Budget cuts threaten essential nonprofi ts
oped
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BRONX TIMES R 12 EPORTER, SEPT. 11-17, 2020 BTR
BY WES MOORE
New York City’s nonprofi ts have
always played a critical role in supporting
vulnerable New Yorkers, but
the effects of COVID-19 have signifi -
cantly exacerbated the demand for
human services, wreaking havoc on
the frontline organizations that New
Yorkers depend upon. Now a decision
by the Mayor threatens their viability
amidst an ongoing pandemic and
unprecedented unemployment rates.
On the city’s chopping block are reimbursements
to groups that help feed
hungry seniors, provide mental health
care, educate our children, and clothe
and house the homeless. For years,
these organizations have been a lifeline
to New Yorkers living in poverty
and, throughout the pandemic, they
remain on the frontlines providing
essential life-saving services.
That’s why it is essential that the
Mayor immediately reinstate his commitment
to fully reimburse the city’s
human service organizations for their
indirect expenses.
Since March, Robin Hood has invested
more than $40 million in over
500 local nonprofi t groups providing
cash assistance, emergency food,
rental assistance, and healthcare to
neighbors plunged further into economic
insecurity by this virus. While
Robin Hood and others continue to
help these organizations do their essential
work, dependable city government
funding is the only realistic path
toward their sustainability.
In 2019, Mayor de Blasio and Council
Speaker Corey Johnson touted a fi scal
year 2020 budget deal that committed
to close the gap in reimbursements
for human service organizations’ socalled
indirect expenses. But, earlier
this month, the Mayor announced
his intention to walk back the 2020
budget commitment by cutting these
reimbursements by 40 percent.
This seemingly innocuous budgetary
decision translates to tens of millions
of dollars, which will leave community
organizations holding the bag
for approved, budgeted expenses like
utilities, bills, and rent. An increased
demand for services, rising hazard
pay for workers, building closures,
and enhanced cleaning measures have
imploded the already tight budgets we
force these groups to balance. These
slashes will not only cripple many of
these community organizations, but
risk leaving hundreds of thousands of
New Yorkers in need with nowhere to
turn to for help.
Community service providers have,
for years, borne the brunt of economic
downturns and budget cuts. For years,
that dynamic has helped fuel the Tale
of Two Cities that this Mayor has so
admirably sought to unwrite. We must
hold him to his word and beat back
this proposal.
Our city is fi ghting to recover; but
the pandemic is on-going, the economic
crisis rages on, and millions remain
in need. Now we have a chance
to rewrite the playbook on how cities
rebuild by putting the people most vulnerable
to crises fi rst. Starving those
who feed the hungry cannot be the
way forward.
Photo by Todd Maisel
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