The latest from New York City YMCA ... #SupportOurSeniors ... Hamilton
Senior services advocates rallied outside New York City Hall on June 11 in an effort to secure more funding in the upcoming city budget. Illustration by Zach Williams
New York City’s YMCA reported a record fundraising haul at a June 6 event with a little help from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. More than 500 people attended the midtown event, which raised $1.65 million, according to a press release. The funds will be of particular use for programming in the Bronx. Bloomberg and Sandra O’Connor, chief regulatory affairs officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. were honored at the event. Two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate) also got a chance to show off his pipes.
A proposed federal rule on Association Health Plans could destabilize New York’s health insurance markets, according to a report released today by United Hospital Fund and supported by The New York Community Trust and The TD Charitable Foundation.
“The designers of the (Affordable Care Act) realized that, if you want to increase coverage through the private insurance market, you need to make certain that the underlying risk pools are strong and stable in the long term,” said Peter Newell, director of UHF’s Health Insurance Project and author of the report, in a press release. “That keeps premiums more affordable, and makes health plans willing partners. The repeal of the individual mandate and now the AHP regulation goes in the exact opposite direction, and could erase many of the gains New York made under the ACA.”
New York City nonprofits, elected officials and their seniors rallied outside City Hall on June 11 to urge Mayor Bill de Blasio and the council to include $20 million in funding for senior services. This Twitter moment shows what went down as a final budget deal reportedly looms between the mayor and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
With a deal reportedly imminent ⚡️ New York City nonprofits say #SupportOurSeniors to secure funding in upcoming New York City budgethttps://t.co/NE3ydYjwKU #Budget2018
— NYN Media (@NYN_media) June 11, 2018
A budget deal reached by de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson did include “$500 Million for senior affordable housing,” according to a City Council statement.
A batch of New York City public school students took in a June 6 performance of Hamilton on Broadway as part of a $1.46 million grant from The Rockefeller Foundation. A total of 20,000 students will see the musical as part of the effort, which will also seek to incorporate Hamilton into American history curricula, Broadway World reports.
The new tax bill created a new tax on nonprofits, according to the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York. Legislation before the state legislature though would remove the requirement that nonprofit employers pay the Unrelated Business Income Tax, which is automatically imposed by the state whenever changes are made to federal tax statutes, according to a June 11 email from the NPCCNY.
The organization and other groups are trying to mobilize support for the legislation – known as S.8831 in the Senate and A.11051 in the Assembly – and have already issued a memo about the legislation. There is also a white paper and a podcast episode on the issue.
From sister publication City & State’s First Read:
Outside City & State’s Pride Power 50 event Monday evening, a group of activists handed out brochures calling for increased funding for the de Blasio administration’s Unity Project, a multipronged initiative launched last year to better serve LGBT youth. Inside the event, New York City first lady Chirlane McCray told attendees of a development that at least partly addressed the activists’ concerns, in particular their complaint about a lack of shelter beds to serve homeless youth.
“Last month, we announced the first-ever youth shelter serving people up to the age of 24,” McCray said, adding, “But wait, there’s more! Earlier this evening, in partnership with Speaker (Corey) Johnson and the City Council, we expanded that commitment to establish three whole shelters that will better meet the needs of this … community.”
The updated city budget plan will increase funding to $3 million, up from $1 million, in order to expand the Department of Youth and Community Development’s Runaway Homeless Youth program. The deal, part of a handshake agreement between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Johnson, was relayed to McCray on her way to the event.
Send your press releases, photos, and word of your latest happenings to reporter Zach Williams at zwilliams@nynmedia.com.