CB11 Statement of District Needs and Budget Priorities
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Statements of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests for Manhattan Community District 11 Fiscal Year 2019 Submitted to the Department of City Planning January 2018 INTRODUCTION The annual Statements of Community District Needs (CD Needs Statements) and Community Board Budget Requests (Budget Requests) are Charter mandates that form an integral part of the City's budget process. Together, they are intended to support communities in their ongoing consultations with city agencies, elected officials and other key stakeholders and influence more informed decision making on a broad range of local planning and budget priorities. This report also provides a valuable public resource for neighborhood planning and research purposes, and may be used by a variety of audiences seeking information about New York City's diverse communities. HOW TO USE THIS REPORT This report represents Manhattan Community Board 11’s Statement of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. This report contains the formatted but otherwise unedited content provided by the community board, collected through an online form available to community boards from June to November 2017. Community boards may provide substantive supplemental information together with their Statements and Budget Requests. This supporting material can be accessed by clicking on the links provided in the document or by copying and pasting them into a web browser, such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox. If you have questions about this report or suggestions for changes please contact: [email protected] This report is broadly structured as follows: a) Overarching Community District Needs Sections 1 – 4 provide an overview of the community district and the top three pressing issues affecting this district overall as identified by the community board. Any narrative provided by the board supporting their selection of their top three pressing issues is included. b) Policy Area - Specific District Needs Section 5 is organized by seven distinct policy areas aligned with the service and program areas of city agencies. For each policy area, community boards selected the most important issue for their districts and could provide a supporting narrative. The policy area section also includes any agency-specific needs and a list of relevant budget requests submitted by the community board. If the community board submitted additional information outside of a specific policy area, it may be found in Section 6. c) Community Board Budget Requests The final section includes the two types of budget requests submitted to the City for the FY19 budget cycle; one list for capital and another for expense budget requests. For each budget request, community boards were able to provide a priority number, explanation, location, and supporters. OMB remains the definitive source on budget requests submitted to city agencies. Disclaimer This report represents the Statements of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests of Manhattan Community Board 11 for Fiscal Year 2019. This report contains the formatted but otherwise unedited content provided by the community board. Budget Requests: Listed for informational purposes only. OMB remains the definitive source on budget requests and budget request responses. Budget Priorities: Priority numbers apply to expense and capital Budget requests from all policy areas. A complete list of expense and capital budget requests by this Board sorted by priority can be found in Section 7 of this document. Supporting Materials: Some community boards provided substantive supplemental information. This supportive material can be accessed by clicking on the links provided in the document or by copying and pasting the links provided in the Appendix into a browser. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Community Board Information 2. Community District Profile and Land Use 3. Overview of Community District 4. Top Three Pressing Issues Overall 5. Summary of Community District Needs and Budget Requests Health Care and Human Services Youth, Education and Child Welfare Public Safety and Emergency Services Core Infrastructure, City Services and Resiliency Land Use, Housing and Economic Development Transportation Parks, Cultural and other Community Facilities 6. Additional Information and Other Budget Requests 7. Summary of Prioritized Budget Requests Table of All Capital Requests Table of All Expense Requests Appendix - Supporting Materials 1. Community Board Information Manhattan Community Board 11 Address: Address:1664 Park Avenue, Phone: Phone:212-831-8929 Email: Email:[email protected] Website: Website:www.cb11m.org Chair: Ms. Diane Collier District Manager: Mr. Angel Mescain Page 1 2. Community District Profile Visit the Community District Profiles to view data, maps, and other resources describing New York City’s 59 Text14community districts at: https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/ Page 2 2. Community District Land Use Page 3 3. Overview of Community District The Fiscal Year 2019 Statement of District Needs for Community Board 11 is a particularly poignant one. We continue to demand that the city provide essential services and increase the services and resources provided to this community to address what we continue to believe are challenges that this community is particularly threatened by. This neighborhood, in particular, is likely to need and rely on increased city support in this coming year. The tragic effects of Hurricane Maria and the devastation it has imposed on Puerto Rico is expected to produce extensive migration of Puerto Rico residents to New York State and, in particular, the East Harlem community. In addition to all of the existing and longstanding needs of this neighborhood, we urge New York City to dedicate additional resources to prepare and address the needs that this population will require upon joining family, friends and fellow community members in CB11 and elsewhere throughout New York City. The Hurricane Service Center in CB11 (Julia de Burgos), is currently processing seventy-five families per day due to travel restrictions from the island. As travel restrictions are relaxed, we expect this mass migration to increase exponentially. While this may strain city resources, it is an absolute necessity for the city to consider in evaluating how it will deploy its budgetary resources throughout the city. In each instance of this statement, we project a 25 percent increase to the standard unaddressed needs. East Harlem's demographics are shifting, as the White/Non-Hispanic population has increased 172.5 percent from 2000-2010, while the Hispanic population decreased by 8.3 percent and the Black/African American population decreased by 23.6 percent. The Asian population, while still a small percentage of the overall population, increased to over 6,500 or by 322.8 percent from 2000- 2010 (2010 Census Profile). Current residents frequently express concerns about gentrification and the loss of affordable housing, as well as the loss of the local Latino culture. Preservation of existing affordable and public housing, as well as construction of new, deeply affordable housing, including opportunities for affordable homeownership, is incredibly important to ensure that current residents are able to continue to live in East Harlem even as new residents move in. Anti-tenant harassment, code enforcement and rent burden alleviation programs should all be key pieces of the anti-displacement programs that are initiated in East Harlem. Senior citizens, many of whom are on fixed incomes, are especially in need of permanently affordable housing so that they can age in place. Manhattan Community District 11’s economic statistics show a neighborhood in distress. According to the 2011-15 American Community Survey, the annual median household income in East Harlem is $30,973 which is significantly lower than the median NYC household income of $53,373--and less than half of the median household income in Manhattan--$72,871. Of the 98,151 residents age 16 and older in East Harlem, 50.3 percent are either unemployed or not in the labor force. Nearly thirty percent of family incomes in the past 12 months were below the Federal poverty line, the percentages are even higher for youth and seniors (45 and 36 percent respectively); one-third (31 percent) receive food stamps. These statistics show a community that is in need of quality education and local hiring initiatives to increase economic development and employment. Programs to help residents become self-sufficient, rather than dependent on government assistance, will make East Harlem a more prosperous and vibrant community. The City should also focus attention and funding on improving the quality of life in East Harlem. Existing green spaces should be improved and accessible to all. Health programs and initiatives to encourage healthy eating, exercise and balanced mental health should be affordable and available without stigma. Quality schools and early childhood education are keys to lifting young people out of poverty. Affordable and convenient adult education programs are equally important to help adults adapt to changes in industries and job opportunities. Reducing crime, especially around NYCHA developments and other more volatile areas of the district, ensures that residents feel safe to go around the neighborhood. The recent initiatives around 125th Street and Park Avenue to provide outreach services to the homeless, mentally ill and those living with drug