The FDNY should raise revenue for its services through the annual budget process so that the cost of ambulances services is borne fairly across tax payers by income, not regressively imposing the same rate for a retail worker as for an investment banker.
Today, an extraordinarily diverse group of 61 organizations representing patients, religious leaders, labor organizations, people who are older, have disabilities, immigrants and people of color, and more called on elected officials to include the Ounce of Prevention Act in the State budget.
Last week, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams added her voice to the call for expanding the reach of the City’s half-priced transit discount program, Fair Fares, to include New Yorkers whose incomes are just above the program’s income eligibility cut-off.
New York City is failing to tap the full potential of Fair Fares. That’s because the current Fair Fares cut-off is too low and leaves out too many New Yorkers who still struggle every day to afford the fare.
Fair Fares NYC, a program that provides a 50% discount on subway and eligible bus fares for New York City residents living at or below the federal poverty level (FPL), is a critical lifeline to education, employment, medical care and other basic necessities for low-income New Yorkers.
Our 2022 Unheard Third Survey shows that 15% of all tenants were targeted for eviction, the highest share in a decade.
Bills under consideration in New York City could act as pathways to social housing – by preserving public land for the public good, by offering communities the opportunity to purchase multi-family housing, by creating a public entity to hold property and facilitate social housing conversions, by strengthening tenants’ rights, and by expanding funding sources for low-income housing.
In honor of Black History Month, we looked into our archives to tell the story of Sadie Stewart Hobday, a pioneering public health nurse who helped bring essential health care services to Black communities.
Instead of taking advantage of an opportunity to have the federal government cover the cost of health insurance for immigrants, the governor’s current budget proposal would actually exclude immigrants, passing up an opportunity to save more than $500 million annually on Emergency Medicaid funds spent on immigrant emergency care.
NYCHA has a trust problem. To move forward with preservation, tenants must be ingrained in the process and part of the conversation so that their voices are heard.
The FY24 Executive Budget released yesterday by Governor Hochul funds several initiatives that matter to New Yorkers, from investments in mental healthcare and public education to incentivizing greater housing production across the state and tackling the MTA’s chronic budget shortfalls.
The Community Service Society of New York’s (CSS) annual Unheard Third survey finds a rise in eviction attempts and a return to assembly-line style justice in NYS Housing Courts. Most notably, New York City entered 2023 with more than 260,000 eviction cases filed in its five housing courts.
From 2020 to 2021, New York held off a sharp increase in evictions with rental assistance programs and an eviction moratorium. With the end of the moratorium in early 2022, eviction filings climbed sharply. It is not as if no one saw it coming.
Since 2018, CSS has worked with Housing Justice for All on enacting Good Cause Eviction protection in New York State. We have advocated strongly for Good Cause because it would provide tenants with a baseline right to remain in their homes by prohibiting non-renewals and no-fault evictions unless a landlord proves good cause.
Today, a record number of people are experiencing homelessness. While CityFHEPS can be a powerful tool against homelessness, the program is plagued with issues that must be addressed.