Q&A
Preliminary recommendations and investments based on community feedback
0:37:07
ยท
8 min
Council Member Williams asks about preliminary recommendations and investments made based on community feedback from workshops. Commissioner Sherman provides examples of initiatives implemented in response to community input.
- Workshops focused on specific issue areas and potential programmatic solutions
- Examples of investments include:
- Career track apprenticeship training for NYCHA residents
- Expansion of entrepreneurship program for Bronx residents
- Asset-building program to help residents save money
- MOERJ allocated nearly $1 million to NYCHA for these Bronx-based programs
- Efforts are made to align community recommendations with existing agency programs and initiatives
Nantasha M. Williams
0:37:07
Thank you.
0:37:08
Can you please share any preliminary recommendations that MOERJ has made to relevant agencies based based on information and feedback gathered from workshops, did any directives accompany these recommendations and or will agencies be required to report in any way on these preliminary recommendations?
Sideya Sherman
0:37:27
This is with respect to the Bronx engagement process?
0:37:30
Yeah.
0:37:31
Okay, sure.
0:37:31
So and just to give a big picture, those workshops were really focused on specific issue areas and then potentials programmatic solutions.
0:37:41
And so some of the recommendations that resonated for instance included I'm sorry councilmember, oh so some of the recommendations that resonated for instance in our workshops included interest in entrepreneurship programs, people wanting opportunities to build assets for instance, so that's why I shared some of the early programs that we were more immediately able to invest in right after workshop discussions were some of the investments in NYCHA, right, so which has obviously a deep concentration in The Bronx.
0:38:15
So there's new career track apprenticeship training rolling out, there is an expansion of an entrepreneurship program focused on Bronx residents in the borough, and we're also working to expand an asset building program that the agency has.
0:38:30
That's just one example, but where there are recommendations that align with existing agency programs or initiatives, we've worked to be able to resource those to the extent that we can.
0:38:40
And then certainly look to go back to the community to figure out how we lift some of the bigger ideas.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:38:46
Okay, just like another follow-up question on like capacity.
0:38:51
I mean obviously I'm sure if you had all the money in the world and all the staff in the world, you can do all the things, but is there some thinking or you know strategic future, strategic planning around like how to scale into other areas?
0:39:05
Like is there thinking around that or is this like not really a thought because you don't have the resources to do it?
0:39:11
I'm just wondering internally is there some thought being put behind how can you enter into other communities that might fit the same level of priority?
Sideya Sherman
0:39:23
Absolutely, so I mean there's there are ways in which again as we continue to work with the task force and reconvene our efforts, there's ways in which we could replicate that process in other communities, but that can you really leverage a lot from what the city is already doing.
0:39:42
So in the example that I shared, our partners have been HPD and CCHR who also have a strong community engagement team and presence, right.
0:39:49
And so there's ways that we can scale this work leveraging our agency partners, right.
0:39:54
We assess our needs every year and so as if we see that there are needs down the line for tree to continue to grow its work, absolutely you know we'll try to advocate for those, but there's also a lot of leverage because it's a task force by nature and so it does require that agencies are also bringing their resources to bear in the work.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:40:15
So that said, are there any thoughts to dismantle Tree?
Sideya Sherman
0:40:21
Absolutely not.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:40:22
I'm like I don't under I don't know.
0:40:24
So Like what what are you guys actually doing?
Sideya Sherman
0:40:26
Yeah.
0:40:27
So absolutely not.
0:40:28
I would, you know, Tree is different from the the long term planning work that we're doing, right.
0:40:35
It is bringing together city agencies to focus on the issue area, right, engaging community as we have, and then moving forward with solutions.
0:40:44
So the examples that I shared with the programs that we invested in in the last budget, right, that is a result of that work and that is typically how tree has worked in the past.
0:40:53
Bringing people together around issue areas or around a specific community and bringing agencies together just to deploy solutions.
0:41:02
And so that work is critical.
0:41:04
I would also add that the work on the ground through tree which is happening through the community based coalitions is also critical and we not only do we support that work, right, it is the infrastructure that is necessary to ensure that communities are able to really effectively engage with government.
0:41:24
That work came out of the task force, it's a result of tree, right, and it's unique in the sense that the city is actually really funding groups to come together, right, which is not typical with the way in which the city funds work.
0:41:38
We're funding groups to come together to build their capacity to operate as coalitions and that's really, really important work in terms of ensuring that communities have the networks that they need to engage with the city effectively.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:41:51
Is that information public like this community coalition that you have in the Yeah sure.
0:41:57
So like I could go on the website and see.
Sideya Sherman
0:42:00
Yeah we can send you the list of coalition members as well as I mean we've had releases and other information about the networks as well.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:42:09
Okay, so you said the issue area was like primarily around entrepreneurship and asset?
Sideya Sherman
0:42:16
What I'm saying is that's just one issue area that came up in I'm giving an example of an issue area that came up in one of our community workshops that we by virtue of having that right, we're able to more immediately respond to within the budget.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:42:29
So can you give me some more details on like what you actually did?
0:42:32
So like oh we want to do entrepreneurship, so then what did you do?
0:42:36
Sure,
Sideya Sherman
0:42:37
so in the example that I shared our office invested a million dollars, near a million dollars in Bronx based programs focused on public housing residents.
0:42:46
There are three programs, one will provide career apprenticeship training with access to unions for residents in the borough.
0:42:54
Another program will support NYCHA residents who are food based entrepreneurs in the borough to really be able to grow and scale their business and also obtain the licensing that they need to do their work.
0:43:04
And another program will support expansion of the family self sufficiency program which allows residents to sort of use their as they increase their assets due to participation in the program, as they increase their income due to participation in the program.
0:43:19
The difference between their old rent and their new rent is saved in an escrow account that they then are able to sort of cash out when they reach their goals.
0:43:26
And so the funding that we're providing is to provide the technical assistance to increase the number of residents who have at least 10,000 in assets through the program.
0:43:35
So those are just three examples of programs that sort of came at program expansions right that came out of those community sessions.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:43:45
And you're gonna send me a list of it.
0:43:46
So the the organ the community coalition organizations are the organizations that receive this $1,000,000 or was there a specific organization?
0:43:55
Is that money being allocated to an agency who's actually doing the work?
Sideya Sherman
0:43:59
So we allocate that, so sorry let me just separate the two.
0:44:02
So there's funding that we allocate for the community coalitions that goes to the civic engagement Commission, which then works with the coalitions.
0:44:08
The funding that I referenced in respect to those programs is funding that we allocated to the housing authority to then write subcontract out or directly manage those three programs that I those three program examples.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:44:24
Okay, how much other money have you allocated?
0:44:28
So there's one for I guess like just the building of the coalition and then you gave one example of like a tangible thing that came out of a workshop like okay here's a million dollars to talk about self sufficiency, jobs, helping you support your businesses.
0:44:42
Are there any other initiatives or money that has been allocated to things that have come out of the workshops?
Sideya Sherman
0:44:47
At this time, no, right.
0:44:49
So those are some of the early examples.
0:44:51
Our goal is to go back to the community with all the recommendations that we have and be able to move forward with bigger resource allocations.
0:44:59
As I mentioned though, they're also and as we release the plan, there are agencies that are also prioritizing certain tree neighborhoods, right, certain geographic areas that are consistent with many of the recommendations that we heard.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:45:16
Okay, so this was the duplicity you mentioned.
0:45:19
So as you build out the racial equity plan, some stuff that you might have learned might be addressed through the racial equity planning process.
Sideya Sherman
0:45:26
And there's alignment, yes, so the goals also have alignment.