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Council Member Crystal Hudson's opening remarks on NYC Department for the Aging's preliminary budget
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4 min
Council Member Crystal Hudson, chair of the committee on aging, delivers opening remarks for the hearing on the NYC Department for the Aging's fiscal 2026 preliminary budget. She highlights concerns about budget cuts, the department's small share of the city's overall budget, and the need for increased resources to serve the growing aging population.
- Hudson expresses worry over a $124 million decrease in DFTA's budget compared to the previous year, largely due to expired federal COVID-19 funding.
- She emphasizes the insufficient capital commitment plan of $78.4 million for FY2025-2029, given the large network of older adult centers and NORCs.
- The council member outlines key topics for discussion, including the impact of budget cuts, looming fiscal cliff, and key agency services such as case management and home-delivered meals.
Crystal Hudson
0:00:35
Thank you so much, and good morning.
0:00:37
My name is Crystal Hudson, and I serve as the chair of the committee on aging.
0:00:42
Welcome to the committee's hearing on the fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary budget for the New York City Department for the Aging, also known as NYC Aging.
0:00:50
Thank you to Commissioner Cortez Vazquez for joining us.
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We're also joined by council members Zhuang and Schulman.
0:00:57
Following testimony and questions with NYC Aging, we'll hear testimony from the public at approximately 12PM.
0:01:03
Thank you to those older adult advocates and community members who've joined us today.
0:01:07
I'll keep my comments here brief and request that the commissioner keep her oral testimony as brief as possible we can move on to the questions from council members.
0:01:15
Older adults and the older adult provider network have faced unprecedented challenges in the past few years due to the pandemic and budgetary constraints as well as inflation and the increased cost of living.
0:01:25
I look forward to working collaboratively with providers and the administration to help the city's 1,800,000 older adults overcome these challenges.
0:01:33
NYC Aging has a critical role to play in assessing and meeting the needs of older adults and collaborating with the provider network and the council to harness best practices and scale innovative approaches to best serve our city's elders.
0:01:45
NYC Aging's fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary budget is $426,200,000, which is concerningly $124,000,000 less than the fiscal twenty twenty five adopted budget.
0:01:58
Despite serving almost a fifth of the city's population, the NYC Agings budget continues to account for less than one half of 1% of the city's overall budget for yet another plan.
0:02:09
The preliminary plan includes one very small new need of just under $42,000 for costs related to the annual BOOM conference in fiscal twenty twenty five, but none for direct services and programs for older adults.
0:02:21
In the November and preliminary plans, there were no PEG restorations, leaving in effect several cuts made last year to NYC Aging's budget, $2,200,000 in fiscal twenty twenty six and $15,700,000 in fiscal twenty twenty seven and the out years for older adult centers.
0:02:37
These are concerning cuts at a time when NYC Aging needs greater resources to help it serve a growing aging population whose need for older adult centers and support services are increasing.
0:02:48
In addition to the impact of these PEGS, NYC Aging's budget in fiscal twenty twenty six approximately $124,000,000 less than it currently is for fiscal twenty twenty five.
0:02:59
A large contributor to this decline is expired federal COVID nineteen funding that has not been replaced in fiscal twenty twenty six with city funding.
0:03:07
The $124,000,000 includes $41,700,000 in council discretionary funding that is not yet included in the budget in fiscal twenty twenty six and the remaining $82,800,000 supported by various NYC aging programs, including older adult centers and naturally occurring retirement communities.
0:03:25
If this is not addressed in the executive plan, the fiscal cliff would severely impact older adult services and programs as well as NYC Aging's network of providers and future RFPs.
0:03:36
NYC Aging's capital commitment plan, the smallest in the city, totals $78,400,000 over fiscal twenty twenty five through 2029.
0:03:47
With over 300 older adult centers and NORCs now in the NYC Aging network, this funding is insufficient to properly address all of the infrastructure needs.
0:03:56
I believe the capital program should be enhanced to help refurbish centers, improve kitchens, and connect older adults to much needed technology and resources.
0:04:04
In the fiscal twenty twenty five preliminary budget response, the council on the administration to add $50,000,000 to NYC Aging's capital budget with $10,000,000 dedicated specifically to older adult centers that predominantly serve immigrant older adults.
0:04:18
But unfortunately, no additional funding has been added to fulfill the council's proposal.
0:04:22
In today's hearing, we would like to get a deeper understanding of NYC Aging's expense budget, its capital plan, the impact of last year's PEGS, the looming fiscal cliff in funding, and key agency services and programs, including case management, home delivered meals, and older adult center programs.
0:04:39
We would also like to delve into the metrics reported for NYC Aging in the fiscal twenty twenty five preliminary mayor's management report or PMMR.
0:04:47
I'd like to thank the committee staff who have helped prepare this hearing.
0:04:51
Samuel Hamid, financial analyst Julia Hiramis, unit head Christopher Pepe, senior legislative counsel Chloe Rivera, senior policy analyst and my chief of staff, Andrew Wright and dedicated staff.