Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
The Committee on General Welfare held its fiscal 2027 preliminary budget hearing covering the Department of Social Services, including the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Chair Crystal Hudson questioned the administration on the mayor's savings and vacancy-reduction mandates, SNAP cost shifts and new ABAWD work requirements under the federal H.R. 1 bill, shelter budget baselines, the planned closure of the Bellevue men's shelter and intake site, asylum seeker integration into the general shelter system, City FHEPS program costs, and staffing and vacancy rates. Council Members Morano, Brewer, Nurse, Sanchez, and Avilés also questioned the administration on topics including encampment sweeps, ICE activity at shelters, direct-to-housing pilots, adult protective services, and immigration legal services funding. Numerous administration witnesses committed to follow up with data requested by the committee. The hearing concluded with several panels of public testimony on food security, City FHEPS, legal services, supportive housing, and the Fair Fares program.
0:15 Starting momentarily. Good
0:15 morning. Welcome to New York
0:17 City Council preliminary
0:18 budget hearing for the
0:19 committee on general welfare,
0:20 please. Signs all electronic
0:22 devices moving forward no one
0:23 is to approach. There is
0:24 .there are no food or beverage
0:25 in the chambers. Maybe wish
0:28 departs it to participate in
0:29 today's hearing. Please fill
0:30 out an appearance car with
0:31 sergeant at arms any other
0:32 questions reach out to us.
0:34 Chair. We are ready to begin
0:37 . Thank.
0:37 You so much and good morning
0:39 . I'm Crystal Hudson of the
0:40 general welfare committee.
0:41 Thank you for joining me for
0:43 the fiscal 20 27 preliminary
0:45 budget hearing for the general
0:47 welfare committee. We'll hear
0:48 from two agencies, the human
0:50 resources administration, hr
0:51 and the department of homeless
0:55 services testifying under the
0:55 umbrella of the department of
0:57 social services, the city's
0:59 proposed fiscal 20 27
1:01 preliminary budget totals $127
1:04 billion, of which or 15.2%
1:09 funds, making the secon
1:11 dlargest agency budget after.
1:14 D'oh! This encompasses $14.6
1:21 2billion for and and $4.63
1:21 billion for serves. Some of
1:22 the most vulnerable
1:23 populations in the City and
1:24 these services are more vital
1:25 now than ever.
1:28 There were notable changes
1:29 made in the preliminary plan
1:32 for both agencies saw $2.63
1:34 billion in New needs, which
1:35 are largely City funded added
1:36 in fiscal 20 27
1:39 . The majority of that funding
1:40 is going towards fully funding
1:42 the baseline for City febreze
1:43 and cash assistance, which the
1:45 council has long pushed for
1:46 that
1:47 . Was very happy to see the
1:48 preliminary plan increased
1:50 baseline funding for community
1:52 food connections. Hr is food
1:54 pantry support program to $74
1:57 5 million in fiscal 20 27 and
1:57 the out years
2:01 . Has 90, had $9935.8 million
2:06 in City funded New needs in
2:07 fiscal 2027, includin
2:09 gbaseline funding increases for
2:10 shelters and street homeless
2:12 outreach street homeless
2:13 individuals are amongst the
2:14 most vulnerable New yorkers
2:16 and the precarious of their
2:17 situation only grows as
2:19 climate change makes extreme
2:19 weather more common. I look
2:22 forward to working with the
2:23 administration on effectively
2:24 addressing the needs of this
2:26 population while maintaining a
2:28 balanced budget. I'm
2:29 particularly concerned about
2:30 his high vacancy rate, which
2:31 was 27% as of cannot
2:36 adequately performance
2:37 responsibilities without the
2:38 social workers and
2:39 administrators required to
2:40 operate its shelters and
2:42 intake sites or those doing
2:43 outreach on the streets of New
2:44 York and arctic temperatures,
2:47 it must prioritize hiring
2:48 vacant positions and reducing
2:49 its attrition rate. I'm also
2:51 concerned that the recent
2:52 mandate for agencies to reduce
2:54 half their vacancies will
2:57 impact maintain its current
2:58 level of services at a time
2:59 when they're more needed than
3:02 ever. I'm concerned that the
3:03 recent mandate for agencies t
3:04 oreduce half their vacancies
3:06 will impact and his ability to
3:08 maintain its current level of
3:11 services that.
