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Q&A
Council Member Brewer questions health officials on animal welfare, daycare inspections, and healthcare for asylum seekers
3:38:16
·
7 min
Council Member Gale A. Brewer engages in a Q&A session with health department officials, covering topics such as animal welfare programs in NYCHA housing, daycare inspections, and healthcare access for asylum seekers. The discussion highlights challenges in communication and service provision, particularly for low-income and immigrant populations.
- Brewer emphasizes the need for better outreach about spay/neuter programs in NYCHA communities
- Questions arise about federal funding for daycare inspections and its continuity
- The conversation reveals complexities in providing healthcare to asylum seekers, including insurance eligibility and access to services
Gale A. Brewer
3:38:16
Thank you very much.
3:38:17
Just to go back to the animals because I go to a lot of NYCHA meetings.
3:38:22
And actually there was one the other night and the entire discussion was about dogs.
3:38:27
And to be honest with you, people said, although you said that you can get, support for spray neuter if you are low income.
3:38:35
These are all low income individuals.
3:38:36
They knew nothing about this program.
3:38:38
So my question is, and they were trying, these particular people were trying to do the right thing.
3:38:44
There are others in the development who are not doing the right thing.
3:38:47
So they wanted to do the right thing but they could not afford to do the right thing in terms of spray neuter.
3:38:52
So my question is, with the money that you mentioned, the 3,000,000, working with the ASPC for six years, when did it start?
3:39:00
How long does it go?
3:39:01
And I'm just wanting to know how many spray neuters you've done with the funds you have, obviously, for low income residents.
3:39:08
Is there a wait list?
3:39:09
And then how do you promote these services?
3:39:12
Because, obviously, the people I was with the other night had no idea that it even existed.
Michelle Morse
3:39:17
Thank you for that council member.
3:39:18
I'll pass to Corinne Schiff.
Corinne Schiff
3:39:22
So that's very helpful information, and I'm gonna take that back, and we'll do some outreach, and we can work specifically with NYCHA to make sure that NYCHA residents do know about the opportunity for these services.
3:39:33
It is a $3,000,000 contract with ASPCA.
3:39:38
It began on 11/01/2022, and it ends October 2028.
3:39:43
I don't have the details with me about the numbers of surgeries that they have provided, but we can certainly get that to you.
3:39:51
But we will take these comments about outreach, we'll work on that.
Gale A. Brewer
3:39:54
I mean, NYCHA, I happen to love NYCHA residents, as I think we all do, but you know, communication is not easy.
3:40:00
You can't just sort of send out an email and everybody's gonna know.
3:40:04
It doesn't work like that.
3:40:05
So I think, to be honest with you, a lot of the issues regarding, dogs are in NYCHA right now.
3:40:12
And so I get them all day long.
3:40:15
So I would just suggest you have to put a lot of effort into that.
Corinne Schiff
3:40:19
We appreciate that.
3:40:20
We will work with our, colleagues at NYCHA to help spread the word.
Gale A. Brewer
3:40:23
Okay.
3:40:23
Hope that your colleagues work with the tenant associations would be my suggestion.
Michelle Morse
3:40:28
Thank you.
Gale A. Brewer
3:40:28
I love the colleagues at NYCHA, but I would go with the tenant associations.
3:40:33
How many just on day care, inspections, how specifically I think there's an additional federal funding.
3:40:40
I hope it lasts.
3:40:41
Of 5,700,000.0 in '25 and 2 point 2 in '6 '26.
3:40:46
So how specifically will this money improve day care inspection process, and will the money run out?
3:40:52
Of course, we're all worried about that on child care.
Michelle Morse
3:40:59
Please Karen Schiff, jump right in.
Corinne Schiff
3:41:01
So this is, my understanding is this is continuing funding.
3:41:04
So there's no increase and we are funded to do the work.
Gale A. Brewer
3:41:07
So you'll have the 02/2006 in 02/06, and then you continue to have the money in 02/05.
3:41:13
Okay.
3:41:13
So there's no cut is what you're saying?
Corinne Schiff
3:41:15
No cut.
3:41:16
No
Gale A. Brewer
3:41:17
in terms of asylum seekers, I happen to know a lot of them, support them.
3:41:23
You can't imagine how well I know them.
3:41:24
Extremely well.
3:41:25
And so I've taken on a lot of the young people, a ton of them.
3:41:30
And so DOE is great.
3:41:32
All I have is New York City Cares.
3:41:34
That's it, right, in terms of health.
3:41:35
So they're what are they supposed to do?
3:41:38
They're not gonna get Medicaid.
3:41:39
There's no way in the world.
