Budget cuts threaten the nonprofits that New York
City’s most vulnerable communities rely upon
By Wes Moore
New York City’s nonprofits
have always played a critical
role in supporting vulnerable
New Yorkers, but the effects
of COVID-19 have significantly
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 nonprofit
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.
New York City’s nonprofi ts are in danger of not being able to serve the city’s most vulnerable communities as they face
another round of budget cuts. Photo by Todd Maisel
Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
George Alleyne, Nelson King,
Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, Sept. 11-17, 2020
In 2019, Mayor de Blasio
and Council Speaker Corey
Johnson touted a fiscal 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 fighting 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 first.
Starving those who feed the
hungry cannot be the way
forward.
Wes Moore is the CEO of
Robin Hood, one of the largest
anti-poverty forces in the
nation. He is a bestselling
author, a combat veteran, and
a social entrepreneur.
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