3:11 A time. Sorry
3:13 , hence the vacancy reduction
3:14 in City funds savings mandate
3:16 coupled with the current
3:18 federal funding threats places
3:20 in a more vulnerable position
3:22 under.
3:22 Prior administrations
3:23 savings mandates have included
3:24 exceptions made for frontline
3:27 workers, another essential
3:28 staff that support shelter and
3:29 benefits assistance programs,
3:30 which make up much of is
3:33 staffing. I'm also concerned
3:34 about the areas where the
3:35 budget does not adequately
3:36 support the essential programs
3:38 administered by and the
3:39 necessary level of staffing
3:40 required to provide clients
3:42 with services in a timely
3:44 manner.
3:44 While has made headway on
3:45 their backlog of snap and cash
3:48 applications. Denial rates
3:48 have increased, which is
3:50 troubling. We have still been
3:51 hearing that it is very
3:52 difficult to get through to by
3:54 phone and that clients are
3:55 experiencing very long wait
3:56 times at centers. Hr one, th
3:59 emajor federal spending bill
4:00 passed by congress last year
4:02 ,reduces federal support for
4:03 administrative and benefit
4:05 costs of snap New York state
4:06 made choose to pass on a
4:08 portion of these costs to the
4:09 City
4:09 . Directly impacting
4:13 . While the preliminary plan
4:14 adds 183 snap eligibility
4:16 specialist positions with an
4:17 aim to improve the city's snap
4:18 payment error rate there's is
4:20 have a direct impact on agency
4:27 operations quiet service and
4:27 benefits processing time but
4:30 changes to snap from hr one.
4:31 Not only impact the city's
4:32 expense budget but also would
4:33 impose a greater burden on
4:35 individuals and families in
4:36 need in a City where one in
4:37 five New yorkers are. While
4:41 the budget maintains the
4:42 essential benefits programs
4:44 administered by and the
4:45 shelter programs administered
4:47 by we need to think more
4:48 deeply about where we can most
4:50 effectively allocate are
4:51 limited City resources,
4:53 especially during these
4:54 uniquely challenging times
4:56 shelter census continues t
4:57 ogrow at the end of there are
4:59 over 85000 individuals and
5:03 shelters, nearly a third of
5:04 them asylum seekers while
5:06 shelter exists while shelter
5:08 exits to permanent housing did
5:09 increase in fiscal 20 25. So
5:11 did the shelter senses in the
5:13 process for subsidized housing
5:14 placements must be accelerated
5:16 in order to significantly
5:17 decreased the number of people
5:18 living in our cities shelter
5:21 system programs such as City
5:22 febreze are more important
5:22 than ever, and the best way t
5:24 omove long term shelter
5:25 residents into stable,
5:27 permanent housing. However
5:27 ,this program suffers from
5:29 numerous process bottlenecks
5:30 on top of the difficulty of
5:32 finding affordable housing in
5:33 a very expensive City. In
5:36 today's hearing, we would look
5:37 forward to discussing
5:37 adjustments made in a
5:39 preliminary plan staffing for
5:41 benefits administration and
5:42 shelters snap cost risks and
5:44 costs shifts as a result of hr
5:47 one and the metrics included
5:48 in the fiscal 20 26
5:49 preliminary mayors management
5:52 report. It is a counsel's job
5:53 to carefully review the
5:53 budgets and operations of City
5:55 agencies to ensure that we are
5:56 good stewards of public
5:58 dollars and that we are
5:59 providing our city's most
6:00 vulnerable residents with the
6:02 services they need. This is a
6:03 job I take very seriously
6:06 , before I welcome the
6:06 commissioner. I would like t
6:08 oacknowledge my.
