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Guest User 2/24/23 Guest User 2/24/23

Testimony on Access-A-Ride

Through our network, we’ve seen the importance of transportation as a top concern for older New Yorkers and one’s ability to access reliable and safe transit. And yet, we know that for many older adults who live in transit deserts getting to doctors’ appointments, going grocery shopping or taking advantage of the City’s resources including Older Adult Centers is a constant challenge.

PDF of Testimony

New York City Council

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Chair, Selvena Brooks-Powers

Committee on Aging

Chair, Crystal Hudson

Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction

Chair, Linda Lee

February 24, 2023

Oversight - Access-A-Ride

My name is Brianna Paden-Williams and I am the Communications and Policy Associate at LiveOn NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

LiveOn NY’s members include more than 110 community-based nonprofits that provide core services which allow all New Yorkers to thrive in our communities as we age, such as older adult centers, home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing, NORCs, and home care. LiveOn NY is also home to the Reframing Aging NYC Initiative, part of the national Reframing Aging Initiative aimed to counteract ageism and improve the way policymakers, stakeholders, and the public think about aging and older people. With our members, we work to make New York a better place to age.

Background

Age friendly transportation is a key element of allowing older adults to age in community and thrive in our city. With a 65% customer satisfaction rating in the most recent MTA customer satisfaction survey, Access-A-Ride is not meeting the needs of its users. We have also heard complaints from our providers whose clients rely on Access-A-Ride to get to and from their centers. Through our network, we’ve seen the importance of transportation as a top concern for older New Yorkers and one’s ability to access reliable and safe transit. And yet, we know that for many older adults who live in transit deserts getting to doctors’ appointments, going grocery shopping or taking advantage of the City’s resources including Older Adult Centers is a constant challenge.

Furthermore, our members have reported fundamental issues with Access-A-Ride program reliability, timeliness, and ease of use. We have heard reports that older adults have arrived hours late to programming at older adult centers, fully missing the programs that they intended on attending. We have also heard that cars did not arrive when called and required multiple calls from the older adult and center staff to book another car, which stranded the older adult at the center with no way to return home until hours later. Issues like these undermine the purpose of a program meant to reliably transport people who cannot access traditional public transportation.

Creating a robust and completely accessible public transportation system is just one part of turning NYC into an age friendly city. Looking ahead we should incorporate universal design principles in all elements of our built environment to remove travel barriers to those with limited mobility

Recommendations

Firstly, we invite the City to utilize our aging policy agenda, Aging is Everyone’s Business, released by LiveOn NY in partnership with Hunter College Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, which is a bold policy agenda that provides actionable policy solutions, including transportation, to make New York a better, more equitable place to age.

Second, in order to address these challenges and created long-term solutions to improve access to transportation for older adults, LiveOn NY recommends the following:

The City should partner with the state to make our public transit system truly accessible for all New Yorkers through the installation of elevators and ramps at all subway stations throughout the city. We applaud the recent announcement by the MTA to install new elevators and ADA enhancements at MTA stations. Currently, only one in four New York City subway stations have elevators, ramps, or other accessible entrances, rendering most inaccessible for people who use assistive devices. The expansion of new elevators and enhancements is a step forward to ensure transportation is accessible for all New Yorkers including older adults and people living with a disability. We encourage the City to continue to work with the State to remove one of the largest barriers of use for many older adults and New Yorkers with limited mobility.

Increase investments in the reliability and speed of bus services. The city’s bus service is already accessible and reaches every corner of the city, however reliability issues and slow bus service times can discourage use. The city must invest in reducing bus headways and creating reliable routes free of traffic.

Expand and increase investment for the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Paratransit E-Hail program, which uses the city’s fleet of taxis to allow older adults and others with mobility impairments to get around. Given the divergent experiences between traditional Access-A-Ride and the E-hail program, expanding on-demand E-hail, and establishing its permanency, should be a priority for the City and the agency.

to fully utilize the taxi service system that exists throughout our city. Many paratransit users who have had access to this program have expressed their preference for this program over access-a-ride.

