Q&A
Legal assistance program for community-based organizations
1:41:02
ยท
164 sec
Council Member Feliz inquires about the legal assistance program for community-based organizations. Commissioner Gross provides details on the program's scope, funding, and services.
- The program is for community-based nonprofits, not directly for small businesses
- It has a budget of about $50,000 per year, managed by the Lawyers Alliance
- The program served about 60 nonprofits last year
- Services include brief telephone consultations and deeper reviews of policies and manuals
Oswald Feliz
1:41:02
So, you know, wanna make sure we hear from the chambers of commerce and the bids and the other small businesses that are, giving us testimony today, so I'll shorten up the list of questions.
1:41:11
Briefly, the legal assistance program, that we have with the Lawyers Alliance for New York.
1:41:16
How much funding is available for that program?
1:41:19
How many c CBOs have engaged?
1:41:21
What's outreach like?
1:41:23
Who's responsible for handling the neighborhoods at sbsnyc dot gov email, which is attached to the program?
1:41:30
And, also, what are the types of, legal assistance provided?
Dynishal Gross
1:41:34
So I believe you're referring to a legal assistance program that's offered to community based nonprofits, not small businesses.
1:41:43
So,
Oswald Feliz
1:41:44
you
Dynishal Gross
1:41:44
know, this is our neighborhood development division, and their core strategy is to work with the neighborhood and commercial district focused nonprofit entities that help to create vibing, thriving, vibrant, thriving commercial districts.
1:41:58
So we provide this program to help those CBOs, be sure that they've they're operating in compliance, that they're they're acting appropriately in their role as employee employers, that they have access to legal consultation so that they can work effectively as partners with the city and achieve their missions.
1:42:20
So that program is not directly for small business.
1:42:23
It's kind of for these small business intermediaries, and it's a small program.
1:42:27
I think the contract is something like less than $50,000 a year.
Oswald Feliz
1:42:33
What's the total funding for that program?
Dynishal Gross
1:42:35
That's it.
1:42:37
$50,000.
1:42:37
That's it.
1:42:37
Yes.
1:42:40
And so those nonprofits can, you know, they can have a brief telephone consultation with the legal services provider, or they can have, like, a deeper review, say, of, you know, manuals or policies to see if they're in compliance.
Amanda Farias
1:42:55
Is that head count one person?
1:42:58
Say again?
1:42:58
The head count?
1:42:59
What's the 50 k?
1:43:00
Is it just the program, or is it just for one
Dynishal Gross
1:43:02
person there?
1:43:03
That is not RPS.
1:43:04
It's, managed within our neighborhood development division.
1:43:07
You know, staff oversee that program and other citywide programs to support CBOs.
1:43:14
The $45,000 goes to the Lawyers Alliance for them to provide that service to nonprofits.
1:43:20
And I think last year, we served about, 60 little little more than 60 nonprofits through the through the service.
1:43:29
Sixty non yes.
1:43:30
60 nonprofits.
1:43:32
So it's not nearly the scale of CLA, and it's also not small business clients.
1:43:38
We think it's important.
1:43:40
The nonprofits, you know, think it's important, and we're glad we can offer it, but it is a smaller program.