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Links to web sites, articles or reports that illuminate the most recent Social Services news.

Shelters' Role In Homelessness Crisis (City Limits, Apr 30, 2013)

Day Centers Sprout Up, Luring Fit Elders And Costing Medicaid (NY Times, Apr 23, 2013)

Adult Daycares: Unregulated And High Profit (WNYC, Apr 17, 2013)

Mayor Hit On Homelessness (Wall Street Journal, Mar 19, 2013)

Bronx Defenders Offer Legal Aid (NY Times, Feb 28, 2013)

City Food Banks Still Recovering From Sandy (Wall Street Journal, Jan 16, 2013)

State Registries Saved Lives During Sandy, But Not in NYC (WNYC, Jan 16, 2013)

Cuomo Signs Law for New Oversight of Disabled Care (Associated Press, Dec 18, 2012)

In Hard-Hit Areas, Red Cross Runs Into Image Issue (WNYC, Dec 4, 2012)

New Yorkers Denied Aid by FEMA (Daily News, Dec 3, 2012)

One in Six New Yorkers Go Hungry - Before Sandy (Daily News, Nov 21, 2012)

Storm Bared a Lack of Options for the Homeless in New York (NY Times, Nov 21, 2012)

Nearly 4,000 participants in Bloomberg's program for young minority men (Albany Times Union, Oct 5, 2012)

Council members and administration clash over approach to reducing homelessness (MetroFocus, Oct 3, 2012)

City to expand shelters amid jump in homeless (Wall Street Journal, Sep 26, 2012)

Number of children in city's homeless shelters hits 19,000 (Daily News, Sep 10, 2012)

For disabled veterans awaiting benefits decisions, location matters (WNYC, Aug 29, 2012)

Quinn seeks to expand program benefiting minority and women owned companies (NY Times, Aug 14, 2012)

Families overwhelm remaining housing subsidy (WNYC, Aug 14, 2012)

State asks feds to reinvest billions in Medicaid savings (Albany Times Union, Aug 7, 2012)

Mixture of hope and concern for city's new daycare program (City Limits, Aug 1, 2012)

NYC opens employment center for veterans (WNYC, Aug 1, 2012)

Shift in how state pays bills cuts summer food programs (Albany Times Union, Jul 31, 2012)

Out-of-town homeless families in NYC shelters jumps 48 percent (Daily News, Jul 31, 2012)

Charities to play bail bondsman role (WNYC, Jul 23, 2012)

Free subway and bus rides proposed for some disabled users (NY Times, Jun 26, 2012)

Advocate blasts state's new plan to protect disabled (Associated Press, Jun 19, 2012)

Deal in Albany on policing abuse of disabled (NY Times, Jun 18, 2012)

Speaker Silver Questions Cuomo Tack for Protecting Disabled People (NY Times, May 22, 2012)

Whistleblowers Fault Plan to Protect Disabled (Associated Press, May 16, 2012)

Queens to Lose Over 30 After-School Programs This Year (Daily News, May 10, 2012)

Hundreds March in Bronx to Save After-School and Child-Care Programs (Daily News, May 9, 2012)

Medicaid Rolls Soar, Costs Down (Albany Times Union, May 2, 2012)

State Ponders Relinquishing Oversight of Vulnerable (NY Times, Apr 24, 2012)

State Faults Care for the Disabled (NY Times, Mar 22, 2012)

Bed-Stuy Food Pantry Provides Vegetables with Hydroponic Farm (Daily News, Mar 13, 2012)

Deep Concerns about ‘Three-Quarter’ Housing (City Limits, Mar 9, 2012)

Evictions Begin after City Housing Voucher Ends (WNYC, Mar 9, 2012)

Homelessness: It's About Race, Not Just Poverty (City Limits, Mar 6, 2012)

City Opens Full-Service Gay Senior Center (Associated Press, Mar 1, 2012)

City Receives Anti-Poverty Award, Draws Critics (WNYC, Feb 14, 2012)

Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Help Poor: Report (WNYC, Feb 14, 2012)

Harvard Gives City Award for Poverty-Fighting Initiatives (Daily News, Feb 13, 2012)

City Food-Stamp Centers Are Understaffed (Wall Street Journal, Feb 1, 2012)

Older Shelter Residents Increased by 55 Percent in Last Ten Years (Daily News, Jan 27, 2012)

Homeless Solution in Vacant Apartments and Lots, Reports Says (WNYC, Jan 26, 2012)

Food Stamp Recipients Have Mixed Views on Being Fingerprinted (WNYC, Jan 12, 2012)

Director of Brooklyn Boss's Social Services Agency Fired (NY Post, Jan 5, 2012)

Food Stamps Increasingly Deployed at Greenmarkets (WNYC, Jan 4, 2012)

Number of People Receiving Food Stamps Drops Despite High Demand (Daily News, Jan 4, 2012)

Mayor Admits Job-Center Faults (Wall Street Journal, Jan 4, 2012)

Supporters of Espada's Bronx Health Care Network Protest Cuomo (Daily News, Jan 3, 2012)

Welfare Lines Overflow (Wall Street Journal, Jan 3, 2012)

First Sales in Program Buying Foreclosed Property for Affordable Housing (NY Post, Dec 22, 2011)

Wall Street Protests Highlighted Homelessness (Huffington Post, Dec 20, 2011)

Federal Budget Cuts Heating Assistance for Millions of New Yorkers (WNYC, Dec 20, 2011)

Council Members Ask for Impact of Mayor’s Poverty Programs (WNYC, Dec 13, 2011)

Massive New Long Island City Facility for City Harvest (Daily News, Dec 12, 2011)

City Now Offering Financial Counsel (Wall Street Journal, Dec 7, 2011)

Council Files Suit Against New Homeless Policy (Gotham Gazette, Nov 30, 2011)

State Did Not Protect Anonymity of Disabled Agency's Whistleblowers (NY Times, Nov 12, 2011)

City Delays Tighter Rules for Homeless People Seeking Shelter (NY Times, Nov 11, 2011)

Computerized Rent Collection System a Nightmare for Section 8 Tenants (Daily News, Nov 11, 2011)

Seeking a Cure for Troubled Hospitals in Brooklyn (NY Times, Nov 10, 2011)

Hundreds in State Care Die of 'Unknown Causes' (NY Times, Nov 6, 2011)

Safety, Sanitation Concerns Raised About Shelter for Homeless Youth (NY Times, Nov 6, 2011)

Without Housing Subsidies, Homeless Families Struggle to Find Apartments (WNYC, Nov 1, 2011)

LGBT Youth Shelter Needs Help (Daily News, Oct 24, 2011)

Group Urges State to Spend More on Support Services for Poor Students (NY Times, Oct 10, 2011)

State to Provide Aid in Six Foreign Languages (Daily News, Oct 7, 2011)

Many Low-Income New Yorkers Cannot Get Civil Legal Help (WNYC, Sep 30, 2011)

Judge Allows City to End Rent Subsidy for 16,000 Formerly Homeless Families (Associated Press, Sep 14, 2011)

Court Documents Reveal Years of City Lapses in Child Abuse Case (NY Times, Aug 26, 2011)

State Moves to Crack Down on Abuse of Disabled (NY Times, Aug 18, 2011)

Reorganization at Social Service Agency Bolsters Vito Lopez (NY Post, Aug 14, 2011)

Brooklyn Public Library Expanding its Hours (Daily News, Aug 11, 2011)

Union Challenges Daycare Changes (Daily News, Jul 6, 2011)

Two Sides of the Harlem, Two Sides of New York's Yawning Income Gap (New York Magazine, Jul 6, 2011)

City Pushing Work Over Degree for Poor Youth (Associated Press, Jun 23, 2011)

