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Q&A
We Speak NYC program budget and participation
3:45:49
·
3 min
Council Member Rita C. Joseph inquires about the We Speak NYC program, its budget, and participation numbers. MOIA officials explain the program's funding, participation statistics, and class distribution across boroughs.
- The We Speak NYC program is run solely by MOIA
- The program's budget for FY26 is $617,000, reduced from $1.1 million in the previous year
- In 2024, 5,152 people attended We Speak NYC classes, with 1,434 attending in the first quarter of 2025
- Classes are distributed across boroughs, with Brooklyn having the most (72) and Staten Island the least (2)
Rita C. Joseph
3:45:49
Thank you.
3:45:50
I wanted to circle back to and talk about We Speak NYC.
3:45:53
I know that's a program I use widely when I was teaching.
3:45:57
Is that in partnership with D79?
Jasniya Sanchez
3:46:03
No.
3:46:04
This is program that is run solely by Moya.
Rita C. Joseph
3:46:10
Solely by Moya, but in the executive plan you only have 617,000 compared to the 1,100,000.0 that was added last year.
3:46:18
So why was the budget reduced by 615 in fiscal twenty twenty six compared to 2025 in the adopted budget?
3:46:27
Is it due to the closures of the Herrick centers as well?
3:46:29
Does that play a role in that?
Jasniya Sanchez
3:46:32
No, that's an independent program.
3:46:35
You know, we still are in close conversations with ONB about the opportunity and potential to add additional funding to this program in next fiscal year.
3:46:47
The $617,000 that you see reflected in FY '26 as the baseline funding.
3:46:54
And we'll continue to work with OMB to But if you need
Rita C. Joseph
3:46:58
to expand you will chair, can I?
Lorena Lucero
3:46:59
And if I may add council member to the question regarding these 79, we do work with them to encourage them to send students to one of our many sites within the library system.
Rita C. Joseph
3:47:12
Was that funding, the $6.30, was that repurposed to immigrant rights collaborative in FY '25 since the program will not continue was not continued in fiscal twenty twenty six?
3:47:22
How were those funds reallocated or absorbed?
Jasniya Sanchez
3:47:27
So, that funding for that was in FY '25, you know, due to the high need that we saw in, you know, at the end of twenty twenty four leading up to inauguration.
3:47:44
There was a high demand with regards to Know Your Rights, right?
3:47:48
So given the limited funding that we had, we made a decision to pivot that funding and fund additional Know Your Rights workshops with current providers, as well as you know, do a large print of materials that have been developed by our office and our public, in our website to be able to print those out for contracted Moya vendors and also for council offices as well.
Rita C. Joseph
3:48:21
You have a number of how many folks attended We Speak NYC classes last year?
Lorena Lucero
3:48:27
Yes.
3:48:28
In calendar year 2024 about the numbers the exact number is 5,152, and currently from 01/01/2025 through 03/31/2025, '14 '30 '4.
Rita C. Joseph
3:48:46
Why the drop in numbers?
Lorena Lucero
3:48:48
It's mostly because we haven't completed the calendar year, so it's only until March.
Rita C. Joseph
3:48:52
Okay.
3:48:53
Do you have a breakdown of locations, borough, sites, and why is The Bronx the most underserved in the six locations that you have?
Lorena Lucero
3:49:03
I do have a breakdown.
3:49:04
So currently for FY twenty five there was a total of a 79 classes.
3:49:12
72 were in Brooklyn, 60 9 in Queens, 10 in The Bronx, 20 6 in Manhattan, and two in Staten Island.
3:49:22
The makeup is really determined in collaboration with the library systems, so that's sort of the reason, but we will be more than happy to sort of look into that as well.
Rita C. Joseph
3:49:32
That would be great.