Top-line budget items and more

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Dear John,

A quick ask from the community! We're working on a special project to help build support for our composting legislation and are in real need of help from a video animator. If you, or someone you know, have these skills, please email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

We have a long newsletter today. There’s a lot to discuss.

Budget Breakdown Part 1
As you all know, the Council passed a record-breaking $101 billion budget this past Monday. The vote I took was difficult and if you want insight into why I made the decision I did, I released a statement on Tuesday that you can read here ([link removed]) . When budget season started, we had originally envisioned using this month to break down negotiations and clear up rumors. But now that the budget has passed, I want to take the next two newsletters to break down some of the top-line items in the budget to help our community understand what is in this document. Budget processes have historically been secretive and opaque, and this year was no exception. I’m hopeful this space can pull back the curtain and help our community be better prepared for future budgets.

Today, let’s break down housing, education, and police spending. On housing, our Council committed a over $5 billion to housing investments over the next ten years for both affordable market rate and investments in public housing. This brings our City's total investment to over $22 billion over the next ten years. This is a massive number, but it’s short of where we should be. The Council's response called for a $4 billion each year over the next decade and in fact, the Mayor himself pledged to do so during his campaign! The Mayor has since released a housing plan ([link removed]) which details some project areas of interest but is sparse on dollar amounts. Overall, I’m skeptical anything in this plan will reduce skyrocketing rents. Our City’s housing crisis started decades ago and these actions are now too little too late to
address the current situation.

On the education front, the simple truth is that our City lost around $215 million in education funding. Now, the Council itself allocated an additional $700 million to the Department of Education (DOE), which is a record high, but a combination of outdated funding formulas and under-projected enrollment data means our schools will receive less. As a result of these cuts, teachers are being excessed and placed into the absent teacher reserve (ATR) pool, where their salaries will continue to be paid, but rather than be in our schools, they remain in a pool of talent at the DOE. Removing teachers that have provided critical socio-emotional support throughout the pandemic will only hurt our students. This is especially troubling because there are billions ([link removed]) in unspent federal stimulus funds our City could have used to ensure funding remained the same for our schools. My
progressive colleagues and I believe we can still access these funds post-budget to ensure our schools stay fully funded. I promise to keep you all updated on this fight.

Finally, to talk about policing. It’s no secret that public safety is a major concern for New Yorkers, but as we’ve seen in our subway system, more police is not the answer. Thankfully, due to the organizing of myself and the Progressive Caucus, we were able to keep the NYPD mostly flat with a small adjustment due to inflation. This is not the reduction I campaigned on, but our negotiations with the Mayor hit a wall. The fight to reallocate billions from the NYPD to real public safety programs is over not, but it will be a long and tough road. Thankfully though, not a single cent was taken from another agency and given to the already bloated NYPD budget and the Council passed a historic transparency resolution to give us more information on how the NYPD spends its money. It might surprise you to know that while every other agency has line-by-line budget sheets, detailing expenses down to items worth just a hundred dollars, the NYPD’s budget sheet is short and sparse on details. They have
billion-dollar budget lines for things like “personnel” and “overtime” that until now, were shrouded in secrecy. In addition to that victory, we also successfully defeated the Mayor’s push to hire hundreds of more officers for the Department of Corrections (DOC). This agency is rife with absenteeism, with up to a quarter of officers calling in sick at Rikers every day. DOC needs reform, not more public money.

We will run through more aspects of the budget next week but don’t hesitate to send us your questions!

Principal Convening
After the budget vote on Monday, I met with representatives from close to half the schools in our district, including principals, assistant principals, and teachers, Wednesday night over Zoom. We had this meeting planned for some time, but it felt even more urgent now given the education cuts. As I said in my speech on the floor of the Council, I am committed to working with our school community to listen closely and fight to recover the lost funding. My first step was reaching out to our school leaders to see what they need right now.