6:08 Colleagues who are here
6:09 today. Council members on and
6:13 . Murano. Finally, I would
6:13 like to think the general
6:15 welfare committee staffer for
6:15 their work on preparing this
6:19 hearing. Faria roman financial
6:21 analyst elizabeth childers
6:22 garcia, financial analyst
6:24 juli paraamus, assistant
6:24 director. The mental to kill
6:26 owen, assistant deputy
6:27 director Pierina. Rosenberg,
6:29 senior policy analyst Justin
6:31 campos, policy analyst. Am I
6:31 chief of staff andrew, right
6:35 .and now commissioner dalton,
6:35 our council will swear you in
6:39 now in accordance with the
6:40 rules of the council. I will
6:41 administer the affirmation t
6:42 othe witnesses from the mayoral
6:44 administration, would you all
6:45 please raise your right hands.
6:49 Commissioner dalton, do you
6:50 affirm to tell the truth, the
6:52 whole truth and nothing but
6:52 the truth in your testimony
6:53 before this committee and to
6:55 respond honestly to council
6:56 member of questions. Hr
7:00 administrator scott french.
7:01 I do.
7:03 Interim administrator
7:08 christine fellini,
7:08 chief program performance
7:09 and financial officer richard
7:11 johns. I do indeed. Officer
7:15 Chris gonzalez. Thank you
7:16 begin when ready. Good morning
7:24 . I want to thank chair person
7:25 Hudson and the members of the
7:25 general welfare committee for
7:27 holding today's hearing and
7:28 for the opportunity to testify
7:29 about the departmt oenf social
7:31 services fiscal year 20 27
7:34 preliminary budget. My name is
7:35 aaron dalton, commissioner of
7:38 New York city's department of
7:39 social services is made up of
7:41 both the human resources
7:44 administration hr services so
7:46 accordingly, I'm joined by my
7:48 colleagues, hr and
7:49 administrator scott french
7:52 interim administrator
7:53 christine fellini as well as
7:55 chief program performance and
7:57 financial officer richard
7:59 johns and chief strategy
8:00 officer Chris gonzalez.
8:02 Collectively we represe thent
8:04 approximately 14000
8:07 hardworking staff who dedicate
8:07 their lives to supporting New
8:09 yorkers living at or below the
8:12 poverty line before I get
8:13 began. I would like to share
8:14 my excitement and gratitude
8:15 and assuming the position of
8:16 as commissioner of in my
8:18 former post as the director of
8:21 allah county, pennsylvania.
8:22 That's pittsburgh department
8:23 of human services. I was
8:24 focused on strengthening
8:25 families and communities
8:26 through a broad network of
8:28 community based programs that
8:29 prevent harm and address
8:30 critical needs and housing and
8:33 homelessness and senior
8:34 services, child welfare
8:35 ,behavioral health and
8:37 developmental supports. I look
8:38 forward to working in
8:39 partnership partnership with
8:40 speaker men chair Hudson and
8:41 the rest of the City Council
8:43 to deliver the vital benefits
8:44 and services to the city's
8:45 most vulnerable populations
8:49 today will provide an overview
8:50 of the 27 preliminary budgets
8:54 for for both agencies and
8:54 highlight the programs and
8:55 services supported by those
8:59 resources.
8:59 Is the largest local
9:00 government social services
9:01 agency in the country
9:03 comprised of the human
9:05 resources administration and
9:05 the department of homeless
9:09 services, the consolidated
9:10 management structure and
9:11 shared vision of together
9:13 provide an integrated
9:14 continuum of client services
9:16 to over 3 million New yorkers
9:20 every day our efforts to
9:20 create a financial path to
9:22 financial and social
9:23 sustainability for low income
9:24 New yorkers are rooted in the
9:26 following three pillars, first
9:28 streamlining access to social
9:31 services. Second addressing
9:32 homelessness and housing and
9:33 and third, creating economic
9:36 stability we will refer back
9:37 to these three pillars
9:37 throughout our testimony, it
9:41 will begin by providing a
9:42 noverview of the 27 preliminary
9:49 budgets.