Improve real time reporting of elevator and escalator outages and prioritizing timely repair. Reliably planning travel is a key component of effective public transportation. Without clear notifications of outages and adequate confidence that elevators and escalators will be repaired in a timely manner, public transit can become a non-option for people who would otherwise choose to use it.

Expanding on Chair Hudson’s Int. 676 to bring universal design principles to streetscape design to make streets safer for those of all mobility levels. LiveOn NY encourages the City to adopt universal design principles in all repairs and reconstructions of streets and other public spaces. Universal design makes the city a better place for everyone. For example, curb cuts not only help people who move around using a walker, but also parents pushing strollers and tourists pulling wheeled suitcases.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Guest User 2/17/23 Guest User 2/17/23

Testimony on Justice in Aging – Reentry Issues for Older New Yorkers

It’s time for the City to address elder parole as an aging issue with an older adult population re-entering into community, looking to move forward in their lives. At LiveOn NY, we believe no one is disposable, nor should anyone be defined by the worst thing they’ve done. Further, we believe in redemption and transformation. We believe in families, communities, and collective care.

PDF of Testimony

New York City Council

Committee on Aging

Chair, Council Member Hudson

Committee on Criminal Justice

Chair, Council Member Rivera

February 17, 2023

Oversight - Justice in Aging – Reentry Issues for Older New Yorkers

My name is Brianna Paden-Williams and I am the Communications and Policy Associate at LiveOn NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Background

The number of people in New York State prisons has been declining, however, the proportion of older people in prison continues to rise with one in every four incarcerated people in prison 50 and older.

Unfortunately, when formerly incarcerated older adults are released from prison and re-enter into the community, they are often faced with unique challenges with many released in their later years. It’s evident that people in prison age at an accelerated rate because of harmful and unhealthy prison conditions, including stress, separation from loved ones, poor nutrition, substandard and inaccessible health care, staff brutality, disabling environments, and more.

New York has a moral and fiscal crisis of aging and dying in prisons due to decades of extremely

harsh sentencing and a racially biased parole system that does not adequately create space for redemption, personal transformation, healing, and safety. The grave injustice of mass incarceration extends beyond the harm inflicted on individual people in prison. Tens of thousands of families across our state are missing one or more loved ones: children, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Furthermore, New York spends an average of $60,000 annually to incarcerate just one person, and between $100,000 and $240,000 annually per older adult in prison. This is money that should instead be invested in resources that deliver real community health and safety.

Approximately 1,000 people have already died in New York prisons in the last decade and another 1,000 are likely to die behind bars in the coming years with no hope of release, no matter how much they have done to improve themselves and regardless of whether they pose a risk to public safety.

To address the issues of elder parole, LiveOn NY is proud to offer the following recommendations:

Recommendations

The City should look to broad and fund collaboration with community-based organizations such as Osborne Association that have the expertise and programming to provide resources and tools to individuals, families and communities impacted by the criminal justice system and provide support for the re-entry into community.

Remove barriers to access affordable housing for formerly incarcerated older adults The housing crisis in New York City is particularly acute for older adults as many rely on fixed incomes, making it difficult to afford the rent while other costs rise. For formerly incarcerated older adults, finding affordable and accessible housing is an added challenge with many landlords discriminating against older adults on parole through routine background.

Work with HPD to make older adult affordable housing a key priority to relieve the over 200,000 waitlist for older adults seeking affordable housing. LiveOn NY’s own research has found that there are more than 200,000 older adults languishing on waiting lists for affordable housing through the HUD 202 program, each waiting for 7-10 years on average for a unit to become available. This challenge is mirrored by the thousands of applications that come flooding in each and every time a new affordable senior housing lottery opens on Housing Connect. To address this, LiveOn NY recommends the City increase capacity of affordable older adult housing that would relieve one of the largest hurdles for older adults returning to community after incarceration.

