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TESTIMONY
Member of the Public on Ensuring Food and Shelter Access and Supporting Nonprofit Organizations in New York City
3:21:08
·
3 min
A public testimony emphasized the need for increased support in food access, shelter, and the role of nonprofit organizations in New York City.
- The speaker shares their experience with the high demand for food assistance, highlighting the challenge of providing fresh produce due to financial constraints.
- They advocate for additional funding for small food pantries, similar to aid provided during the pandemic, and underline the importance of rental assistance programs to prevent homelessness.
- The testimony calls attention to nonprofit organizations' critical role in delivering essential services and supports a bill requiring fair compensation for these services.
- Emphasizes the importance of food, shelter, and backing the organizations that provide these necessities to New Yorkers.
- The speaker shares a personal connection to the issues, illustrating their direct experience with community needs.
UNKNOWN
3:21:08
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
3:21:12
I do have written testimony, but in the interest of keeping it brief, I'm just gonna talk about 3 things: food, shelter, and how we make sure that New Yorkers have those.
3:21:29
So food.
3:21:30
Let me begin with food.
3:21:32
I was up in your district a few weeks ago on Ash Wednesday.
3:21:37
And so the line all the way from the middle of of Saint Cecilia's to Park Avenue.
3:21:43
And we were able that day to do a little bit extra.
3:21:46
We had fresh produce and people were divided with that.
3:21:50
But it's hard to do that because the numbers are greater.
3:21:55
They have less money and food costs a lot more.
3:21:59
So one of the things hopefully you will consider as you do the budget this year is maybe some of those programs that we use during the pandemic.
3:22:10
Where there was an additional amount of money that could go to small pantries.
3:22:16
Not huge, but maybe 15, 20,000,000 that can go out to those wall pantries, which we have about 30 of them and I know other groups did.
3:22:27
So food is critical, and we need a little bit of an extra boost this year in terms of food.
3:22:32
Secondly, I know the council has been very good in some of the housing, rental assistance programs.
3:22:41
I understand some of it is in court, etcetera.
3:22:44
But that's critically important too.
3:22:46
Whatever can be done to keep New Yorkers in how in how is critically critically important.
3:22:54
And then the final thing which I wanna talk about is kind of the work issue in terms of who is actually helping people to stay in their apartments, who is actually delivering the food.
3:23:05
And a lot of it is nonprofit organizations like catholic charities, like main chance, And the I'd like to call special attention to Bill of which you are one of the sponsored but council member Hudson is the lead sponsor, intro 243, which basically says that nonprofit organization should be paid for what it cost them to deliver the services and to fairly get an indirect rate with regard to that.
3:23:38
Because that's what enables people to get help when they're facing eviction.
3:23:43
That's what enables them to get the food they need.
3:23:46
So those are the the 3 things that I want.
3:23:50
To raise up in my written testimony, there is a lot more.
3:23:55
And personally, since I am in a church on Park Avenue 34th Street, I can really speak to the value of main chance because whenever somebody comes to our door, we can say, hey, just go down the block, They'll help you.
3:24:10
And so, again, I thank you.
3:24:13
Food, shelter, supporting the organizations that provide that is critically important.
3:24:19
Thank you.
3:24:19
I hope it didn't take too much of your time.