Concern for Vast Social Services Database on the City’s Neediest (NY Times, Jun 17, 2011)

Abuse Rampant in Homes That House Developmentally Disabled (NY Times, Jun 6, 2011)

Budget Cuts May Leave Kids Bored This Summer (Associated Press, May 30, 2011)

City Launches Prescription Drug Discount Card (WNYC, May 19, 2011)

Money Set Aside for LGBT Senior Center (WNYC, May 8, 2011)

City Opens New Intake Center for Homeless Families (NY Times, May 4, 2011)

City Claims 15 Percent Drop in Homelessness, Advocates Balk (Wall Street Journal, Apr 29, 2011)

Judge Orders City to Keep Paying Rental Subsidies (Daily News, Apr 22, 2011)

Bloomberg Plans to Slash Childcare Slots (Daily News, Apr 17, 2011)

Suit Alleges Bias in Disability Denials by Queens Judges (NY Times, Apr 13, 2011)

Court Rules City Must Pay April's Rent for 15,000 Households (Daily News, Mar 31, 2011)

City Report Says Assistance Programs Kept Poverty From Rising During Recession (NY Times, Mar 21, 2011)

Budget Cuts Could Force City to Spend More on Shelters (NY Times, Mar 19, 2011)

Over 15,000 Formerly Homeless Families Losing Rent Help (Associated Press, Mar 18, 2011)

City Says State is Forcing Cuts to Program for the Homeless (NY Times, Mar 11, 2011)

Homeless Program Set to Be Axed Fell Far Short of Goals (Daily News, Mar 7, 2011)

City Unveils Senior-Center Hit List (Daily News, Mar 4, 2011)

Budget Cuts to Child Care Biggest in Decades, Advocates Say (WNYC, Feb 18, 2011)

Bloomberg's Budget Cuts Poised to Slash Daycare and Senior Centers (Daily News, Feb 18, 2011)

Homeless Tweet in New Awareness Campaign (USA Today, Feb 17, 2011)

As Alternate Side Resumes, City Unleashes Parking Ticket Blitz (City Room, Feb 9, 2011)

Move to Double Capacity at Bed-Stuy Shelter Raises Fears (NY Times, Jan 20, 2011)

Downtown Mosque Shakes up Leadership (NY Post, Jan 15, 2011)

Alleged Drug Rehab Housing Scheme Targets City’s Vulnerable (WNYC, Dec 16, 2010)

Debit Card System for Access-A-Ride Expected to Save Money (Daily News, Dec 16, 2010)

Advocates Charge City Has Exaggerated Antipoverty Success (NY Times, Dec 9, 2010)

To Test Housing Program, Some Are Denied Aid (NY Times, Dec 9, 2010)

Exterminators Begin Charitable Bed Bug Program (Daily News, Dec 2, 2010)

Council Aims to Reverse Budget Cuts for the Elderly (Wall Street Journal, Dec 2, 2010)

Federal Stimulus Money Helps Hungry New Yorkers (WNYC, Nov 24, 2010)

City Mulls Cuts for Elderly (Wall Street Journal, Oct 21, 2010)

Council Wants Answers About Homeless Study Denying Assistance (Daily News, Oct 15, 2010)

Unusual Coalition Forms to Fight Bloomberg's Anti-Soda Move (City Hall, Oct 11, 2010)

Agency Admits It Failed to Protect Dead Four-Year-Old (NY Times, Oct 6, 2010)

Private Agency Faulted in Girl's Death (Wall Street Journal, Oct 6, 2010)

Man Reportedly Confesses to Killing 2-Year-Old (NY Times, Sep 27, 2010)

Death of Brooklyn 2-Year-Old Probed (NY Times, Sep 26, 2010)

Mother, Boyfriend Arrested in Death of Two-Year-Old (Daily News, Sep 25, 2010)

ACS Admits Faults in Death of Four-Year-Old (NY Times, Sep 25, 2010)

