6 DECEMBER 16, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Queens leaders call on Hochul to restore the Excluded Workers Fund
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Elected officials and community
organizers are calling on Gov.
Kathy Hochul to immediately invest
an additional $3 billion to the New
York State Excluded Workers Fund
to aid countless immigrant families
previously left out of crucial fi nancial
support.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards sent a letter to Hochul on
Wednesday, Dec. 8, urging the governor
to replenish the fund that quickly ran
out of funds to dispense.
“There is no doubt that our excluded
workers still face severe economic
hardship,” Richards said. “Even aft er
this week’s announcement that the $2
billion fund has been fully exhausted,
it is clear that a pressing need for additional
fi nancial assistance still exists
here in Queens.”
Aft er over a year of civil disobedience
in hunger strikes and marches, activists
were able to secure $2.1 billion from the
state for excluded workers. Since online
applications opened in early August,
over $2 billion has gone out the door to
families in need.
Now that there is no money left in the
fund, activists have taken to the streets
once again to make sure all excluded
workers who needed this aid can still
get it.
Workers chanted, “Who feeds us
while we feed you” and “All I want for
Christmas is to not get left behind,” as
they marched down the streets near
Bryant Park on Friday, Dec. 10.
Jackson Heights state Senator Jessica
Ramos, the original sponsor of the
bill that established the fund, joined
activists groups, including Make the
Road New York and others, to call for
additional funding before the holidays.
Ramos said the excluded workers
fund has been a tremendous success,
and it desperately needs to be extended.
“We saw how this fund pumped important
money into our small business,”
Ramos said. “We helped our immigrants
catch up on their bills, pay their rent,
buy school supplies for their kids, put
food on the table. We didn’t just hold this
city down during the pandemic; we built
this city. It is the immigrant workforce
that has always made this city happen.”
Advocates have estimated that
around 50,000 applicants were left
out of aid due to a lack of funds. However,
that number doesn’t include the
hundreds of thousands they say face
barriers to applying on time.
Guillermo Campos, a vendor at
Corona Plaza, said when he got laid off
during the pandemic, he wasn’t able to
receive unemployment.
“When I found out about the fi rst
round of the Excluded Workers Fund,
I was too ill to apply,” Campos said. “I
wasn’t physically capable of applying.
I’m here because I’m asking Governor
Hochul to earmark $3 billion this coming
year because $2.1 billion wasn’t
enough. There were many like me who
weren’t able to apply to the Excluded
Workers Fund the fi rst time around. But
we’re going to win this time and we’re
going to win $3 billion dollars.”
More than 350,000 New Yorkers applied
for aid, nearly all receiving the
highest tier of benefi ts — a one-time
payment of $15,600.
Ramos pointed out how excluded
workers could not receive unemployment
or other government benefits
during the height of the pandemic, yet
still paid and pay taxes.
“Ninety-nine percent of the applications
approved all paid their taxes the
last three years. What does that tell
you?” Ramos said. “It tells you that the
excluded fund is our money, we put that
money in there, and we deserve it back.
We’re simply asking Hochul to give us
what’s ours. Recognize our labor and
bring justice to our communities.”
BY SKYE OSTREICHER
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
New Yorkers 50-plus helped
build our city and make it the
great place that it is: and city
leaders must be dedicated to addressing
the challenges this population
experiences.
Visit PoliticsNY.com and learn how
Mayor-elect Adams will raise the
issue of ageism and make sure his administration
confronts it head on. As
a leader in Age Friendly policies, how
will Mayor-elect Adams broaden this
work throughout NYC?
Beth Finkel, State Director of
AARP New York, shared with Mayorelect
Adams, “one of our thoughts is
actually renaming NYC’s Dept of the
Aging – not a very forward-thinking
name – and I’m thinking it’d be right
up your alley to come up with a stronger,
better name.”
To which Adams replied, “we’re
looking for Seniors to come up with
the best name for it… We are open.
The name should be more active than
the Department of Aging. I say it’s
the Department of Living. Whatever
name our seniors come up with, we’re
gonna put it out to you.”
Adams is known for making Brooklyn
the first age-friendly borough,
and now will be able to orchestrate an
age-friendly NYC. Part of this plan will
off er restaurant, theater and transportation
discounts for seniors, he shared.
Adams will be rolling out his 100-day
plan and at the heart of it is how NYC
becomes more inclusive, especially
of its seniors. AARP New York will
also be delivering a plan to the new
administration with some ideas from
its membership.
This video interview is sponsored
by AARP New York, which represents
750,000 members in New York City.
Watch the full video at
PoliticsNY.com.
Hundreds marched in Manhattan to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to invest in
the Excluded Workers Fund. Photo courtesy of Make the Road New York
New York City’s man in demand: Mayor-elect Eric Adams
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