9:49 To fighting poverty and
9:51 income inequality providing
9:52 essential benefits, including
9:54 cash assistance, nutrition
9:55 ,nutrition and food programs
9:56 ,public health insurance,
9:59 employment, transportation
10:00 services as well as access to
10:01 housing, homeless prevention
10:03 and emergency assistance helps
10:05 more than 3 million New
10:06 yorkers annually through the
10:08 administration of more than 15
10:10 major public benefits programs
10:11 . The budgeted head of
10:13 approximately 12005.
10:15 Hundred that David, 2
10:16 6budget including in City funds
10:16 the majority over 70% City
10:26 funds budget is earmarked for
10:28 benefits that the City of
10:29 ministers on behalf of New
10:32 York state, almost 98% of City
10:34 funded budget includes budget,
10:35 provides direct benefits and
10:37 support to actual New yorkers,
10:39 including first cash
10:41 assistance benefits for which
10:42 benefit levels and eligibility
10:43 rules are set by state law and
10:46 regulation second medicaid
10:47 ,which includes home care
10:49 managed care, mental health
10:50 substance use services in
10:52 hospital care and is also
10:52 administered by the state,
10:55 though the City pays a portion
10:57 of medicaid costs out of the
10:58 City funds representing 56% of
11:00 the City funder under budget
11:02 and hr funds directly to the
11:03 state to be used alongside
11:04 other state and federal funds
11:06 to pay medical providers and
11:07 managed care plans and third
11:10 the remainder of the budget
11:13 16% goes to public assistance
11:15 17% to rental assistance and
11:16 homelessness prevention dr.
11:18 Percent for administration, 3%
11:22 r1% for employment services,
11:27 community, food connections,
11:29 domestic violence services. Hr
11:31 ministers the snap
11:33 supplemental nutrition
11:34 assistance program clients.
11:37 These federally funded
11:38 benefits, which are about 5
11:39 billion a year do not flow
11:40 through our budget, but they
11:43 represent another critical
11:44 benefit that is mandated t
11:47 oprovide also administers
11:48 another over 50 billion in
11:49 state and federal funds
11:51 supporting medicaid clients,
11:53 which are not part of the City
11:56 budget. Also note that the
11:56 budget for administratio
11:58 ncovers shared services for
12:03 both and
12:03 . Now I will provide an
12:04 overview of the.
12:05 Budget is committed to
12:07 providing safe, temporary
12:08 shelter connecting New yorkers
12:10 experiencing homelessness to
12:11 permanent housing and
12:12 addressing unsheltered
12:15 homelessness has an f 2
12:16 6budget of of which of City
12:22 funds the agency hasn't
12:22 headcount of approximately
12:24 2200 and it's not for profi
12:26 tpartners is the largest
12:27 municipal organization t
12:29 oaddressing homelessness, the
12:31 united states. Almost 97% of
12:33 the budget supports shelter
12:34 for families and individuals
12:35 and services for the
12:37 unsheltered, including
12:38 outreach and low barrier beds
12:40 ,the budget has broken out as
12:42 follows and 6 1.3 billion for
12:45 adult shelter 1.27 billion for
12:48 family shelter 456 million for
12:51 st street outreach services
12:52 and the remaining 4% is for
12:57 general administration in the
12:57 f 27 preliminary budget, this
12:59 administration is continuing
13:00 to make investments in our
13:01 critical programs with over
13:04 added in baseline funding
13:05 ,including for the City fabs
13:07 rental assistance program,
13:11 cash assistance food
13:12 assistance programs
13:13 ,affordable housing services
13:15 additional and additional
13:16 services to support New
13:17 yorkers experiencing street