3:41:41
I suppose they're supposed to go to H and H and they're supposed to go if they have and they go to the I go I send them to the Ryan Health Center.
3:41:48
But is that kind is somebody paying attention to all of their health needs?
3:41:52
I mean, maybe doctor Katz is, maybe you are.
3:41:55
I don't know how many of them are still here in the city, but they have a lot of health needs.
3:41:59
Forget the dental.
3:42:00
I'm out $810,000 already on the dental.
3:42:04
So who's paying attention to them?
Michelle Morse
3:42:06
I'm so glad that you asked the question.
3:42:08
We are paying a lot of attention to asylum seekers and to immigrants, recent immigrants in New York City.
3:42:15
It is an area of top concern for us in the health department.
3:42:19
I'll just share a couple of different parts of an answer to your question.
3:42:24
First and foremost we actually work very, very closely with DHS.
3:42:28
So for folks who are you know staying in DHS shelters, we work very closely with them to make sure that our health insurance enrollers, if there is an opportunity to get insurance that our enrollers actually can assess and see what health insurance
Gale A. Brewer
3:42:46
So some are eligible for Medicaid?
3:42:48
Because I don't know what this stupid new It really all Bring in
Michelle Morse
3:42:51
It depends.
3:42:52
It really depends.
Gale A. Brewer
3:42:53
Because they were, before Mr.
3:42:54
Trump came in, were eligible.
Michelle Morse
3:42:56
Well for those who have an active asylum they may be eligible for insurance.
3:43:04
So it's not always the case that there isn't.
Gale A. Brewer
3:43:06
I think it's less so now than it was previously.
Michelle Morse
3:43:08
That is likely true, yes.
3:43:10
In addition to health insurance enrollment support, we do often refer community members to NYC cares.
3:43:17
You're right, that is one of the other most direct ways.
Gale A. Brewer
3:43:20
But that's only for emergencies, you know.
Michelle Morse
3:43:23
No.
3:43:24
In fact it does also, create opportunities and allow for primary care and ongoing, ambulation.
3:43:31
At H and H?
3:43:31
Correct.
3:43:32
At H and H sites.
Gale A. Brewer
3:43:34
But not at, Ryan Health Centers federally funded?
Michelle Morse
3:43:38
It depends on the if it's an FQHC, there may be actually an opportunity.
Gale A. Brewer
3:43:44
It My suggestion would be to kind of make this clearer to people.
3:43:48
Like I said, the folks I know, these are the young guys, they're pretty lost.
3:43:53
So they don't they don't they think they're getting Medicaid.
3:43:55
I said forget it.
3:43:55
You're not getting Medicaid.
3:43:57
But they only they don't know that they can use NYC care for anything except emergency.
3:44:03
That's what all those guys you see out driving those mobile e bikes, They all have New York City Cares, but they don't know what to do with it, to be honest with you.
3:44:12
Understood.
3:44:13
And I assume you can't do dental because you can't get dental for Americans, let alone for anybody else.
3:44:18
They all have dental issues.
Michelle Morse
3:44:21
I'm really glad that you're raising it.
3:44:23
Council member will talk with our colleagues at H and H as well and we work with them to educate and spread information about NYC care so we can definitely do more.
3:44:32
The other thing I did want to share is that we did write an open letter.
3:44:36
So Doctor.
3:44:37
Katz, Commissioner Castro, and myself did a widely disseminated public letter to New Yorkers who are recent immigrants describing the fact that their health and their safety as well as their data and privacy will be protected if they seek care in NYC hospitals.
3:44:56
And that's not just H and H, that's any NYC hospital.
3:44:59
So we do want to make sure that that message is also getting out so that everyone feels comfortable seeking care when they need it and doesn't wait until it's too late.
Gale A. Brewer
3:45:08
To their credit, they're concerned about their health, to their credit.
3:45:12
So one suggestion would be the de la ristas and the other would be, district seventy nine of the Department of Education.
3:45:20
Everybody's
Rahman Al-Mousalli
3:45:21
trying
Gale A. Brewer
3:45:21
to get their GED.
3:45:23
So between those two, you're probably gonna hit the hardest to reach.
3:45:27
The families are more attuned, I think, to the children and themselves.
3:45:31
But this group is an interesting group.
3:45:35
So that might be a way to reach them.
Lynn Schulman
3:45:36
Thank you.
Gale A. Brewer
3:45:36
Thank you.
3:45:37
I'm really concerned about their health, I gotta tell you.
Michelle Morse
3:45:39
Thank you.
Gale A. Brewer
3:45:39
Thank you.
Michelle Morse
3:45:40
We are as well.
3:45:40
Thank so much for that.