Communities First Coalition Seeks $20 Million in Executive Budget to Ensure Continued Funding for Critical Consumer Services
Albany, New York – On February 5th, lawmakers, advocates, and homeowners will rally at the Capitol in support of Communities First, a network of 89 nonprofit housing counselor and legal service providers, to call on Governor Cuomo to dedicate $20 million in funding to continue critical services for vulnerable New York homeowners.
Over the last decade, this coalition of community nonprofits has helped over 100,000 New Yorkers fight homeowner scams, fraud, and displacement -- but the network will be forced to shut down if funding runs out on March 31, 2019 as scheduled. The nonprofits are currently funded primarily through bank settlement funds tied to the 2008 financial crisis, but those funds are nearly depleted. Unless the Governor steps in to allocate $20 million to the network in this year’s budget, countless nonprofits will be forced to lay off workers and scale back their services, and many will be forced to shut down completely.
For additional information, please visit the Communities First website at http://www.nycommunitiesfirst.com
WHAT: Press Conference urging Gov. Cuomo to provide nonprofit funding
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, 1 p.m.
WHERE: NYS Capitol - Million Dollar Staircase
WHO: Elected Officials, Advocates, and Homeowners, including:
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes
Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz
Assemblymember Sean Ryan
Empire Justice Center
AARP
Center for NYC Neighborhoods
Western New York Law Center