Are Eligible People Denied Welfare in New York? (City Limits, Sep 21, 2010)

Lopez Nonprofit Pilfers Big Salaries (Brooklyn Papers, Sep 16, 2010)

Unemployment Checks Back in the Mail (Daily News, Jul 25, 2010)

Council Cuts Health Plan for the Poor (NY Times, Jul 9, 2010)

City Rescinds $600 Million in Child Welfare Contracts (NY Post, Jul 5, 2010)

Libraries Must Cut Days (NY Post, Jun 24, 2010)

Services for Families in Trouble Could be Cut (NY Times, Jun 9, 2010)

Bloomberg Abandons Homeless Rent Plan (NY Times, Jun 5, 2010)

Homeless Families Now to Save (Daily News, Jun 5, 2010)

City May Drop Plan to Make Homeless Pay Rent (Daily News, May 19, 2010)

Bloomberg Budget Would Prune Key Libraries (Daily News, May 13, 2010)

Lippman Urges Greater Legal Rights for the Poor (NY Times, May 4, 2010)

50 Senior Centers to Close (NY Times, May 1, 2010)

Senior Centers to Close Across City (Daily News, May 1, 2010)

Commissioner for the Homeless Resigns (NY Times, Apr 20, 2010)

Holdover from Giuliani Administration Named Homeless Commissioners (WNYC, Apr 20, 2010)

Bloomberg Plans to Centralize Contracting with Nonprofits (NY Times, Apr 19, 2010)

Bloomberg to Expand Work Requirement for Rent Aid (NY Times, Apr 14, 2010)

City to Stop Sending Homeless to Illegal Housing (NY Times, Apr 8, 2010)

The Last Man Standing in Times Square (NY Times, Mar 30, 2010)

City to Close 33 Free After-School Programs (Daily News, Mar 25, 2010)

State Cuts Money for Domestic Violence Programs (WNYC, Mar 23, 2010)

State Budget Threatens Senior Centers (NY Times, Mar 8, 2010)

City's Poverty Standard Shows Higher Rise than Federal (NY Times, Mar 3, 2010)

State Programs for Poor Face Huge Budget Cuts (WNYC, Mar 2, 2010)

ACORN Rebranded (City Hall, Feb 23, 2010)

Job Training for the Long-Term of Short? (City Limits, Feb 18, 2010)

United Way Launches Fund for New York's Haitians (Crain's, Feb 11, 2010)

City Closes Popular Bronx Homeless Shelter (NY Times, Feb 5, 2010)

Judge Tosses Homeless Shelter Suit (Daily News, Jan 26, 2010)

De Blasio Slams Bloomberg Homeless Policies (NY Times, Jan 19, 2010)

Volunteer Program Goes National (NY Times, Jan 17, 2010)

City Destroys Seized Counterfeit Clothes (Associated Press, Jan 15, 2010)

Police and Fire Department Units Headed to Haiti (NY Post, Jan 15, 2010)

Clothing Seized by City Went to the Shredder, Not to the Needy (NY Times, Jan 13, 2010)

Volunteering Can Earn New Yorkers Time for Service (Daily News, Jan 12, 2010)

Shortage of Beds for Homeless (NY Times, Dec 10, 2009)

City Running Out of Beds for Homeless (Daily News, Dec 10, 2009)

Homeless Advocates: City not Providing Shelter (Associated Press, Dec 10, 2009)

Homeless Still Being Denied Shelter, Lawyer Charges (City Limits, Dec 9, 2009)

Homeless Families Getting Runaround From the City (City Limits, Dec 8, 2009)

MTA Elevated-Line Workers Slack on Job (Daily News, Dec 2, 2009)

Growth in People Visiting Food Pantries (Daily News, Nov 25, 2009)

More New Yorkers Visit Soup Kitchens (Crain's, Nov 18, 2009)

Nearly 10,000 Homeless Vets in Area (Crain's, Nov 12, 2009)