Create space through support for community building and cure violence programs for formerly incarcerated older adults to contribute to their communities. Upon release, formerly incarcerated older adults often make important contributions to their communities, including by interrupting gun violence, mentoring young people, and ultimately promoting community safety. In addition, LiveOn NY also recommends the City expands competent mental health and social services for formerly incarcerated older adults, especially for individuals who have experienced long-term incarceration.

Furthermore, LiveOn NY strongly supports the passage of Resolution 241-A, which calls for the passage of the Fair and Timely Parole Act (S307/A162) and Elder Parole Act (S2423/A2035)

First, LiveOn NY shares our deep appreciation to Council Member Hudson, Chair of the Committee on Aging, for her leadership in introducing Council Resolution 241-A. In addition, we thank Chair Rivera for her support of in holding this hearing, and we thank the 17 Council co-sponsors who have called for the State to pass the Fair and Timely Parole Act (S307/A162) and Elder Parole Act (S2423/A2035) and joined in making this Resolution a priority.

It is time that New York reform its parole system to provide hope for families across this state by passing Elder Parole (S2423/A2035). If passed, this bill would make eligible for individualized parole consideration people in prison aged 55 or older who have served at least 15 years. It is not a “blanket release” policy. Rather, it gives older individuals who have transformed themselves an opportunity to demonstrate their moral character before the Board of Parole and, subject to the Board’s discretion, to be released to their families and communities to live out their final years with dignity.

Secondly, we encourage the City Council to support the passage of the Fair & Timely Parole Act (S2423/A2035) to ensure that individuals have a fair and meaningful opportunity to demonstrate their rehabilitation and be released. This bill would provide more meaningful parole reviews for incarcerated people who are already parole eligible by altering the standard of parole to center release determinations not on the original crime but on the person’s rehabilitation while incarcerated and their current risk of violating the law. This bill will not take away parole commissioners discretion and still requires that the Board consider the nature of someone’s crime and victim impact statements in their release decisions.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Guest User 2/1/23 Guest User 2/1/23

Testimony on Nonprofit Contracting and the Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time

Fully funding city contracts for human services provides economic security for the more than 662,000 workers who are directly employed in the field, the majority of whom are women, and people of color.. As we look ahead, LiveOn NY encourages the City to create long-term solutions to the chronic contract challenges and issues, nonprofit organizations have experienced for decades.

PDF of Testimony

Committee on Contracts

Chair, Council Member Won

Committees on Youth Services

Chair, Council Member Stevens

Committee on Aging

Chair, Council Member Hudson

January 30, 2023

Oversight - Nonprofit Contracting and the Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time.

My name is Brianna Paden-Williams and I am the Communications and Policy Associate at LiveOn NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Background

In New York City, the majority of human services programming is run through contracts with hundreds of nonprofit organizations across the city that employ tens of thousands of New Yorkers. However, for decades, city contracts have fallen short of reimbursing nonprofits for the full cost of delivering services.

Unfortunately, providers receive about 80 percent of what it actually costs to run programs, on average, forcing organizations to borrow money or spend administrative effort seeking alternative sources of funding.

These delays have put financial stress on community-based organizations that have been the backbone to providing lifesaving services and support to New Yorkers including older adults. The financial uncertainty due to low wages, payment delays and other factors makes it difficult for nonprofit organizations, including aging services providers, to plan for the future and to commit to meaningful partnerships as we continue to emerge from the pandemic and meet the demands of New Yorkers.

Fully funding city contracts for human services provides economic security for the more than 662,000 workers who are directly employed in the field, the majority of whom are women, and people of color.[1] Furthermore, it also ensures that organizations can continue to thrive and provide critical services for New Yorkers. As we look ahead, LiveOn NY encourages the City to create long-term solutions to the chronic contract challenges and issues, nonprofit organizations have experienced for decades.

