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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tricia Mullen, Director of Lehman College Adult Learning Center
5:30:12
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Tricia Mullen, Director of Lehman College Adult Learning Center, testified about the critical need for increased funding for adult literacy programs in New York City. She urged the administration to double the baseline funding for adult literacy from $12 million to $24 million and maintain additional funding for related initiatives.
- Warned about potential loss of $24 million in federal adult literacy funding, which could severely impact underfunded DYCD providers
- Highlighted the importance of adult literacy programs in addressing social, economic, and political inequity
- Expressed concern about delayed reimbursements and the potential crisis for constituents if funding is lost or delayed
Tricia Mullen
5:30:12
Good afternoon, chair Stevens and other council members in attendance.
5:30:16
I my name is Tricia Mullen, and I'm the director of the Lehman College Adult Learning Center.
5:30:21
Each year, we serve 1,000 of your constituents and employ twelve five full time and 25 part time New York City residents who are also your constituents.
5:30:35
As a member of NICAL, I implore the administration to double its baseline funding for adult literacy from 12,000,000 to 24,000,000 restoring last year's cuts and maintain the 16,500,000 for the adult literacy pilot and the adult literacy initiative.
5:30:53
I my center is not a beneficiary of those contracts, but I'm here as the canary in the coal mine because of the 24,000,000 of federal adult literacy funding that comes to New York City, my center receives 1,000,000.
5:31:08
It is very likely that we will not get that million, or if we get that million, I won't be able to run my programs this year because the money will be so late in the chaos.
5:31:21
So I'm here to just say that I was there in The Bronx 4 Years ago when Lehman adult literacy programs were created.
5:31:31
They were created by social workers to address the social, economic, and political inequity.
5:31:36
If our center, excuse me, if our center is not funded, the extreme impact of the likely loss of federal adult literacy funds that will fall on underfunded DYC providers who serve our under educated and unemployed New York City residents will once again be in crisis.
5:31:57
These are underfunded city services as we talked about today.
5:32:02
They're very often there are delays in their reimbursements.
5:32:08
I lose my million, I'm very likely to lose my million, there certainly will be delayed.
5:32:13
That's gonna cause constituents to suffer.