Chair Lee on agency collaboration and staff acknowledgments
Lee emphasizes the need to identify persistent barriers to program access, references public charge concerns, and thanks Finance Committee staff and ASL interpreters before passing the microphone to Chair Hanif.
This hearing and the proposed legislation are intended to ensure that no New Yorker living with a disability and no older adult on a limited
fixed income has to choose between paying rent and paying for daily necessities such as food, medicine, heat, cooling, or electricity.
The rent freeze programs administered here in New York City by HPD and DOF provide the much needed relief that allows for a vibrant older adult and disabilities communities to contribute and exist without facing cost barriers to do so.
During my time as president and CEO of a nonprofit providing services to the very communities at the center of today's hearing, this was and remains a prevalent issue.
Communities faced and continue to face cultural language barriers to understanding, accessing, and making full use of the programs designed to provide them relief.
And one example is that we saw this during public charge several years ago.
It is my hope that today's hearing helps us identify where those barriers persist and what more can be done to close them.
And as Chair Wang mentioned, I'm excited that we are able to convene the agencies and offices of DOF, New York City Aging, HPD, and MOPD
to understand how we can maximize collaboration on our end to ensure the success of these programs and to ensure that New Yorkers can fully take advantage of them and are provided adequate support and materials to do so.
Thank you to my colleagues for joining me today, to DOF and all other agencies for testifying, and to the Finance Committee staff, Julia Jaramis, Owen Katowski, Margaret Barnsley, Aman Mahadevan, and Valeria Lazaro-Rodriguez.
Also want to give a special thanks to the
Give us.
Special shout out to our ASL interpreters who are helping out today for our disabilities community.
So let's give them a round, or sorry, raise of hands applause.
And now I hand it back over to my co-chair, Councilmember Shwayne.
Thank you.
Now I pass the microphone to Councilor, Councilor, Councilmember Hanif for her to give a statement.