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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of New York Common Pantry
4:45:18
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106 sec
Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of New York Common Pantry, testified about the challenges faced by nonprofits due to delayed payments and contract executions from New York City. He highlighted the specific issue of delays in capital project funding for vehicles, which impacts their ability to deliver food to vulnerable populations.
- Grimaldi reported that New York Common Pantry served over 11 million meals in FY 2024 to more than 730,000 low-income and unhoused individuals.
- He described a four-year delay in receiving payment for a van approved in 2018, and ongoing delays for seven truck contracts dating back to 2020.
- Grimaldi expressed support for Intros 1247, 1248, and 1249, which aim to address contracting issues with New York City.
Stephen Grimaldi
4:45:18
Great, great.
4:45:19
Thank you, Co Chair Stephens and Juan and members of the committees.
4:45:22
My name is Stephen Grimaldi.
4:45:23
I am the Executive Director of the New York Common Pantry and representative of the Roundtable Allies for Food Access.
4:45:29
As a nonprofit in its forty fifth year of community service, we received city council funding through a variety of sources to support our programs and we've grown into one of the largest emergency food providers in New York City serving more than 11,000,000 meals in FY 2024 to over 730,000 low income and unhoused individuals through New York City.
4:45:46
Put simply, this hearing has been sobering.
4:45:49
As we've been hearing, organizations have faced are faced with having to borrow millions because of delays in contract execution and reimbursement and the choice to delay community services until funding is received is detrimental to those we serve.
4:46:01
We've heard many examples today from across the sector, but let me cover a different funding delay.
4:46:06
That's the city's capital project funding for vehicles.
4:46:09
As you know, nonprofits are required to submit bids, because the process is lengthy with multiple layers of approval, the submitted bids are outdated by the time funding approval is granted.
4:46:19
Again, this causes unnecessary delays.
4:46:22
Additionally, it takes years for grants to be executed.
4:46:24
For an organization like ours who are purchasing vehicles such as vans and box trucks to deliver food across the city, the delays have real consequences for health, wellness and survival for the most vulnerable in our city.
4:46:36
For example, we received approval to purchase a van for our NURSE senior program in 2018.
4:46:41
We only received payment for that vehicle in December of twenty twenty two.
4:46:45
That took four years.
4:46:46
We're still waiting for seven truck contracts that goes back as far as 2020 to be either be reimbursed or registered.
4:46:53
So in closing, your common pantry would like to voice its support for Bills twelve forty seven, 12 40 eight and 12 40 nine, all of which will be major steps forward to addressing many of the issues nonprofits face in contracting with New York City.
4:47:04
Thank you.