NYC's 40 Settlement Houses Could Be Cut From State Budget

NEW YORK CITY — The fate of funding for 40 New York City neighborhood social organizations is coming down to the wire.

New York lawmakers face a Friday deadline to set the state's upcoming budget — and, so far, it remains unclear if $2.45 million for settlement houses will make the cut, or be cut.

And what are settlement houses?

They're a wide range of neighborhood-based centers — most of which are in New York City — that cover everything from early childhood education, to senior services, to counseling, for more than 765,000 New Yorkers.

“You name it, chances are they’re doing it,” said Nora Moran, director of policy and advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses.

Settlement houses were enshrined in state law during the 2000s, but successive governors have failed to include funding for them in their proposed budgets, Moran said.

The lack of gubernatorial commitment means every year that settlement houses have to rely on the Legislature to include funding — which has reached as high as $8.4 million and a low as $2.45 million, according to Assembly testimony.

"This funding has unfortunately been part of a state budget dance for many, many years,” Moran said.

"Now, we’re sort of relying on the Legislature to step up in budget negotiations and make it be a part of the final enacted budget,” she said.

Without funding, 40 organizations across the five boroughs could face cuts.

An eviction prevention program run by University Settlement on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn, for example, is just one potential service on the chopping block, Moran said.

“It certainly would result in a scaling back of real safety net programs and services that are so crucial for how settlement houses do their work,” she said.