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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jackie Del Valle, Representative from Take Root Justice and Stabilizing NYC Coalition
2:09:20
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Jackie Del Valle from Take Root Justice and the Stabilizing NYC Coalition testified about severe delays in contract registration and payment for nonprofit organizations, particularly those funded through the Stabilizing NYC initiative. She emphasized the urgent need for action to address the backlog of payments and improve the contracting process.
- None of the multiyear contracts for Stabilizing NYC have been registered for the current fiscal year, with some groups still waiting for payment from the previous year.
- Del Valle called for automatic 50% advances on contracts and solutions to address the root causes of payment delays.
- She highlighted issues with the Passport e-procurement system and expressed concern about potential funding cuts and a hostile federal administration.
Jackie Del Valle
2:09:20
My name is Jackie Davalle from Take Root Justice and the Stabilizing NYC Coalition or SMYC.
2:09:27
Thank you to chair Juan and your staff for your leadership.
2:09:31
Stabilizing NYC is a $3,700,000 city discretionary initiative funding 20 groups, and it's administered through HPD.
2:09:39
We combat tenant harassment and preserve affordable housing for New Yorkers who didn't at most.
2:09:44
As of today, late March twenty twenty five, none of the multiyear contracts have been registered with the start date of 07/01/2023.
2:09:54
Several groups are still waiting to be paid for their f y '23 work.
2:09:58
This is unacceptable and immediate action needs to be taken.
2:10:02
SNYC groups have done two years worth of work including documenting all the work they've done and having all invoices ready so that when the contracts do get registered, can actually get paid.
2:10:13
We really need a plan to address the backlog.
2:10:16
I heard a little bit of it in mocks and some of the questions but you know just like when this kind of kicked off three years ago that was a critical part of what came out of it was a plan to address backlog and also it led to the creation of the multi year, but let's be honest, that has not performed as expected.
2:10:36
How many multi year contracts is HPD registered?
2:10:40
Zero.
2:10:42
And a lot of the other agencies are just registering and paying them, and groups are just beginning to recoup f y '24.
2:10:52
So we need to plan again and address the root causes, and we need to start by paying the groups.
2:10:57
So advances need to happen automatically, 50% in every contract year, and we need to figure out what are the solutions to actually get advances as part of identifying the root cause and figuring out what created the backlog.
2:11:14
You know, passport really has been bumpy and rolling out.
2:11:18
The person that testified before listed some of the issues that people were having, and that continues to to play groups.
2:11:25
And just with funding cuts on the horizon and a federal administration hostile to the work of nonprofits, especially those organizing tenants, we cannot continue to be in this position and desperately need the money owed to us.
2:11:38
Thank you.