Recommendations

Firstly, we invite the City to utilize our aging policy agenda, Aging is Everyone’s Business, released by LiveOn NY in partnership with Hunter College Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, which is a bold policy agenda that provides actionable policy solutions to make New York a better, more equitable place to age.

Furthermore, to address the chronic challenges of City contracting for nonprofit organizations, LiveOn NY recommends the following:

Boost salaries of human service workers on city contracts to make them competitive and equitable across human services sectors. Poverty level wages from government underfunding have chronically left City contracted providers including human service workers with low wages, making it difficult for organizations to attract top talent, and resulting in frequent staff turnover.

These workers continue to serve our communities by innovating and adapting their operations and programming to the current reality shaped by the pandemic while being paid poverty-level wages through government contracts. The lack of livable wages for human service workers not only disadvantages communities who rely on these workers for lifesaving services but represents a critical and overlooked equity issue. We urge the City to commit to finally paying human services workers on City contracts a fair and equitable wage.

Empower nonprofits to make expenses that they feel will best serve their communities by building more flexibility within their contracts. Most notably, at the peak of the pandemic, many City contracted providers, including several of LiveOn members, completed the Older Adult Center RFP issued by DFTA that aimed to rethink how we provide services and programming for older adults. While this RFP was an opportunity to develop innovative programming to support older adults, providers were asked to complete this RFP without the pandemic in mind, despite the changing landscape of aging services and the human services sector at large. As providers emerge from the pandemic, many community-based organizations with City contracts are now faced with unique challenges as the needs of older adults have evolved. To address this, LiveOn NY encourages the City to assess how flexibility can be built into City Contracts to allow providers to adapt to the evolving needs of older adults.

The City must also continue to improve the timeliness of payments to non-profits, as well as the contracting process itself. Many nonprofits are paid at the end of the contract period, requiring them to front program expenses until they can be reimbursed. Too often, providers experience significant delays in the payment process due to late contracts registration and a burdensome and confusing process. The city must standardize the contracting process across agencies and create functionalities that reduce redundancies for nonprofits that are awarded multiple contracts. Furthermore, LiveOn NY encourages the City to improve the timeliness of discretionary funding for community-based organizations. Many programs, particularly smaller, hyper-local nonprofits that serve hard-to-reach senior populations rely on discretionary funding to ensure their communities can be served. As of today only 5% of the city’s FY 23 discretionary contracts have been registered, and a full ⅓ of FY 22 contracts remain unregistered. 60% of the contracts amount to $50,000 or less, but they only represent 8% of the total funding. To address this issue, we encourage the City to treat discretionary funding similar to grants to streamline the process.

Furthermore, within the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, the City must ensure that providers have 30 days to respond following the final addendum released to ensure providers have adequate time to sufficiently complete the RFP. Most recently, last month, the Department for the Aging, also known as NYC Aging, released the Case Management RFP that many of LiveOn NY’s members have submitted proposals for. While this RFP was released in December right before the holidays, the final Addendum was released just 7 days before the submission deadline for the Case Management RFP, not giving providers the adequate time to review the addendum and make any necessary changes for their proposal. Furthermore, while LiveOn NY appreciates the salary requirements within the Case Management RFP to address pay equity in the human services sector, LiveOn NY has heard many concerns from our members on whether the rates are sufficient to cover both the salary requirements and the necessary funding to provide case management services in New York City.

Proposed Legislation

LiveOn applauds Contracts Chair Won and Youth Services Chair Stevens for introducing the following legislation aimed at improving City contracting for nonprofit organizations including human service providers, and thanks Chair Won, Chair Stevens and Chair Hudson for their advocacy.

LiveOn NY offers the following feedback on the proposed legislation:

Intro 510

LiveOn NY supports the intent of Intro. 510. This bill would ensure that human service workers contracted with the city would be paid prevailing wages set by the comptroller. While this bill is an important step forward in recognizing that our human service workforce is underpaid and undervalued in our city, we must not put additional financial strain on providers without commensurate investment from the city. Many providers are already financially struggling dealing with high costs related to service and delays in payments from existing contracts and adding additional costs without additional funding would only further strain an already overburdened system.

