Categories: New York City
12.05.2013
Need for a new agreement stressed before NYC Council
The Network testified at a New York City Council hearing on the status of the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement on December 3. The public hearing, held by the Council Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services, provided an opportunity for government agencies and advocates to present on the status of the agreement now in its eighth year of implementation.
The hearing was led by the chair of the committee, Council Member G. Oliver Koppell. He was joined by fellow Council Members Gail Brewer and Ruben Wills.
Dr. Adam Karpati, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Mental Hygiene at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), provided a thorough testimony on the status of DOHMH’s NY/NY III commitment. Dr. Frank Lipton, Executive Deputy Commissioner for Customized Assistance Services for the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Jessica Katz, Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Special Needs Housing at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), were also on the record for the question-and-answer portion of the testimony.
The Network provided testimony following the City, highlighting the major successes of the agreement and the tremendous progress that has been made thus far. You can read our testimony in full here.
Testifying for the Network, Nicole Branca urged the Council to encourage the NYC HRA HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) to promptly make its awards for the outstanding 394 Population H units that have yet to be announced but mostly stressed the dire need for a new agreement. She asked the Council to support the creation of a new City/State supportive housing agreement, pointing out that there are only 924 units left unspoken for in the NY/NY III initiative while the City continues to have record homelessness with over 60,000 homeless men, women in children living in the city’s shelters or on the street.
Dr. Karpati also emphasized the demand for NY/NY housing, noting that the City has six eligible clients for every one NY/NY unit. Council Member Koppell may have summarized the day’s testimony best when he proffered that “the [NY/NY] goal doesn’t meet the need, just the goal."
For more information on the testimony or progress of NY/NY III, please contact Nicole Branca or Johanna Walczyk.