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Q&A
Council Member Louis questions Commissioner Park on burial assistance and follow-up on shelter incident
1:57:20
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104 sec
Council Member Farah N. Louis inquires about increasing the cap on funeral and burial reimbursements, which is currently insufficient at $3,400. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park acknowledges the concern but admits it hasn't been a focus. Louis also follows up on a previous incident involving a child's death at a shelter.
- Louis requests information on any plans to raise the burial assistance ceiling to match current costs in NYC.
- Park suggests discussing the matter during the adoption process and is open to examining specific proposals.
- Louis also mentions a lack of follow-up regarding a child's death due to fentanyl at a shelter, requesting further communication on the matter.
Farah N. Louis
1:57:20
Thank you chair.
1:57:21
Good to see you commissioner and your team.
1:57:23
I have a quick question about burial assistance.
1:57:26
HRA currently has 3,400 cap on funeral and burial reimbursements which is outdated and insufficient as we've discussed with the agency in the past.
1:57:39
Has there been any movement in the FY twenty six executive plan to raise the ceiling to match today's costs and if not how does the administration justify this stagnation given that most funeral services in New York City exceed 5,000 and will HRA consider covering the cost differential for families in its greatest need?
1:57:59
And know the state has a component to this but it would be good to know what the administration is thinking to address this for low income families.
Molly Wasow Park
1:58:08
Thank you councilmember.
1:58:09
I hear the concern, I will be honest that this is not something that we have been working on thus far.
1:58:15
We can certainly discuss it during the adoption process.
Farah N. Louis
1:58:18
Okay, it would be good to hear about it before OMB gets here so we could understand what the administration is thinking about and how much you're thinking to add in for the differential component.
1:58:30
And just wanted to give you a heads up, we never got a follow-up from DSS or DHS regarding the child that died due to fentanyl at the wind shelter, so it would be good to have a conversation with someone else on your team at a higher level.
Molly Wasow Park
1:58:44
Apologies for any lack of follow through.
1:58:47
We're happy to follow-up offline.
1:58:49
Certainly that's not something that we should put on the record.
1:58:52
And just to be clear on the burial costs, it has not been something that we have been modeling thus far.
1:58:58
If you have a particular proposal you'd like us to take a look at, we're happy to do that.
Farah N. Louis
1:59:02
Okay.
1:59:02
Thank you.
1:59:03
Thank you, chairs.