LOCAL NEWS OP-ED
Pay social safety net
workers a living wage
BY CHRISTINE C. QUINN
Two years ago, COVID
19 sent millions
home to work remotely.
But those who continued to
work onsite — the “essential”
workers — included
more than police, fi re, and
emergency personnel.
Tens of thousands of human
services sector employees
that work at homeless shelters,
food banks, and more
can’t work remotely. So, they
showed up during the pandemic,
at times putting themselves
at increased risk to
help others.
But their heroism masks a
dark secret: the City contracts
with nonprofi ts that employ
these workers include salaries
so low that they often qualify
for government assistance.
It is undeniably wrong to
pay human services workers,
primarily of women of color,
poverty wages. This lack of
investment also jeopardizes
non-profi ts’ ability to provide
services for those in need.
That’s why I am part of the
#JustPay campaign fi ghting
for equitable pay for human
services workers.
During the pandemic, the
de Blasio Administration
doubled down on the injustice
of low pay for these workers
by failing to provide them
Cost of Living Adjustment, or
“COLA,” increases.
Governor Kathy Hochul
showed true leadership by
including COLA raises for
workers at state-contracted
nonprofi ts in her Executive
Budget this year. Mayor Eric
Adams and Council Speaker
Adrienne Adams should follow
suit and give workers at
nonprofi ts that contract with
the City the same raise.
Human services workers
are among the lowest paid
New Yorkers. In 2015, the average
An offi cer writes a summons to illegal sellers on East 14th Street.
The price is wrong
NYPD cleans up illegal vendors on East 14th
phone chargers, and the jewelry
items were supplemented for
bootleg movies. According to
local store owners and residents,
these scrap merchants brought
with them a whole host of troubles.
From fi st fi ghting to blatant
drug use, the sidewalk from Avenue
A to 1st Avenue on 14th
Street became a skid row.
After nearly two years of hell,
shopkeepers could be seeing a
light at the end of the tunnel.
NYPD offi cers are now distributing
summonses to these
sidewalk traders and removing
their items.
A local store manager who
didn’t want to be identifi ed,
shared that the vendors have
negatively affected her business
since she says pedestrians don’t
want to walk by her storefront,
especially on weekends during
which time the area sees a
cluster of sellers. She says she
is thankful that something is fi -
nally being done.
“That is what most of them
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
do. They sell stuff just toget their
fi x,” the store manager said, explaining
that she has seen many
of the sellers partaking in blatant
drug use.
According to NYPD sources,
the effort to stop the vendors
clustering is a joint effort between
the NYPD, DHS, and
DCWP and comes after continued
business and residential
complaints regarding homeless
individuals, illegal vending, and
garbage along the 14th Street
corridor.
During one of these cleanup
efforts, amNewYork Metro observed
the process. As responding
offi cers ticketed several
vendors, one seller refused to
comment but instead directed
fury at this reporter for documenting
the procedure by hurling
verbal slurs and threats.
Multiple items were packed
away into bags and the vendors
were asked to leave the area.
According to the NYPD, this
will be a continued effort.
The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now, Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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salary in this sector covered
less than 45 percent of
a bare-bones survival budget
for a family of four — a fi gure
that has barely budged. Today,
15 percent of these workers
qualify for government food
assistance themselves and
some live in homeless shelters.
This not only affects nonprofi
t workers and their
families, but also undermines
services for clients. A survey
found 8-in-10 nonprofi ts in
New York City cited inadequate
pay as a signifi cant
barrier to hiring.
The cycle is simple: when
we can’t pay competitively,
we aren’t able to hire enough
staff, leaving current workers
with higher caseloads. Eventually,
overworked and underpaid
staff leave for other jobs,
causing the cycle to accelerate.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
New York City’s leaders
must recognize the skill and
selfl essness of our human service
workers with fair, equitable
pay. The fi rst step is to
provide a 5.4 percent COLA,
in line with the Consumer
Price Index. This would cost
just $108 million out of an
$98-plus billion budget but
would bring immense relief for
125,000 workers.
This is not only the right
thing to do but is vital to
keeping our social safety
net running.
Human service workers
are considered essential for a
reason. They are the people
that New Yorkers turn to in
their hour of need. They are
unsung heroes — and they
deserve wages that recognize
their work.
Christine C. Quinn, president
& CEO of Win, the largest
provider of shelter and
supportive services for homeless
families in New York
City. She is also a former City
Council speaker.
Member of the National
Newspaper Association
Member of the
New York Press Association
Member of the Minority
Women Business Enterprise
BY DEAN MOSES
An East Village strip is
now off the market to
illegal street vendors,
cops say.
Prior to the dawn of the COVID
19 pandemic, Immaculate
Conception Church located on
14th Street and 1st Avenue became
known for hosting a fl ea
market in the front and rear of
the house of worship, fl ogging
clothing items, records, video
games, jewelry, and more.
However, when the deadly
virus forced the mass closure
of storefronts and the end to
public gatherings, the church
concluded its part in the market,
but vendors continued to lay out
their wares–only this time the
products took a noticeable dip in
quality. After the antique dealers
moved out, the junk dealers
moved in.
The clothing was replaced
with cans of string beans, the records
were traded in for broken
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REPORTERS: EMILY DAVENPORT, KEVIN DUGGAN, DEAN MOSES, ETHAN STARK-MILLER, ISABEL SONG BEER
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