More than 500 community leaders joined Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and close to two dozen high-ranking federal, state and city government on April 27 to discuss how to best access federal stimulus dollars.

“Today is special because we are providing you as non-profits with closer access to those Federal, State and City officials who are making those decisions and can answer any questions that you might have,” said Rangel, who hosted the summit on multiple floors of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Official Building (163 W. 125th Street)

Secretary Donovan, the highest-ranking Obama official to attend the summit, welcomed the audience saying: "In this time of great economic crisis, it is critical that our recovery partners in cities and states across the country have all of the tools and information necessary to take advantage of the Recovery Act. President Obama's Recovery Act is the most ambitious economic recovery package in history, providing immediate relief for Americans who have lost their jobs and saving or creating, over the next two years, millions of private sector jobs that will put Americans to work doing the work America needs done."

Rangel also unveiled his office’s Recovery Resource Guide, a 56-page breakdown of funds that are available either directly from the federal government or through state and local agencies.

“In the short time that the Obama Administration has held the reigns of power in Washington, they have made it clear that they will do everything necessary to give people not just a job, but a career,” said the Congressman. “To provide not just for food, but for a healthy way of life. To not just save energy today, but lay the seeds for a future where our economy is not dependant on oil and fossil fuels, but on the effort that we each put in our lives. “

New York State Governor David Paterson, represented at the summit by Special advisor, Timothy Gilchrist, thanked organizers for giving a voice to the many residents who have been quietly suffering through this economic crisis.”

“”I would like to particularly thank President Obama, Congressman Rangel, and our entire New York Delegation for fighting hard for this much-needed funding,” said Gov. Paterson.” By uniting government, the private sector and non-profit agencies around a common purpose, we can quickly and efficiently target what ails our economy and create the jobs necessary to keeping it healthy for generations to come.”

New York City Council Majority Whip Inez E. Dickens applauded Congressman Rangel on his diligent efforts on bringing timely information on stimulus funding directly to the community.

"Our treasured institutions and our vital social service agencies are suffering. Often, we are the last to find out about the availability of significant fund," However, thanks to our Ways and Means Chair, we have the chance to be the first in line knocking at the door of opportunity.

BRINGING WASHINGTON UPTOWN
Monday’s conference was aimed toward providing established non-profit organizations with the necessary resources to apply for funding opportunities in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Opening plenary session, emceed by Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone President & CEO Kenneth J. Knuckles, featured presentations from our federal, state, and city officials to provide an overview of available resources. Among the Federal agencies attending were the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Energy, Justice, Veterans Affairs, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Nutrition Service, and Internal Revenue Service. (A full list of government officials is attached below.)

Afterwards, participants attended issue-specific workshops that provide local leaders with an opportunity to network with government representatives and discuss specific funding initiatives. A total of nine workshops were held in the areas of criminal justice, economic development, education, green initiatives, health, housing, jobs, tax and veteran’s affairs.

The workshops were also attended by representatives from local universities that have pledged to provide technical assistance to community organizations. These universities include Baruch, City College, Columbia University, John Jay College, New York University and the New School for Social Research.

Congressman Rangel said that materials distributed at the workshop, including any PowerPoint presentations made at the workshops. should be available for the constituents to download starting Friday, May 1.

“We hope that today is the beginning of local relationships and partnerships that will last beyond this stimulus initiative and that can provide insight and assistance when other federal opportunities come down the pipeline,” said Congressman Rangel. “This should be just the beginning of extending your network and your base of resources.”

AVAILABLE FUNDING
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide economic relief and a path toward long-term stability in Upper Manhattan, in the areas of:

Unemployment Compensation: The Stimulus provides the State throughout 2009 an additional $13.2 million per week in unemployment benefits and $93.1 million in Emergency Unemployment Compensation funds.

Economic Development: New York City will receive $625 million dollars in recovery zone bonds. These tax credit bonds for economic development and facilities will assist the communities in our city facing significant poverty, unemployment, or home foreclosures by investing in infrastructure, job training, education, and economic development.

Nutritional Support: The stimulus provides additional funds for nutrition programs for women, infants, our children in school, and needy families. Programs such as the Food Stamp Program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will provide the State with $33 million in extra funds, of which $22 million goes to the City.

Housing: The Public Housing Capital Fund will allow us to develop, finance, and modernize public housing projects to improve the living conditions for eligible communities. New York will receive $502 million in State formula funds, and $423 million of that goes to the City.

Green Initiatives: The state will receive more than $400 million dollars from the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program. This money, which will install energy efficient technologies into the homes of low income families to reduce their energy bills, will be sub-allocated to the local level.

Environment: Approximately $310 million— more than half of New York State’s allocated stimulus funds for wastewater treatment, preservation of watersheds, and safe drinking water— will go to our City under the EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water state revolving funds.

Veterans Affairs: Local veterans will certainly benefit from the national allocations of veterans programs that will invest:

• $1 billion for medical facilities, specifically for energy projects;
• $150 million to hire and train people to expedite processing Veterans claims for those who sacrificed for our freedom; and
• a one-time $250 payment to disabled veterans that receive benefits from the VA

Education: New York City will receive $555 million dollars in Title I grants that will support our low-income schools and help our children succeed— that is more than half the stimulus amount allocated to the New York State. The Educational Technology Grant Program provides $55 million in NYS funds so our elementary and high schools 21st century have the technological tools to be competitive.

Safety: New York State will receive more than $100 million in grants toward broad-based safety programs like the Justice Assistance Grants and Byrne Competitive Grants, which support funds for more law enforcement, drug treatment and enforcement, and victim and witness protection.

Job Training. The Labor Department’s Training and Employment Services programs under the Workforce Investment Act will allocate $134 million to the New York State for support services and training activities to help our unemployed — whether they have been laid off or jobless through no fault of their own — get back on their feet and contribute to the economy.

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