View this email in your browser
Thanks for reading and forwarding this newsletter. Sign up

News of the Week

When Developers Promise Community Benefits, Who Holds Them Accountable?
One big problem with Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), experts say, is that they’re not laws, but rather private contracts between a developer and community groups. And if those groups aren’t around to hold a developer accountable—or the developer isn’t around and there’s no successor clause—there’s little anyone else can do to enforce an agreement.

Budget Deal Maintains $4 Million to Boost Communication with Immigrant Families in NYC Schools
According to the DOE, 43 percent of NYC’s students spoke a language other than English during the current school year. The Immigrant Family Communication program, which had been budgeted for only one year, was renewed in the 2023 budget but was not expanded to the $6 million requested by advocates.

Here’s How NYC’s $101 Billion Budget Addresses Homelessness
The new budget directs $2.4 billion to homeless services in the coming fiscal year, invests billions more in housing over the next decade and funds an increase to rental assistance programs, but is nevertheless facing criticism from advocates who say the spending plan fails to adequately address New York City’s affordability and homelessness crises.

Homeless Hotel Residents Brace for Next Move as NYC Weighs Changes to COVID Protections
The city is re-evaluating guidelines for sheltering older homeless adults and people with significant health problems that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19, who can under the current rules access private or semi-private rooms. More than 170 such residents being housed at a Radisson Hotel in lower Manhattan will need to move out by early next month.

‘Stressful’ Formula Shortage Weighing on Families in NYC Homeless Shelters
Some 1,121 babies were born into the Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) shelter system last fiscal year, and a disproportionate number of low-income New Yorkers depend at least in part on formula to feed their infants.

“I’m stuck in the middle. But what am I going to do, stop working and stand out here all day?”

—Alvin Smith, 63, one of dozens of homeless New Yorkers with health conditions being moved out of the Radisson Hotel in lower Manhattan. He earns too much at his job to qualify for rental assistance but too little to afford an apartment amid skyrocketing rents, he said.

Una Ciudad Sin Límites
City Limits en español

Presupuesto de la ciudad mantiene $4 millones de dólares para impulsar la comunicación con las familias inmigrantes en las escuelas de Nueva York
Según el Departamento de Educación, el 43 por ciento de los estudiantes de la Gran Manzana hablaban un idioma distinto al inglés durante el año escolar actual. El programa de Comunicación con las Familias Inmigrantes (Immigrant Family Engagement), que había sido presupuestado para un solo año fue renovado en el presupuesto de 2023, pero no se amplió a los $6 millones de dólares solicitados por los defensores.

*Aplica antes del Sábado 6/18*

City Limits y Una Ciudad Sin Límites amplió el plazo para aplicar a las prácticas remuneradas de verano en periodismo para estudiantes bilingües de secundaria en NYC

Solicitarlo Aquí

City Views

Opinions and Analysis on Policy and Politics

Opinion: Which NY Communities Are Most Susceptible to Climate Change Harms? Weigh In By July 7
“How the state defines ‘disadvantaged’ is often unjust, and inaccurate. In Manhattan, Hudson Yards and much of the High Line qualify as disadvantaged, while many communities of color in Queens do not.”

Opinion: For Youth Aging Out of Foster Care, Housing Support is Crucial
"Having housing and a place to call home gives one hope and stability, which is essential, especially when you grew up in a system that gave you neither." | Jeremiah Perez-Torres

Opinion: Investing in Arts Education Can Help Students Heal
"The arts are a form of embodied play that surpasses verbal processing and allows us to explore, connect with ourselves and others, and ultimately build or rebuild the muscles of imagination when life circumstances or the experience of trauma has taken them away." | Heidi Landis