An NYC Green New Deal announcement (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography)
Though the coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread devastation for New York, it has hurt some communities more than others. New Yorkers of color have been more likely to die from the virus and, despite making up a larger share of so-called essential workers, have been more likely to lose their jobs because of the outbreak’s economic recession.
With the city still in the process of a somewhat halting “reopening” and attempting to rebuild its struggling economy, a coalition of environmental justice advocates, labor unions, faith leaders, and elected officials is calling for an economic recovery plan that they estimate would create more than 100,000 jobs in three years, prioritizing communities of color with environmentally sound investments that can also meet the city’s goals of fighting climate change.
The $16.2 billion plan, the “Climate And Community Stimulus Platform,” will be released in a virtual news conference on Tuesday afternoon by the Climate Works for All coalition, which is made up of more than 50 organizations. The coalition is coordinated by The Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN). The coalition will be joined by City Council Members Costa Constantinides, Antonio Reynoso, Ben Kallos, Brad Lander, Justin Brannan, Mark Levine, and Carlos Menchaca, along with several leaders from prominent labor unions and environmental advocacy groups. Comptroller Scott Stringer, a leading 2021 mayoral candidate, has also expressed support for the plan, according to ALIGN.
The detailed plan proposes a broad strategy of economic development focused on the environment, climate resiliency, and green jobs through investments in renewable energy, housing infrastructure, green public transportation systems, manufacturing, resiliency infrastructure, public waste management and workforce training. It would build upon previously passed city laws and programs, some of which ALIGN previously fought for.
It envisions, for example, spending $7 billion on energy-efficient retrofits at public housing developments and affordable housing buildings, creating more than 42,210 jobs in the process, according to the group’s estimates. Investing $3 billion in climate resilience projects and developing green infrastructure on public land could create another 28,485 jobs, it says, pointing to projects like Northwest Resiliency Park in Hoboken, New Jersey and the Bluebelt Program in Staten Island. The plan also expresses support for the Renewable Rikers proposal, which would replace the Rikers Island jail complex, which is slated for closure, with multi-use renewable infrastructure including energy, waste treatment and agriculture projects.
The jobs it would create would cover about 15% of the city’s currently unemployed workforce, the report estimates, and it would be funded through a combination of state, local and federal funds. As of September, the city’s unemployment rate was 13.9%, down from 16.2% in August but six points higher than the national unemployment rate, according to the comptroller’s office.
“We hear elected officials and candidates talking a lot about addressing income inequality and climate change,” said Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, in a phone interview. “And what we're trying to do with this particular report is just to show that when state legislators and city legislators, particularly, are investing in the right things, we actually can get to that goal.”
Silva-Farrell said the plan would build on and complement policies already put into effect by the city and state. In April 2019, the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio approved the Climate Mobilization Act, what they called a New York City Green New Deal program, which included emissions caps on large buildings, mandated the installation of green roofs on city buildings, and created incentives for renewable energy projects, among other measures.
At the state level, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was also passed last year, and sets the state on a path to a net-zero-carbon economy by 2050, mandating that 70% of energy needs are fulfilled by renewable sources by 2030 and that the entire electric sector is carbon-emissions free by 2040.
“We do see that there is an opening, an opportunity right now for our economy to shift to a green economy that will actually be a just transition,” Silva-Farrell said, noting that in communities of color, decades of environmental racism have led to worse public health outcomes for residents, exacerbating their vulnerability to the coronavirus and contributing to greater unemployment. According to a New York Times analysis from June, Black and Latino New Yorkers were twice as likely as white New Yorkers to die of COVID-19. About 75% of all frontline workers in the pandemic are people of color, according to data from Comptroller Stringer’s office.
The coalition’s plan depends largely on major capital investments in infrastructure projects, which are widely seen as one of the most effective drivers of economic growth from a recession. But Mayor de Blasio has made significant cuts in the city’s capital plan to reduce city spending amid a massive budget deficit caused by the pandemic’s hit on tax revenue, though some question whether those cuts are prudent given their impact on the city’s annual expense budget is minimal.
The Climate And Community Stimulus Platform would create thousands of union jobs with strong labor and wage protections, it says. Silva-Farrell and the coalition hope that as candidates run for mayor and City Council in the 2021 city election cycle, the plan will help propel the debate about the city’s recovery. “The pandemic is exacerbating the inequalities in our city,” she said. “And if anyone is looking to be elected to be mayor, they must look to address those concerns and think about a jobs plan that addresses those issues, particularly when it comes to climate change and job creation and inequality.”
