Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

HRA

HRA

  • Steven Banks on 'Welfare' Reform, Fighting Homelessness, and the De Blasio Record

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    Steven Banks, left, with Mayor de Blasio (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    As the de Blasio administration comes to a close, the mayor and his top commissioners have been reflecting on their legacies. Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said over the years that his biggest failure was on homelessness, acknowledging that he did not fully grasp the degree of the problems involved and the necessary solutions. He has said in recent weeks that he believes the administration started to really get things moving in the right direction as his

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Commissioner Steve Banks on the De Blasio Administration's Social Services Record

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    NYC Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    December 20, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Commissioner Steve Banks on the De Blasio Administration's Social Services Record

    Steve Banks, who has led major social services and homelessness efforts under Mayor Bill de Blasio for the entire eight-year administration, joined the show to discuss the reforms he's ushered in and the administration's record on public benefits, homelessness, and more.

    Listen to the

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  • City Sees Crush of Public Assistance Applications as Coronavirus Recession Takes Hold

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    New Yorkers wait on line for food (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    As New York City shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and livelihoods, the city saw a massive increase in applications for food stamps and cash assistance.

    According to new data from the city’s Human Resources Administration and Department of Social Services, applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly referred to as food stamps, and for cash assistance have surged since the

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  • As HRA Announces Closure of Another Food Stamp Center, Research Finds Excessive Wait-Times

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    (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office)


    During a recent budget hearing at the City Council, Council Member Stephen Levin asked Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks about wait-times at Human Resources Administration centers. "Have we seen an increase in wait times?” asked Levin; “How are we monitoring wait-times in light of the Jazmine Headley incident and as we're talking about staffing levels at HRA Centers?”

    Confident in tone and content, Commissioner Banks answered: "[I]n SNAP and food stamp centers the wait-time is about 20 minutes

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  • Proposed Changes to ‘Public Charge’ and Access to City Benefits: What To Know

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New Yorkers know that it is the city government’s job to make sure that they’re taken care of. We fill potholes, pick up the trash, clean the streets, clear the drains, prune the trees - you name it.

    But that’s not all we do. And while we faced many challenges as a city and as a nation in 2018, New Yorkers continue to step up and help their neighbors in need.

    Through our public health facilities, tens of thousands of dedicated professionals help their fellow New Yorkers put food on the table, help

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  • City Increasingly Paying Back Rent to Keep Tenants from Homelessness

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    De Blasio discusses homelessness (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    In the effort to fight a steady, decades-long rise in homelessness, the de Blasio administration has significantly increased the city’s rental assistance programs over the past four years. A variety of programs including vouchers for those seeking to reenter stable housing from shelter, the effort also entails paying back rent for those at risk of losing their apartments.

    Known as “rent arrears” payments, the de Blasio administration has dedicated

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  • City Council Budget Response Seeks New Spending, More Savings

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    Mayor de Blasio briefs Council members on his budget (photo: William Alatriste) 


    The City Council on Monday issued its formal response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $82 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2017, capping a month of budget hearings that were fraught with ...

  • Report Propels Debate Over City's Welfare Reforms

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    CM Levin, left, & HRA Commissioner Banks (photo: William Alatriste)


    A new report on the city's reengineered public assistance system concluded, among other findings, that it's too soon to tell whether the wide-ranging reforms put in place by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks are working. The updated analysis from the city's Independent Budget Office (IBO) not only leaves unanswered whether the Banks/de Blasio reforms are working, but how exactly to judge a system now geared towards long-term change rather than short-term

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  • Through Committee, Bill to Create Office of Civil Justice Heads Toward Law

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    Mark-Viverito, front, & Levine, behind her, are the lead sponsors (photo: William Alatriste)


    New York City is one step closer to having a new Office of Civil Justice. On Tuesday, the City Council's Committee on Courts and Legal Services unanimously passed a bill that would create the office, to be tasked with assessing, coordinating, and helping reform the civil legal services available to low-income New Yorkers. Among the most pressing concerns are ensuring legal representation for immigrants facing deportation

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  • New Guide to Public Assistance Aims to Help Neediest Navigate System

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    At Thursday's guide release (photo: @DMirandaSNP)


    New Yorkers in need of public assistance provided by the city must navigate a maze of bureaucracy and paperwork. In an attempt to provide clarity and ensure that the neediest access available benefits, the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in collaboration with the Center for Urban Pedagogy today released a visual guide to the city’s welfare system.

    Titled “...