Assemblymember Marcos A. Crespo outlines NYS’ 2019-20 Budget
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PRIL 5-11, 2019 71
the state.
From page 34 to protect tenants.
The plan: allocates $12.1 million to SUNY, and $6.1
million to CUNY, to increasecommunity college base
aid by $100 per full-time equivalent student, bringing
the total rate to $2,947; provides $6 million more
for Educational Opportunity Centers, for a total of $61
million; restores $2.5 million in funding for the CUNY
Accelerated Study in Associate Programs; provides
$1.1 million to SUNY and $902,000 for CUNY for Child
Care Centers; and restores $1 million to Advanced
Technology Training and Information Networking
labs for a total of $5.5 million.
The budget also allows SUNY and CUNY schools
to reduce or waive tuition for high school students enrolled
in college courses, supporting those who want
to get a head start on the journey to a college degree.
Additionally, the budget: restores $4.5 million for the
Foster Youth College Success Initiative to support foster
students on their path to higher education; restores
$1.5 million for the CUNY School of Labor and Urban
Studies, formerly known as the Joseph S. Murphy Institute;
restores $700,000 for Small Business Development
Centers, which offer business counseling and
entrepreneurial training; restores $600,000 for Graduate
Diversity Fellowships; restores $500,000 for mental
health services and telecounseling at SUNY; provides
$200,000 for the SUNY Institute for Leadership
and Diversity and Inclusion; provides $150,000 for the
Hispanic Leadership Institute at SUNY; and allocates
$100,000 to the Center for Women in Government.
Supporting College Opportunity Programs
This year’s state budget restores $23.8 million to
these programs, providing: $35.5 million for the Higher
Education Opportunity Program; $32.2 million for the
Educational Opportunity Program; $28.1 million for
Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge; $18.4
million for Liberty Partnerships; $15.8 million for the
Science and Technology Entry Program; $11.9 million
for the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program;
and $1.3 million for College Discovery.
Ensuring Accurate Count in 2020 Census
The 2019-20 state budget includes $20 million to
promote the census and to assist with funding for local
outreach efforts. Neighborhood organizations not
only know their communities best, but their members
are trusted and will be better able to motivate people
to participate. The budget also ensures public libraries
are getting the funding they need since they’re going
to play a major role in the census, which is being
offered online for the fi rst time. The Census Bureau
is aiming to receive half of its 2020 submissions online,
but this can be a real problem for lower-income
households and communities with limited internet
access. Libraries bridge this divide. Not only are they
the primary channel of internet access for many, but
public libraries across the state are hosting programs
and setting up census stations to inform communities
about the importance of the census and how to participate.
Protecting Tenants And
Ensuring Safe, Affordable Housing
The budget includes $402.14 million for housing,
including restoring $12.83 million for Neighborhood
Preservation Programs and $5.36 million for Rural
Preservation Programs, which help communitybased
not-for-profi ts provide safe, healthy and affordable
housing throughout the state. To improve the
administration of the STAR tax exemption/credit and
make data collection more effi cient in manufactured
homes parks, the budget will allow park owners to
report to the Commissioner of Tax and Finance instead
of to Homes and Community Renewal. Tax and
Finance must send the report to HCR within 30 days,
and HCR must report annually to the public on data
to increase transparency and maintain proper oversight
of the parks, as well as determine the best steps
The budget also includes an $8 million increase for
HCR’s Offi ce of Rent Administration – which helps enforce
rent regulations and protect tenants from landlord
harassment – as well as $5.5 million for its Tenant
Protection Unit.
Supporting Homeowners and Seniors
To help more New Yorkers remain in their homes,
the state budget provides $20 million for the Communities
First program to fund foreclosure prevention
assistance. It also requires lenders to provide 90 days’
notice to homeowners facing foreclosure and makes
settlement conferences mandatory.
The budget includes a $15 million increase for Expanded
In-home Services Program, which offers nonmedical
in-home services such as personal care and
housekeeping, for a total of $65.1 million. To help more
seniors remain in the communities they helped build,
the budget increases the maximum amount the state
can provide a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community
from $200,000 to $300,000.