Children Remain in Foster Care Too Long, Study Finds (NY Times, Nov 10, 2009)

Homeless Evicted to Make Way for Subway Extension (Daily News, Nov 8, 2009)

Hospitals Grilled on Delayed Reports (Daily News, Oct 20, 2009)

City Homeless Shelters See Record Numbers (AM New York, Oct 14, 2009)

Fire Commissioner to Step Down at Year-End (NY Times, Oct 9, 2009)

Advocates Say Bloomberg's Policies Fail on Poverty (Amsterdam News, Oct 8, 2009)

Most Low-Income New Yorkers have Less than $1,000 in Bank (Crain's, Oct 7, 2009)

Bellevue Warned of Inspections (Daily News, Oct 4, 2009)

Bronx Agency Seeks Out Poor (NY Times, Oct 4, 2009)

Antipoverty Cash Program Renewed (NY Times, Sep 21, 2009)

Some Win, Some Lose as City Measures Poverty a New Way (National Public Radio, Sep 11, 2009)

Increase in Poverty Reflected in Rise in Visits to City Food Pantries (NY 1, Sep 11, 2009)

Judge: State Discriminated Against Mentally Ill (Associated Press, Sep 9, 2009)

City Announces New Programs for Seniors (Daily News, Aug 26, 2009)
City officials yesterday announced 59 recommendations to improve life for older New Yorkers, including sweeping changes to 50 senior centers around the city, making them "model centers of wellness" with more activities and innovative programs.

CUNY Degrees a Long Strugle for Some (NY Post, Aug 23, 2009)

Social Service Agencies Feel the Pinch (NY Times, Aug 22, 2009)

Big Jump in Food Stamp Recipients (Daily News, Aug 19, 2009)

Public Housing Residents Going Without Hot Water (Daily News, Aug 13, 2009)

Welfare Agency Sued Over Translation Services (NY Times, Aug 12, 2009)

City Pays for Plane Tickets (NY Times, Jul 29, 2009)

Homeless Families Get Trips Out (Daily News, Jul 29, 2009)

Sharpton to Endorse Thompson for Mayor (City Room, Jul 20, 2009)

Foster Parent in Bushwick Offers a Model for the City (City Limits, Jul 15, 2009)

City to Expand Domestic Violence Outreach Program (NY 1, Jul 7, 2009)

Welfare Checks Will Rise (NY Times, Jul 5, 2009)

Salvation Army to Shutter Two Teen Shelters (Crain's, Jun 29, 2009)

As Drive to End Homelessness Falters, City to Try a New Approach (NY Times, Jun 24, 2009)

Benefit Cards No Longer Accepted to Wed (Newsday, Jun 16, 2009)

Layoffs Won't Hurt Child Abuse Investigations, Mayor Says (Daily News, Jun 4, 2009)

City Temporarily Stops Charging Rent to the Working Homeless (NY Times, May 22, 2009)

First Responders Stage Largest Drill Since 9/11 (Daily News, May 18, 2009)

Albany Moves to Enable Extended Jobless Benefits (NY Times, May 13, 2009)

Firefighters Union Fight Against Concessions (NY Post, May 13, 2009)

City Charges Working Homeless Rent (NY Times, May 9, 2009)
The Bloomberg administration has quietly begun charging rent to homeless families who live in publicly run shelters but have income from jobs.

Middle-Class Renters Face Eviction (NY Times, May 5, 2009)

Bloomberg Administration Will Not Extend Food Stamp Benefits (City Limits, May 5, 2009)

Housing Authority Bans Specific Dog Breeds (NY 1, Apr 29, 2009)
The New York City Housing Authority will impose stricter rules on the size and type of pets residents are allowed to keep inside their public housing apartments. Among the rules: residents will no longer be allowed to keep Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans -- full or mixed breeds.

