Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Finance
The Committee on Finance held an executive budget hearing for Fiscal Year 2027, chaired by Council Member Linda Lee with Speaker Julie Menin present. The hearing featured dozens of public testimony panels spanning nearly 13 hours, covering education, libraries, EMT pay parity and staffing shortages, NYCHA public housing and RAD/PACT privatization, youth programs, immigration legal services, disability services, parks, supportive housing, the Queensway/QueensLink debate, school policing versus mental health investment, and numerous nonprofit funding requests. Council members repeatedly emphasized prevention, pay equity, and baselining funding for programs facing expiration.
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0:13 Good morning. Good morning.
0:14 Welcome to New York City
0:15 council hearing on the
0:16 committee on finance at this
0:18 time, please. Sounds
0:19 electronics and do not
0:21 approach today's are going to
0:22 please do not approach the
0:24 days. If you're testifying
0:25 today. Please fill out a slip
0:26 with the sergeant's any
0:27 questions or concerns you also
0:28 reach a sergeant at arms e
0:30 mails, so testify online via
0:33 zoom and through testimony act
0:35 counsel that dot gov that is
0:36 testimony at council, not not
0:39 gov chair give us a minute.
0:40 We're going to do translations
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7:15 ,your mom, cherry begin. Hey
7:18 ,good morning, everyone. Oh ye
7:22 a, we got some responses back.
7:23 Good morning. Um, I wish I
7:25 could do the korean
7:26 translation, but sadly, I'm
7:27 not fluent, my parents would
7:29 be so disappointed. But anywa
7:30 y, I'm glad that you guys are
7:32 all with us and I've been
7:33 saying this that in our public
7:36 testimony in our previous
7:39 testimonies that very, ver
7:40 yexcited for today to hear from
7:43 you all as someone who was a
7:45 nonprofit for 20 years and I'm
7:46 a social worker. I was on your
7:48 side waiting all day t
7:49 otestify for my two minutes and
7:51 so I hear you guys, I want you
7:53 guys to know that we are going
7:56 to make sure we get through
7:57 all of you and we hear all of
7:59 your feedback. I'm actually
8:00 very excited to hear what you
8:01 all have to say so. I just
8:04 wanted to welcome you all t
8:05 ocity hall to this morning and
8:07 thank you so much for coming
8:08 out to testify. Okay, so now
8:11 for the more formal remarks so
8:13 before we begin. I want to. O
8:18 h, sorry. Huh? We've been
8:19 joined by counsel members
8:21 Hudson Wong murano Narcisse,
8:26 Mealy and, um so before we
8:28 begin. I want to remin
8:28 dmembers of the public that
8:30 this is a formal government
8:32 proceeding and that decorum
8:33 shall be observed at all times
8:34 as such, members of the public
8:36 shall remain silent at all
8:39 times the witness table is
8:40 reserved for people who wish
8:43 to testify. No video recording
8:44 or photography is allowed from
8:46 the witness table. I kno
8:48 weveryone's into selfie videos
8:50 boat? Yes. Sorry, I can't d
8:51 othat, but you can find the
8:53 clips online um, further
8:54 members of the public not
8:56 present audio or video
8:58 recordings as testimony, but
8:58 you submit transcripts of such
9:02 recordings to the sergeant at
9:03 arms for inclusion in the
9:05 hearing record if you wish t
9:07 ospeak at today's hearing
9:10 ,please fill out an appearance
9:11 card with the sergeant at arms
9:11 and wait for your name to be
9:13 called once you have been
9:15 recognized, you will have two
9:17 minutes to speak on today's
9:18 hearing on the executive
9:19 budget for a year and I just
9:22 want to say I know two minutes
9:23 . It's going to go by really
9:26 fast if you guys can try your
9:27 best to summarize the main
9:28 points you want to get across
9:29 that would be amazing. And if
9:31 you hear the buzzer at the end
9:33 of the two minutes, it's fine
9:35 if you if you're in the middle
9:36 of your statement. If you
9:37 could just try to summarize
9:39 and wrap up that would be
9:41 great, so please keep that in
9:43 mind if you have a written
9:44 statement or additional renee
9:45 testimony you wish to submit
9:47 for the record, please provide
9:48 a copy of that testimony t
9:50 othe sergeant at arms and you
9:53 also email written testimony
9:56 to testimony at council that
9:58 and we talk. Aww, within 72
10:00 hours after the hearing, so I
10:01 want you remember, you can
10:02 submit written testimony up to
10:03 72 hours after today's hearing
10:07 , audio and video recordings
10:07 will not be accepted and
10:08 believe me when I say this is
10:09 my last plug I promised our
10:12 City Council finance team. Who
10:13 you're going to see coming in
10:14 and out throughout the day.
10:17 They literally read every
10:18 single word of all of your
10:19 written testimonies and we
10:21 take that into consideration
10:22 as we do our budget
10:24 negotiations, so don't think
10:24 that if you submit it's going
10:27 to just go into the ether. We
10:28 will read it. I promise you,
10:30 so please the written
10:32 testimony on top of testifying
10:35 today. Okay? And then when you
10:35 hear your name when you hear
10:37 your name, please come up t
10:38 othe witness panel for the
10:41 first panel, we will invite.
10:41 So we're going to hear and
10:43 please forgive me if I
10:44 pronounce names incorrectly
10:48 ,so the first panel we have
10:49 leila del gin makana woo dia
10:56 three e r es su keenan abbott.
