Dear Members and Friends,

Gov. David Paterson announced his proposed Executive Budget for 2010-2011, calling for deep cuts across many areas including the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs.  The Neighborhood Preservation Program is funded at $8.479M in the executive proposal, a 27% reduction from FY 09-10.  Similarly, the Rural Preservation Program is funded at $3.549M, a 29% reduction from FY 09-10.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or if you would like to collaborate on media regarding the budget.  All of us must do our part to ensure that the funding gets restored. 

Here are 3 things you can do immediately:

1.       Write to the Governor.

It is critical for the Governor to hear from his constituents.  Write to Gov. Paterson IMMEDIATELY to tell him to use the power of his 30-day amendment process and restore funding to the N/RPP, programs that are a vital service delivery network for the provision of affordable housing services for this state’s most needy population.  Send your letter to:

Gov. David Paterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY  12224

It would helpful if you could cc a copy to me here at the Coalition so that I can keep track of the requests sent to the Governor. 

2.      Participate in the Legislative Budget Hearing’s.

Let the Legislature hear from its constituents and stakeholders the need to fully fund the N/RPP.  The Housing Budget Hearing is scheduled for February 3, 2010 at 1pm in Albany.  To schedule to testify contact Clinton Freeman at 518-455-5491.  NPCNYS is scheduled to testify on behalf of the members.  If you have examples of how this funding cut will impact your program and/or neighborhood, please send an email to j.vasquez@npcnys.org with the information.  I will try to include as much as possible within my testimony and future meetings.

3.      Inform your Legislator in the Assembly and Senate about the budget impact.

Make sure that your local State Senator and Assemblymember is informed on the impact the proposed budget will have on your program and the community you serve.  It is imperative that the Legislature hear our all of our voices, strong and unified in message, as it they will decide on any restorations during the budget negotiations.

A)     Call the Legislator’s Albany office to let them know your program requires full funding to be able to sustain your services. 

Assembymembers            http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

Senators                            http://www.nysenate.gov/

B)     Meet with your local State Senator and Assemblymember in the home district office during the non-Session days.  Educate them further about your program, the services you provide, and the impact the proposed budget will have on being able to continue providing those services. 

C)     Schedule a meeting with your local State Senator and Assemblymember for the afternoon of February 23, your Legislative Action Day in Albany.  Your participation in Legislative Action Day is crucial.  We need to demonstrate a large, strong presence in Albany on the 23rd to get our message of necessity across.

Budget Process Steps:

The Governor has a 30-day amendment period after the issuance of the Executive Budget.  While we encourage you to submit your letters to the Governor, we do not expect any changes to be made.  The next step includes the various legislative budget hearings.  A schedule of the hearings is listed below.  After the hearings the legislature will negotiate the final enacted budget which is due March 31.

Joint Budget Hearings:

Looking forward to seeing you on the 23rd of February,

Jessica

_______________________________________________________

Jessica F. Vasquez, Esq., Executive Director
Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS, Inc.
40 Colvin Avenue
Albany, NY  12206

(518) 432-6757
(518) 432-6758 fax
j.vasquez@npcnys.org
www.npcnys.org