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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Molly Eckerle, Policy Associate at Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
3:50:28
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137 sec
Molly Eckerle from the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty testified about the challenges faced by nonprofits due to delayed contract registrations and late payments from New York City. She emphasized the urgent need for timely payments, especially in light of recent federal funding cuts, and expressed support for the proposed legislation to address these issues.
- Met Council serves over 320,000 New Yorkers annually and relies heavily on city contract funding
- The organization faces significant burdens when contract registrations are delayed and payments are late
- Recent federal funding cuts have increased the urgency of addressing payment delays, with Met Council losing millions in federal funding
Molly Eckerle
3:50:28
Good afternoon, chair Juan, chair Stevens.
3:50:31
Thank you for holding this hearing today and your continued leadership on this issue.
3:50:34
My name is Molly Eckerly and I'm a policy associate at the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
3:50:39
Met Council is the country's largest Jewish charity dedicated to fighting poverty, providing a wide array of support to over 320,000 New Yorkers annually, regardless of religious observance.
3:50:50
Met Council's capacity to provide supportive services to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers every year is directly tied to funding from city contracts.
3:50:57
An immense burden is placed on the organization when contract registration is delayed and when contracts are not paid in a timely manner.
3:51:04
Particularly in the face of recent and looming federal funding cuts, it's essential that the city act and minimize late payments to nonprofit organizations.
3:51:11
Without timely payments from the city, organizations are put in a position to begin spending money on services before they receive funds.
3:51:18
Met Council provides essential services to New Yorkers in all five boroughs every day, and any delay in service dramatically impacts the health and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers.
3:51:28
The mayor's commitment to dramatically increase advance payments to nonprofits is encouraging and a definitive step in the right direction to ensure that nonprofits can provide the services New Yorkers need.
3:51:39
Additionally, we wanna thank speaker Adams and chair Brannan and the council for your continued efforts to support New York City's nonprofits.
3:51:46
Three proposals under consideration today have the potential to significantly reduce the burdens currently faced by Met Council and other non profits with city contracts.
3:51:57
These changes working together could make a real change to the financial stability of New York City's nonprofit sector.
3:52:03
Nonprofits have shouldered the challenges of retroactive contract registration and delayed city payments for decades.
3:52:10
This issue is now more urgent than ever before.
3:52:12
The federal government is making sweeping cuts to the safety social safety net and eliminating supports for low income Americans.
3:52:19
Met Council and other nonprofits are facing unprecedented funding cuts.
3:52:23
And for Met Council alone, millions of dollars in federal funding have already been frozen, cut, or under threat.
3:52:29
In this time of immense uncertainty, the role of the city is vital and prompt and reliable payments are not just helpful, they're essential to sustaining the services New Yorkers rely on every day.
3:52:39
We thank you for your time today and we hope to continue to work with this committee and city council to meet the needs of all New Yorkers.