Bloomberg Policy Blamed for Families in Shelters (NY Times, Apr 23, 2009)

City, Activists Differ on Homeless Count (Queens Chronicle, Apr 10, 2009)

Council Moves to Protect Access to Clinics (Gotham Gazette, Apr 3, 2009)

Foster Children tell their AIDS Drug Trial Stories (Village Voice, Apr 1, 2009)
The Village Voice takes another look at a story that many thought had been closed in January, interviewing former foster children who were subjected to AIDS drug trials. Contrary to initial claims, there isn't good evidence that the drug trials killed a single participant, but foster care is meant to be held to a somewhat higher standard than that.

Worker's Compensation Board Remains Mired in Dysfunction (NY Times, Mar 31, 2009)

Water Board Set to Raise Rates (NY 1, Mar 31, 2009)

Homeless Advocates Criticize New DHS Rule (The Indypendent, Mar 25, 2009)

Administration Tries to Spin, Hide Numbers on Homelessness (Village Voice, Mar 21, 2009)

Councilmember: Food Stamps Should Be Available On-Line (Daily News, Mar 21, 2009)
City Councilmember Eric Gioia wants the city to let needy New Yorkers apply for food stamps online - and get the required fingerprinting done later.

Libraries Face Layoffs, Service Cuts (Daily News, Mar 18, 2009)

City Says Homelessness Down but Advocates Balk (Associated Press, Mar 5, 2009)

Despite Recession, Number on Welfare Remains Low (City Limits, Feb 24, 2009)

Food Stamp Rules Relaxing, But Not for New Yorkers (NY Times, Feb 18, 2009)

Hard Times Boost Stock of Libraries (Daily News, Feb 13, 2009)

Federalizing Bloomberg's Approach to Poverty (City Limits, Feb 10, 2009)

Counting the Homeless (WNYC, Jan 29, 2009)

Thousands to Lose Unemployment Benefits (NY Times, Jan 12, 2009)

Animal Shelters Scramble After Strep Outbreak Kills Dogs (Daily News, Jan 8, 2009)

Can Workfare Meet Harsh New Economic Realities? (City Limits, Dec 23, 2008)

More Families in Homeless Shelters (, Dec 23, 2008)
The number of homeless families with children entering New York City shelters hit a record high last month, climbing more than 40 percent from the same period last year, according to figures released on Monday by the Department of Homeless Services.

Aging Restructuring Left Behind (NY Times, Dec 20, 2008)

NYC Eyes End to Adult Day Care (Albany Times Union, Dec 15, 2008)
Families of Alzheimer's patients fear services will lead to deterioration and financial burden.

Public Assistance Could Be More Helpful (City Limits, Dec 9, 2008)
The Human Resources Agency isn't interested in measures that officials and advocates are proposing to make the agency more user-friendly.

Senior Center Restructuring Plan Flounders (City Limits, Dec 9, 2008)
The Department for the Aging is enthusiastic about a proposal both to increase use of senior centers and likely decrease the total number of centers, but City Council doesn't share the enthusiasm for the revamp. Major budget pressures piled atop worries by older New Yorkers and elected officials about possible seniors' services reductions led some City Council members to pronounce a senior center restructuring "dead on arrival" before a hearing last week.

Brooklyn Residents Wonder What's In the Armory (City Limits, Dec 2, 2008)

Aging Department Cuts Funding for Adult Day Care (NY Times, Nov 30, 2008)
Fifteen programs called social adult day services, which offer care and engagement for people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia or with disabilities that make them ineligible for the city’s senior centers, have lost their grants from the Department for the Aging, a result of the city’s budget crisis.

More New Yorkers In Need of Food Stamps (NY 1, Nov 26, 2008)

Efforts to Increase Digital Media Access for All (City Limits, Nov 26, 2008)

Churches Told to Close Doors to Homeless (Daily News, Nov 22, 2008)
As temperatures fall and the economy crashes, 22 city churches have been told to stop providing beds for the homeless, advocates for the poor charged Friday.