Intro 511

LiveOn NY supports Intro. 511, which would require the procurement policy board (“PPB”) to set time limits within which agencies would be required to complete each step of the procurement process. Many of our members have experienced financial instability due to the unpredictable nature of the city’s contracting and procurement process. Contracts have been registered a full year after they were awarded in some cases and these delays create additional costs and uncertainty for city contracted providers. A clear and accountable timeline for contract and procurement procedures would help get our service providers paid on time and in a predictable manner.

Intro 514

LiveOn NY supports Intro. 514, which would require the establishment and maintenance of a searchable public online database to contain information from all stages of the contracting process for every mayoral agency procurement that exceeds the small purchase limits. Transparency is key in holding agencies accountable for timely and reliable payments in contracts and a public database would create an avenue to do just that. It would also allow for a holistic view of our contracting system across all city contracts to identify and solve systemic issues in the contracting and procurement process.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

[1] Nonprofit New York (2021). 2021 City Policy Platform: New York City. Accessed at https://www.nonprofitnewyork.org/act/2021-nonprofit-policy-platform/

Guest User 1/13/23 Guest User 1/13/23

LiveOn NY's Statement on the 2023 State of the State Address

This Tuesday, Governor Hochul held her State of the State address, articulating policy and budgetary priorities for the coming session including aging related commitments to support all New Yorkers as we age. LiveOn NY applauds Governor Hochul commitments outlined in the agenda, which serve as significant markers of what's likely to come on the state level this year.

LiveOn NY Applauds Governor Hochul Commitment to Older New Yorkers in Her State of the State Address

January 13, 2023 (New York, NY) – This Tuesday, Governor Hochul held her State of the State address, articulating policy and budgetary priorities for the coming session including aging related commitments to support all New Yorkers as we age. LiveOn NY applauds Governor Hochul commitments outlined in the agenda, which serve as significant markers of what's likely to come on the state level this year.

"LiveOn NY thanks Governor Hochul for her commitment to support all older New Yorkers as well as direct providers, organizations and agencies who provide critical services that allow older adults to age in community," stated Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. "We look forward to working with the Governor and her counterparts in the Legislature to enact these key pieces of her agenda and to continue to push forward in making New York a better place to age."

Most notable aging related commitments include:

Ensure Access to Aging Services and High-Quality Long-Term Care: To ensure access to aging services, high-quality long-term care, and the ability for senior New Yorkers and their caregivers to make informed choices on where to seek care, Governor Hochul aim to:

Invest in care teams to provide care for low income adults in their home, helping to ensure New Yorkers can age in place.
Provide respite care for high-need family caregivers, granting relief for those who oversee care of their loved ones.
Establish quality reporting and accreditation for assisted living residences and implement quality improvement initiatives in nursing homes to promote transparency and make it easier for New Yorkers to make informed choices

Create Housing for Older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers: Older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers face distinct challenges in accessing affordable and affirming housing. Smaller family support networks make LGBTQ+ seniors more reliant on community service providers. Many older LGBTQ+ residents put off important housing decisions out of fear of being mistreated by housing providers and neighbors alike. Governor Hochul will direct HCR to provide funding specifically for affordable housing projects that are LGBTQ+-affirming for older New Yorkers.
Authorize the City of New York to Legalize Basement Apartments, that would “propose providing the City of New York with the local authority to provide amnesty by local law for existing basement units that meet health and safety standards to be determined by the City.”
Increase the housing stock in the state by 800,000 over 10 years to address the state's lack of housing development that has led to a shortage of affordable housing and aim to reduce housing costs and allow people to afford to stay in their communities as they age.

Read the 2023 State of the State for additional information.

