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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Reverend Terry Troia, President and CEO of Project Hospitality
3:56:44
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Reverend Terry Troia, President and CEO of Project Hospitality in Staten Island, testifies about severe financial challenges faced by her organization due to delayed payments from New York City for shelter services. Despite recent improvements, the organization still faces significant debt and is struggling to meet financial obligations.
- Project Hospitality is owed $4.5 million, down from $16.2 million in May 2024
- The organization has taken out large lines of credit and is paying substantial interest
- Troia calls for City Council to analyze and legislate solutions for the late payment situation, including city responsibility for interest payments
Reverend Terry Troia
3:56:44
Good afternoon.
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My name is the Reverend Terry Troia.
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I'm president and CEO of Project Hospitality in Staten Island.
3:56:50
In September of twenty twenty two, we took on two new family shelters on Staten Island, and after an initial advance of two months in each shelter, we saw no additional funding until a few months ago, more than two years.
3:57:03
We carried these almost two years.
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We carried these shelters and an additional family shelter for nearly two years without reimbursement.
3:57:11
In May of twenty twenty four, New York City owed us $16,200,000 for services rendered.
3:57:18
I met with Deputy Mayor Williams Isom, who directed us to meet ongoing with Mr.
3:57:22
Vincent Polo, CFO of Department of Social Services.
3:57:26
These meetings have been ongoing weekly since May of twenty twenty four.
3:57:30
Mr.
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Pulo has been incredibly gracious and his staff incredibly helpful, and nine months later, we are now owed only $4,500,000 We are grateful for the intervention of both the deputy mayor and Mr.
3:57:43
Pulo.
3:57:44
But that said, the impact of living through two years of very late payments and no payments at all, particularly for the new family shelters we opened on Staten Island, have had a profound effect on our agency.
3:57:55
We can't pay our bills.
3:57:56
We have huge bills, and our budget is about $50,000,000 and most of that is city contract dollars.
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We've taken and used $7,000,000 in a line of credit.
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We're applying now for a $10,000,000 line of credit.
3:58:07
We spent $50,000 in loan interest for 2024, and we expect to pay a minimum of $100,000 interest by the June this year.
3:58:15
What happens when we can't pay payroll, and how much loan money can we take out before we're denied loans, and then what happens?
3:58:22
We need for the city council to do a comprehensive analysis of the situation of late payments and for the city council to implement legislation to correct the late payment situation and take on the responsibility of paying interest rates on these loans that nonprofits have to bear in order to keep our doors open.
3:58:38
Thank you for understanding this grave situation that impacts our ability to save lives and serve homeless people in the borough of Staten Island.