The recently enacted FY22 State Budget took an overdue step to protect those historically marginalized and deeply impacted by the public health and social justice crises. The $2.1 billion for excluded workers who have suffered income loss due to COVID but are ineligible for unemployment insurance or related Federal benefits, due to their immigration status or other factors, is a critical investment toward addressing decades of inequity and systemic harm. Further, the $13 million toward initiatives and services supporting the AAPI community who have been the target of anti-Asian hate and violence, will ensure that nonprofit organizations that have served as a resilient and relentless force for equity, are better resourced.
It is time for the City’s budgetary priorities for the upcoming fiscal year to mirror the State’s, by investing in distressed communities and underfunded community-based organizations, as it is their strength that has always sustained New York during uncertain times, and it will be their success that drives the City and State’s recovery.