Expanding Access To Child Care,
Protecting At-Risk Youth
To ensure more New Yorkers have access to quality
child care they can afford, the budget allocates
$832 million for child care subsidies – an increase of
$26 million over last year’s fi nal budget. The budget
also includes $334,000 to support SUNY and CUNY
child care. The budget also creates the New York State
Employer-Provided Child Care Credit, which is equal
to 100 percent of the federal credit, for employers who
provide child and dependent care facilities to their
employees.
Further, the budget restores funding for programs
that help young people – regardless of family or fi nancial
background – achieve success, including: over
$33 million for the Advantage After School Program,
which provides structured activities for kids to help
them succeed academically, including $10.8 million to
support minimum wage increases and $5 million for
additional services; million for Safe Harbour to help
support victims of childhood sexual abuse overcome
the unspeakable trauma they have suffered; $2.45 million
for settlement houses, which provide educational,
recreational and other social services to the community;
million for Kinship Cares and $100,000 for Kinship
Navigator, which provides a support system for
relative and non-relative kinship caregivers; and $1.5
million for the Youth Development Program, which
builds relationships between children and their communities.
To ensure continued eligibility for federal
child care funding, the budget includes language to
enact various provisions of law required to comply
with the health, safety and training standards contained
in the federal reauthorization of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant of 2014. In addition to
provisions related to compliance, language was also
included to provide due process for individuals newly
required to receive state and federal background
checks under the federal reauthorization.
Further, the budget limits the circumstances under
which detention and placement of youth alleged
or adjudicated to be persons in need of supervision
(PINS) in foster care agencies is allowed and restores
state reimbursements to local social services districts
for preventive services available to PINS.
Combating Addiction
To help address the ongoing opioid crisis that continues
to devastate communities across the state, the
budget allocates an additional $1 million to expand
jail-based substance use disorder services in county
jails for a total of $4.75 million. It also restores $2 million
for NYC’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention
Specialists program, which provides a host of
support services for school-aged children. The budget
also creates a new credit for employers of up to $2,000
for each person hired who is in recovery from a substance
use disorder.
Supporting Working New Yorkers
The budget restores funding to several labor programs,
including: $1.62 million to the Displaced
Homemakers Program, which provides career and
job search assistance to unemployed and underemployed
New Yorkers who previously provided unpaid
services for their families; $350,000 for the New York
Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a coalition
of labor groups and safety professionals dedicated
to reducing workplace injury; $150,000 for the
Sexual Harassment Prevention Program at the Cornell
School of Industrial Labor Relations; and $50,000
for the Criminal Records Discrimination Program at
Cornell University.
To provide more workers with on-the-job experience
and training, the budget expands the Employee
Training Incentive Program Credit for New York
businesses by including in-house training, software
development and renewable or clean energy internships
as part of eligible training activities. The budget
also extends the Workers with Disabilities Tax Credit
until 2023 for those employing individuals with developmental
disabilities.
The Historic Rehabilitation Credit, which encourages
job creation in the trades, is also expanded to
qualifi ed rehabilitation projects within state parks
and historic sites and other state-owned land.
Investing in Job Creation Across the State
The budget provides over $900 million for economic
development programs and approximately $750
million for the ninth round of REDC awards to fuel
economic growth across the state. To better spur technological
advancement and foster collaboration between
institutions of higher learning and the private
sector, the budget allocates $11 million for Centers of
Excellence, an increase of $1.4 million over the executive
budget proposal. It also provides $609,000 in additional
support to Technology Development Organization
Matching grants, for a total of $2 million.
Small businesses are the foundation of the state’s
economy, providing jobs to approximately 4 million
New Yorkers. To help these critical economic engines
thrive, the budget allocates an additional $150,000 for
Community Development Financial Institutions, for
a total of $1.65 million. It also provides an additional
This budget cares for our most
vulnerable and holds true on the
Assembly Majority’s promise to
create a fairer, more just state for
all, where opportunity and success
are not reserved only for the lucky
few. For the student who goes to
school hungry, to the commuter
who’s tired of getting to work late
because of unreliable service to the
innocent New Yorker who unfairly
sat in jair for far too long, we heard
you and we’re looking out for you.
Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo
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