10:56 So if you guys can come up to
10:58 the wiesstn table that would
11:09 be awesome and we have been
11:10 also joined by Council Member
11:17 of ills. Okay, so feel free t
11:18 ogo in whichever order you want
11:24 ? Hey,
11:25 day. You can begin whe
11:25 nready, just make sure you push
11:27 the microphones are the red
11:32 buttons on. Good morning. My
11:33 name is layla jelena probably
11:35 proud the prices participant
11:37 of girls and at total of a
11:39 story out today. I'm here t
11:40 ourge him to keep his life
11:41 cleaning program at our school
11:43 growing up, I was often till I
11:44 was too much. I have a big
11:46 personality. I am allowed. I
11:47 seek my mind and I expressed
11:47 my so fully in many spaces
11:51 that get cheated like a
11:52 problem to be to be fixed. But
11:53 when I walked into grows and
11:55 they didn't try to quiet me
11:56 down as if they completely
11:58 celebrated it. They took me t
11:58 omy first ever liberty game
12:02 gave me the space to host host
12:04 events trust ine m to lea
12:05 dgroup and lots of of me when I
12:07 was just being myself because
12:09 of them I lent him my big
12:10 personality isn't something t
12:11 obe ashamed of it is my
12:13 greatest strength that is why
12:16 you're funding belongs here
12:17 because you are just paying
12:18 for as a school slot you're
12:20 funding the future leaders of
12:21 the school without girls,
12:23 students live the one place
12:23 where they can
12:24 thank you. Thank you
12:35 , my name is zina abbott and
12:35 I'm the program director for
12:37 girls inc at the young women's
12:38 leadership school of historia
12:40 I want to talk briefly about
12:41 what it takes for a family t
12:42 owalk their daughter through
12:43 the doors of our programs so
12:44 many of our families are
12:47 working families and 20 26 for
12:48 working parents to hand their
12:49 child to a program every
12:50 afternoon trusting their child
12:51 well being takes enormous
12:53 courage and yet these families
12:55 choose us. That choice is
12:55 built on trust and that trust
12:57 took 12 years to establish
12:59 here is without trust produces
13:01 inside a relationship, a girl
13:02 can count on our girls stuck.
13:05 Stop bracing and start growing
13:06 , they show up as themselves.
13:07 They take a risk in front of
13:09 people who already believe in
13:10 them, that is whe are young
13:11 woman thrives, not in the
13:13 program randomly assigned t
13:13 oher. But in a room where she
13:15 was already known and seen as
13:16 her greatest self driving
13:18 young women is where all of us
13:18 want in the City.
13:21 Girls inca towards astoria
13:22 has built a competent and
13:23 compassionate program are
13:24 competence is in the numbers
13:25 this year's we alone, we
13:27 served 129 girls against a
13:29 contract of 90 and every year
13:31 we say we surpassed the
13:33 rigorous rubric for program
13:35 performance. The compassion is
13:36 a safe program with familiar
13:38 faces that are working, family
13:39 can trust and hold accountable
13:40 . It is unfair and unjust to
13:42 assign these young women to a
13:44 stranger random and New
13:45 provider chosen randomly
13:46 through a non collaborative
13:47 process only inherits a raw
13:49 served. It does not inherit 12
13:51 years of trust that trust us
13:53 starts over at zero on the
13:54 backs of girls and families
13:55 who need it the most right now
13:57 I am quoting 01:00 of our
14:01 sixth grade families who sai
14:02 dgirls and husband has been an
14:02 invaluable partner and
14:03 supporting the students at the
14:04 young women's leadership
14:05 school of astoria by providing
14:07 a safe, empowering and
14:08 enriching after school
14:09 environment that aligned t
14:10 othe school'sissi mon of
14:11 development, confident college
14:12 and career ready young woman.
14:15 Their programming offers
14:16 students meaningful academic
14:17 support, leadership
14:18 development mention ship and
14:19 social emotional learning
14:21 opportunities that are
14:22 specifically tailored to the
14:22 needs of girls families
14:24 benefit from reliable, high
14:25 quality after school care
14:27 while students gain access t
14:28 opositive role models and
14:30 programs out foster self
14:31 esteem independence in the
14:34 community engagement
14:34 continuing girls and guys
14:35 after school provider
14:35 insurance that our students
14:36 will continue to receive
14:37 consistent mission driven
14:39 support that strength in both
14:40 their academic success and
14:42 personal growth fish. You're
14:50 good
14:50 . Hello, my name is mcconnell
14:51 who I am proud to girls and
14:53 get suppose of a story and I
14:54 am here today to you to keep
14:56 this life changing program at
14:58 our school.
14:58 As students in an all girls
14:59 school. We already know the
15:01 immense power of an
15:02 environment designed
15:03 specifically for young men t
15:04 othrive girls in accommodates
15:06 and elevated environment
15:07 perfectly for the past decade,
15:08 it has extended our school's
15:10 mission past the final bill
15:12 providing a safe, continuous
15:12 space where we could truly
15:13 find our voices.
15:16 Through taylor's leadership
15:17 training
15:17 . Handsome cem projects and
15:18 deep mentorship grossing turns
15:19 the lessons we learned in our
15:20 classroom into real word
15:22 confidence.
15:23 Without dressing, I would
15:23 have missed out on crucial
15:25 life skills they public
15:27 speaking managing peer
15:28 pressure and building long
15:28 term personal resilience.
15:31 If this program is removed