City Plans to Reduce Aid to 21 Day Care Locations (NY Times, Nov 20, 2008)
The city will reduce funds for 21 day care sites in January as part of efforts to close a yawning budget deficit, city officials said on Wednesday. While officials made it clear that the sites would not be closed, critics charged that the reductions would have the same effect, by destabilizing the centers to the point that they would be forced to shut down.

Quinn Vehemently Denounces Bloomberg’s Plans (NY Times, Nov 14, 2008)
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in harsh language that she seldom uses about Mayor Michael Bloomberg, denounced his proposal to overhaul the city’s senior centers on Thursday, declaring it belongs "in the garbage can." A short while later, Quinn held a press conference during which she warned that the council might sue to block the mayor from withholding $400 tax rebate checks for homeowners, saying bluntly, "We're right and they're not."

Center for Economic Opportunity Reviewed (City Limits, Nov 4, 2008)
With estimates of the city's poor population nearing 2 million, elected officials last week raised fundamental questions about the scope, accessibility and impact of the Bloomberg administration's Center for Economic Opportunity programs.

Council Skeptical of Elevator Repair Plan for Public Housing (NY Times, Oct 30, 2008)
Leaders of the city’s public housing agency told City Council members on Wednesday that elevator safety was a top priority, but they faced tough questions from skeptical members.

Record Number of Families Seek Refuge in Shelters (NY Times, Oct 30, 2008)

Hunter to Build New Social Work School in East Harlem (NY Times, Oct 28, 2008)

Transforming the Department for the Aging (Queens Chronicle, Oct 24, 2008)

City Agency Walk-Ins Lack Translation Services (NY Post, Sep 26, 2008)
"Few agency walk-in facilities offered easily accessible translation and/or interpretation services," said a report released by Mayor Bloomberg's Office of Operations.

State to Get Nearly $500 Million in Heating Aid (Associated Press, Sep 25, 2008)

Court Oversight of Homeless Services Dept. Ends (WNYC, Sep 18, 2008)

City Reaches Deal on Shelter for Homeless (NY Times, Sep 18, 2008)

Hostage No More (Op Ed) (NY Post, Sep 18, 2008)

Courts to Give Up Oversight of Homeless Services (Daily News, Sep 18, 2008)

Report Scores City Homeless Policy (NY Sun, Sep 10, 2008)
On the heels of criticism from the Independent Budget Office, a report by the Institute for Children and Poverty criticizes Mayor MIchael Bloomberg's failure to beat homelessness in the city.

Jobless Fund Running Dry, but Benefits Will Continue (NY Times, Aug 29, 2008)

Concessions Made in Plan for Homeless in Brooklyn (NY Times, Aug 15, 2008)

Young Adults Turned Away At Shelters (NY Post, Aug 11, 2008)
The city has stomped all over the rights of countless homeless young adults - mostly pregnant women or those with kids - by callously turning them away from city shelters because they're under 21, advocates have told The Post.

Bloomberg Behind on Homeless Fix (Daily News, Aug 8, 2008)

Mayor’s Effort to Reduce Homelessness Is Off Pace (NY Times, Aug 8, 2008)

IBO: City Has Failed to Reduce Homelessness (Associated Press, Aug 8, 2008)

Connor Falsely Claimed Prison BIll Contained School Funds (The Villager, Aug 8, 2008)

Homeless Shelters in Crisis Mode (Metro, Aug 5, 2008)

Broadband Report: 'Digital Divide' Exists in City (NY Sun, Jul 31, 2008)

Rolls of Food Stamp Recipients on the Rise (Associated Press, Jul 24, 2008)

City's Poor Look Different Through New Assessment (City Limits, Jul 22, 2008)

Bloomberg Offers New Poverty Measure (Washington Post, Jul 14, 2008)

City Welfare Levels hit 45-Year Low (NY Post, Jul 9, 2008)

Quinn Says She Lost Budget Fight (Daily News, Jun 30, 2008)
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Sunday night she unsuccessfully tried to persuade Mayor Bloomberg to leave a few hundred million more dollars for schools, housing and social service programs in the new $59.1 billion budget.