The meeting was incredibly productive. I heard from the principals about the tough decisions they were facing with these budget cuts and provided space for them all to discuss this difficult time with one another. We learned in this meeting that DOE was being incredibly non-communicative about changes in federal stimulus funding year to year. These were critical dollars principals were relying on for years and now suddenly, they’re being taken away. 26 of our 30 schools are facing cuts of a combined $10 million. We heard from principals that 2021 was the first year our schools felt like they had enough funds to really support their students. The extra funding was used to support ESL classes, after-school activities, and even expand musical theater and sports programs. These are not “superfluous” parts of our students' development, they are essential to a full, well-rounded, and supportive education.

This isn’t the last meeting we’re having with our schools. We’re working to convene the rest of our community’s principals and planning a district-wide school tour for the fall. On the funding fight, we are organizing with the Progressive Caucus to demand the City plug the over $200 million gap with already available funding. This week I met with School Chancellor Banks to make these demands clear and will be following up with more action this coming week. Stay tuned.

COVID-19 ([link removed])
Our City still remains at a high alert level, but our COVID-19 caseload is steadily dropping. Hospitalizations remain slightly above 1,000 but have been stable for the past week which is a positive sign. The other two major updates are that the Mayor announced ([link removed]) masking will be optional for children under 5 in school and that the FDA has recommended ([link removed]) emergency approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for the same age group.

As our City and our community enter into this new phase of the pandemic, we will always keep you updated on new developments regarding COVID-19. Some weeks, won’t have any updates as the situation on caseloads, hospitalizations, and vaccination rates remain stable. If you’re in need of additional resources, you can always visit our website ([link removed]) .

Community Bulletin
* Our office is proud to partner with the Department of Transportation to let our community know about three new open streets in our district this summer! We're working hard to ensure every neighborhood in District 39 can utilize its open space. Check out the new open streets here ([link removed]) .
* The Civic Engagement Commission has released a Request for Information (RFI) funding application for groups to hold Idea Generation Sessions for Participatory Budgeting and other civic engagement activities in their community. The application is open to all NYC residents, including but not limited to community-based organizations, faith-based groups, school clubs, community boards, and M/WBEs. Fill out this form ([link removed]) by July 8, 2022 to be considered!
* At the moment, we are only doing in-person appointments on Thursdays at the District office with our Constituent Services Director, Faiza Azam. Make an appointment here ([link removed]) !
* The Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment (MOME) is partnering with the GRAMMY Museum to offer Summer Sessions ([link removed]) , a FREE five-day songwriting workshop for anyone currently enrolled as a High School student!
* If you or someone you know has been formerly incarcerated and is interested in a career in digital media, consider applying for Second Chance Studio’s Digital Media Fellowship ([link removed]) .
* There will be no trash, recycling or compost collection, or street cleaning on Monday, June 20 in observation of Juneteenth. Residents who normally receive Monday trash or compost collection may place their material at the curb between 4 p.m. and midnight Monday evening.
* Help the MTA improve their rider experience by takingthis survey ([link removed]) by June 24th.
* All New York City Public School Families, regardless of income or immigration status, will receive $375 per child in food benefits to help cover the costs of meals through the summer. Funding will be added to Pandemic-EBT cards! More info here ([link removed]) .
* Calling all young people who love the Earth! Consider applying to Trees New York’s Young Urban Forester Internship Program. Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to apply with “YUF Internship” in the Subject Line and your name, email, and phone number in the body of the email.
* Apply ([link removed]) to the BK Health Disparities paid Summer Internship if you’re a high school student interested in Health Sciences.
* The Administration is opening registration for the Sanitation Worker Civil Service Exam starting today through June 28^th. DSNY offers a base pay of over $83,000 after 5.5 years of service + overtime, a pension, healthcare, and a rewarding career in public service. This test has not been offered in seven years, making this a rare opportunity to join NYC’s Strongest and help shape the future of DSNY for many years to come.

Happy Juneteenth!
Shahana

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New York City Council District 39
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