“When we talk about renewing our economy, we're actually looking at this report as a source for us to uproot not only income inequality within our city,” she added, “but also a shift in the way our economy works. Prioritizing our environment, prioritizing our communities, particularly Black and brown communities.”
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Note - this article has been updated.
Human services providers struggle due to covid (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)
Nonprofits that provide human services have played an additionally vital role during the coronavirus pandemic in feeding, sheltering, and caring for New Yorkers. But the sector, which was already facing dire financial straits in recent years, has been devastated as fundraising has ground to a halt, city funding has been cut, and state contract payments have been put on hold. The Human Services Council, an organization that represents more than 170 providers in the state, is convening a new task force on Tuesday as it hopes to examine the consequences of the pandemic and how the human service sector can rebuild as the economy recovers.
As the pandemic led to billions in lost tax revenue for the city and state, budget officials began to cut spending but the need for services provided by contracted nonprofits only increased. Organizations that sheltered homeless people or delivered meals to the elderly, for instance, adapted to the pandemic even as they too began to lose revenue and struggled to pay their bills. The Human Services Council estimates that as many as 1,800 nonprofits across the state could close down in the wake of this crisis, leading to almost 14,000 layoffs. Many have already shuttered their doors.
The Human Services Council’s task force will take a closer look at those effects as it seeks to play a role in the city’s decision-making on budgets, programs, and needed services through the recovery. HSC leadership also wants to ensure that the sector -- its organizations, workers, and clients -- is front and center as New York City’s 2021 election cycle unfolds, particularly the race for mayor.
“Human services have been and will continue to be absolutely essential to New York’s recovery from this crisis,” said Michelle Jackson, HSC’s executive director, in a statement. “The sector has stepped up for New Yorkers in a time of crisis, and we will be there to help turn things around. We look forward to putting forward a very clear agenda for our partners in City Hall and Albany so we can work together to craft a smart and effective strategy to stem the tide of this virus and keep New York strong.”
The task force will be co-chaired by Jamie Rubin, CEO of Meridiam North America, and Fred Shack, CEO of Urban Pathways. Over the next months, the task force will collect data and survey the nonprofit sector, issuing preliminary recommendations in January. It’s final recommendations will be released in March, before hosting a forum for New York City mayoral candidates on the central issues in April.
“We are ready to chart a new path for a sector that has been at the center of New York's COVID-19 response and will be essential to the city and state’s recovery,” Rubin said in a statement. “New York can only move forward with a robust human services sector working closely with their government partners to ensure that New Yorkers have the services they need in this new normal, and our goal is to provide the roadmap to get there."
Shack, in a statement, said, “Turning the corner on COVID-19 must be our city and state’s first priority, and it will require a responsive and collaborative government willing to work with those of us who know firsthand what this virus has done and how we can overcome it, and this task force is ready to take on those major issues.”
Even prior to the pandemic, many nonprofits worked on the edge of insolvency as contracts for human services were routinely underfunded by about 20%, according to an HSC report. In New York City, where human service providers contracted by the city employ about 200,000 workers, an analysis by Comptroller Scott Stringer last year found that nearly 90% of contracts to providers in the 2018 fiscal year were sent to his office for certification after the start date. Those delays in certification, owing to the city’s complex procurement process, lead to delayed payments while nonprofits continue to provide their services. A study by Seachange Capital Partners, a nonprofit merchant bank, found that contract registration delays cost nonprofits $744 million in the 2018 fiscal year.
In November 2019, the City Council examined legislation sponsored by Council Member Farah Louis that would create an Office of Not-For-Profit Services to help nonprofits navigate the city’s red tape. The legislation has not seen any movement since then.
[Read: City Council Considers New Office to Aid Non-Profits]
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Council Member Brad Lander (photo: John McCarten/City Council)
What's The [Data] Point? Episode 97: 8,200 - the Gowanus Rezoning with City Council Member Brad Lander [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]
City Council Member Brad Lander joined the show to discuss the Gowanus rezoning proposal that is entering final stages of negotiation and the prospects of passage in 2021 -- 8,200 is the number of new housing units that could be created by the proposed rezoning of Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax), Maria Doulis of CBC (@MariaDoulis). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette