General Counsel at Make the Road New York, testifies against the proposed budget cuts to essential services impacting immigrant and working-class communities.
- Fontaine presents the broad reach of Make the Road New York, serving almost 27,000 members with legal, health, and educational services.
- She urges the council to reverse proposed budget cuts to vital services, highlighting the negative consequences on communities.
- Specific areas of concern include cuts to immigration legal services, education funding, health access services, and the budget for school nurses.
- Fontaine calls for investment in community services rather than implementing damaging cuts during a critical moment in the city's history.
Sienna Fontaine
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Good afternoon.
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Chip Brennan and the Steen Finance Committee.
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My name is Sienna Fontaine.
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I'm the general counsel and former legal director at Macthe Road, New York.
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Macthe Road, New York as a membership organization.
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With almost 27,000 members, and we serve about 30,000 immigrant and working class New Yorkers a year with our legal health and educational services.
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And our community centers provide a welcome space for those looking for support and connection in many aspects of their lives.
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We ask the council to use every available tool to meet this critical moment in our city's history and reverse the mayor sweeping short sighted proposed budget cuts to vital services that would have a lasting damaging impact on the communities that we serve and their ability to thrive.
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Amid historic housing, shelter, cost of living crises.
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We need to invest in communities and not make the short sighted cuts that hurt the most vulnerable among us.
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We've identified 4 important examples.
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First, the cuts that threaten legal services, especially immigration legal services as we heard a little bit about earlier.
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For example, our rapid response, legal collaborative, which fills a critical gap helping individuals who are literally on the verge of deportation.
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The city's asylum navigation centers are sending increased referrals in recent months.
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While proposed cuts to this program are on the table, these cuts would do irreversible harm to our to our communities who are looking to stay and to build with their communities.
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2nd, education cuts.
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Of 1,000,000,000 over 2 years, coupled with the loss of federal funds for school nurses and more will absolutely devastate our youth and their potential.
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This is unacceptable while the city continues overspending unschooled police and the NYPD's bloated budget.
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Third, we asked that the council worked with DYCD to baseline 21,700,000 in the preliminary budget for fiscal year 25.
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And amend the new So I would just say RFP, ensuring those funds are included in the RFP.
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And then lastly, cuts to to the Department of Health And Mental Hygiene And Health And Hospitals threatened to help health access services, which thousands rely on to meet their basic needs.
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We have a a a list of kind of individual requests that will detail in our written testimony.
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But again, wanna reiterate that this is a time for for critical investments, not major cuts.
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So thanks so much for your time.