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Q&A
FEMA funding for food contracts in NYC shelters
0:57:10
ยท
3 min
Council Member Julie Won inquires about FEMA funding for food contracts in NYC shelters, particularly focusing on contracts with Riviera and Whitsons. The discussion covers the potential loss of FEMA funding and its impact on existing contracts.
- Contracts were written to allow for FEMA funding, but there is no additional budgeted FEMA money in DHS food budgets going forward
- The city is seeking reimbursement for all eligible FEMA funding
- The contracts are not being reduced due to the loss of FEMA dollars
Julie Won
0:57:10
It's great that we sued, but I have a question.
0:57:17
Because in two large DHS food contracts that my team reviewed, both for Riviera, EPIN, we could give you EPIN number, for 32775704, and it was modified to an additional $10,000,787,804,000, and also for WITSONS for 57,000,000 about, and we could give you the e pin number for that as well.
0:57:43
The contract states that they are part they are in partially or fully funded by FEMA.
0:57:48
So is that the full do you believe that's the FEMA ESG grant or is that the FEMA funds of the 80,000,000 that people have been asking about?
0:57:57
And both contracts end in 2026 and since sanctuary shelters have closed or are slated to close, will the city still recuperate this funding or because it was a multi year contract, do you believe that it'll just be net neutral or at a low cost of losing money from this federal funding?
Jill Berry
0:58:14
So the contracts were written that way to allow for the ability to receive FEMA funding to make sure that they included the proper language.
0:58:26
That we are now potentially losing, but but there is not additional budgeted FEMA money in the DHS food budgets going forward.
Julie Won
0:58:38
Well, my question is for the way that the contract is written where it says partially or fully funded by FEMA, is that in reference to the FEMA funding of the 80,000,000 that has been recouped by the federal government?
0:58:50
So it is fully from that contract.
0:58:52
So were we expecting to get money from them to pay for our food contracts partially or fully?
Jill Berry
0:58:59
Partially.
0:59:00
The the all of our emergency contracts and those contracts that were serving emergency shelters such as the direct food contracts, Witsons, Riviera, and Dahl, all had language added to their contracts to allow us to at least least potentially reimburse the funding for those contracts using FEMA dollars.
0:59:29
They're not being reduced for the loss of FEMA dollars.
Julie Won
0:59:33
Okay.
0:59:34
And for the FEMA dollars, is that a reimbursement process as well?
0:59:38
Yes.
Jill Berry
0:59:38
These were this is all about the reimbursement process.
Julie Won
0:59:42
And this means that those reimbursements are no longer an option for the city government for the food?
Janet Jackson
0:59:47
I'm sorry.
0:59:48
So that
Julie Won
0:59:48
means that we will no longer be able to apply for reimbursement for the first year in which the contract was received or we have to pay out using the FEMA dollars?
Jill Berry
0:59:58
We are going to we are seeking all anything that is eligible for FEMA funding we are submitting and requesting reimbursement for.
1:00:08
We've done that in the past.
1:00:09
We've received FEMA funding and we will continue to do that into the future as long as FEMA funding is available and we are eligible for that funding.
1:00:19
We're gonna maximize that funding whenever we