Press Contact:

Kevin Kiprovski, Director of Public Policy, kkiprovski@liveon-ny.org

Brianna Paden-Williams, Communications and Policy Associate, bpaden-williams@liveon-ny.org

About LiveOn NY:

LiveOn NY’s members provide the core, community-based services that allow older adults to thrive in their communities. With a base of more than 100 community-based organizations serving at least 300,000 older New Yorkers annually. Our members provide services ranging from senior centers, congregate and home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing with services, elder abuse prevention services, caregiver supports, case management, transportation, and NORCs. LiveOn NY advocates for increased funding for these vital services to improve both the solvency of the system and the overall capacity of community-based service providers.

LiveOn NY also administers a citywide outreach program and staffs a hotline that educates, screens and helps with benefit enrollment including SNAP, SCRIE and others, and also administers the Rights and Information for Senior Empowerment (RISE) program to bring critical information directly to seniors on important topics to help them age well in their communities.

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Guest User 1/9/23 Guest User 1/9/23

LiveOn NY's End of Year Recap

As 2022 comes to a close, we reflect on all that we have accomplished to support older adults and professionals in New York. Nonetheless, we know this work wouldn’t be possible without our LiveOn NY network—our member organizations, government partners, stakeholders, advocates and older adults — that have shown up everyday to provide critical services and support to older New Yorkers. We thank each and everyone of you that showed up to ensure all older adults regardless of their background can age in community.

LiveOn NY's End of Year Recap

Built political will to reframe aging

Hosted two Reframing Aging virtual trainings with over 200 participants
Launched an Online Reframing Aging Resource Center
Completed over 230 engagements including public speaking presentations, testifying at hearings, community events, op-eds, and more
Hosted a virtual Aging Services Briefing for staff of Council Members' offices to provide insight into the challenges faced by older adults, direct service providers, and organizations, particularly during the pandemic, and how we hope to build a better future for all New Yorkers.

Hosted our 27th Annual Advocacy Day in-person with roughly 200 older adults and aging service professionals joined LiveOn NY on the steps of City Hall to demand #EquityforAging and #JustPay in the budget. During this we were proud to have remarks given by 8 New York City Council Members including Aging Chair, Council Member Crystal Hudson, 3 professionals from our member organizations, and 1 older adult participant.
LiveOn NY was a proud supporter of the Just Pay campaign, led by the Human Services Council, which resulted in a $60 million human services workforce investment.
LiveOn NY was proud to support the Fair Pay for Home Care campaign, led by the Caring Majority, which resulted in a $3 hourly raise for home care workers over the next two years.

Supported the nonprofit workforce and aging service infrastructure

Hosted our 32nd Annual Conference on Aging and Sponsor Expo, which we held virtually for the second time, thereby providing critical information, education and professional networking opportunities to 567 attendees—a record.
Launched a new Emotional Wellness Training Series in partnership with experts in the field such as SPOP, Compassion It, and the NY Peace Institute to support our members through some of the most challenging issues including burnout and mental health issues.

Held our in-person Membership meeting sharing updates for the coming year as well as heard updates on the human services sector from Michelle Jackson, Executive Director at the Human Services Council. In addition, we received remarks from Aging Chair, New York State Senator Rachel May, Chair of the Committee on Aging and Aging Chair, Assembly Member Ron Kim and Council Member Crystal Hudson. We were also joined by guest speaker Dr. Wenimo Okoya, Founder & Executive Director of The Healing Schools Project, who taught us about creating restorative spaces.

Participated in the first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process, in partnership with the Civic Engagement Commission, to hear from the older adults on issues impacting their community and collect ideas on how New York City should spend $5 million in public funding.
Facilitated and managed continuous committees, taskforces and gatherings for over 150 nonprofit organizations throughout the State of New York to disseminate critical information and coordinate response efforts, as well as provided self care and mental health-related support to nonprofit professionals responding to the COVID emergency.