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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Reverend Terry Troia, President and CEO of Project Hospitality, on Late Payments to Human Service Providers
3:26:52
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143 sec
Reverend Terry Troia, President and CEO of Project Hospitality in Staten Island, testified about the severe financial challenges her organization faces due to late payments from New York City for contracted services. She detailed the struggle of managing multiple shelters without timely reimbursement, leading to millions in outstanding payments and forcing the organization to take out substantial lines of credit.
- Project Hospitality was owed $16.2 million in May 2024, which fluctuated to $4.5 million and then $11.5 million in recent weeks.
- The organization has taken out a $7 million line of credit and applied for an additional $10 million, spending $50,000 in loan interest in FY 2024 with expectations to pay $100,000 by June.
- Troia called for the City Council to analyze the late payment situation, implement corrective legislation, and take responsibility for interest payments on loans nonprofits are forced to take out.
Reverend Terry Troia
3:26:52
afternoon, and thank you Chair Wong and Chair Stevens.
3:26:55
My name is Reverend Terry Troia.
3:26:57
I'm the President and CEO of Project Hospitality in Staten Island.
3:27:01
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.
3:27:11
We went more than two and a half years with any funding to manage those two shelters.
3:27:16
We carried those shelters in an additional family shelter for nearly two years without reimbursement.
3:27:22
In May of twenty twenty four, New York City owed us 16,200,000.0 for services rendered, and I know that that's that's peanuts compared to the numbers that you've just heard.
3:27:31
I met with former deputy mayor William Isoms who directed us to meet ongoing with mister Vincent Pulo of the Department of Social Services.
3:27:38
He's the CFO there.
3:27:40
These meetings have been ongoing weekly since May first of twenty twenty four.
3:27:45
Mister Pulo has been incredibly gracious and his staff incredibly helpful.
3:27:49
And nine months later, we are now owed only $4,500,000.
3:27:54
But that was last week, then it went up to $11,500,000.
3:27:57
And it goes up and down.
3:27:59
We are grateful for the intervention of both the former deputy mayor and mister Poulon.
3:28:04
But the impact of living through more than 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.
3:28:15
We can't pay our bills.
3:28:16
We have huge bills, our budget is about $50,000,000, and most of that is city contract dollars.
3:28:22
We've taken and used $7,000,000 in the line of credit.
3:28:25
We've applied for a $10,000,000 line of credit to follow the $7,000,000 line of credit.
3:28:29
We spent $50,000 in loan interest in FY 2024, and we expect to pay a minimum of $100,000 in interest by the June year.
3:28:38
We haven't paid our contracted security force for our twenty four hour drop in center by the Staten Island ferry for more than two years.
3:28:45
What happened?
3:28:47
And then you want them to bid the lowest bid on the contract in order to get the contract again.
3:28:52
What happens when we can't pay payroll?
3:28:54
And how much more loan money can we take out before we deny the loan?
3:28:57
And then what happens?
3:28:58
We need 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
3:29:11
For these loans that we nonprofits have to bear to keep our doors open.
3:29:15
Thank you.
Althea Stevens
3:29:09
interest rates Ten seconds.
3:29:10
Please wrap it up.
3:29:11
Thank you.