Bloomberg to Try to Revamp Senior Centers (NY Times, Jun 30, 2008)
After clashes with over education, firehouse closings and other knotty issues, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking to try to revamp the city's system of senior centers.

Report: New York Women's Poverty Levels Rise (Newsday, Jun 27, 2008)

Fresh Direct Gives Discounts to Disadvantaged South Bronx (Crain's, Jun 26, 2008)

600,000 in City May Qualify for Food Stamps (NY Sun, Jun 17, 2008)

Policy of Putting Newborns in Foster Care Causes Concern (City Limits, Jun 17, 2008)

More City Residents Have Trouble Affording Food (NY 1, Jun 12, 2008)

State Questions Changes in City Aging Program (Daily News, Jun 11, 2008)
The New York State Office for the Aging has asked the Bloomberg administration for detailed information about its proposed changes in its program that delivers meals to 17,000 homebound seniors across the city.

Comptroller Criticizes Mayor’s Homeless Program (NY Times, Jun 9, 2008)
Five years after the Bloomberg administration pledged to change the practice, the city continues to hire providers of temporary housing for homeless families without contracts, the comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., said on Sunday.

Food Pantries Scale Back Operations (Crain's, May 30, 2008)

Firefighters Want to Reopen Contract (NY Post, May 21, 2008)

Homeless Shelter to Move from Bellevue to Brooklyn (City Limits, May 20, 2008)

Citymeals-on-Wheels Struggling (Daily News, May 15, 2008)

Planning to Serve an Aging New York (City Limits, May 6, 2008)

Gioia Says Food Stamps Not Enough (Daily News, May 1, 2008)
Councilmember Eric Gioia struggled to survive last year when he spent a week living on $28 - the average food stamp allowance for a single recipient. This year, the same allowance would leave him starving. "Last year, I lasted five days and I was out of food," he said. "I had to go to a food pantry to get through the week."

City Ordered to Deliver Food Stamps More Quickly (City Limits, Apr 29, 2008)

Shelter Shutdown Planned at Bellevue (NY Post, Apr 28, 2008)

Legal Service for Council Members Departs From Common Practice (NY Sun, Apr 28, 2008)

City Shortchanges Groups That Bury Vets (NY Post, Apr 28, 2008)
The city is having trouble providing burials for unclaimed veterans because it notoriously shortchanges charitable groups that help bury them, critics charge.

Seniors Fear Fewer Centers, Meal Visits Under Revamp (The Villager, Apr 23, 2008)

Being A Blind Governor (NY Times, Apr 21, 2008)

The Young and Homeless (City Limits, Apr 17, 2008)

City Settles Food Stamp Suit (NY Sun, Apr 16, 2008)

Food Banks Fearing Even Worse Times (Daily News, Apr 1, 2008)

Quinn Urges Delaying Changes at Senior Centers (Daily News, Mar 29, 2008)
In a rare clash with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urged City Hall Friday to "slow down" its overhaul of senior citizens centers. Council members fear attempts to modernize the city's 329 senior centers will force some of them to close permanently. The plans also would affect delivery of meals to seniors.

Debating How to Police the Mentally Ill (City Limits, Mar 25, 2008)

Poverty Fight Reaches Outside City Borders (NY Post, Mar 19, 2008)
New York would combine resources with other cities to find innovative ways to help the poor, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.

As Homeless Policy Fails, A Night on the Streets (New York Magazine, Mar 17, 2008)

Empty Shelves in Bronx Pantries (Bronx Times, Mar 14, 2008)

City Council Launches Job Training Program (NY 1, Mar 13, 2008)

Effort to Clean Up Non-Profit Fraud (City Limits, Mar 11, 2008)

Street Homelessness on the Decline, Bloomberg Says (Village Voice, Mar 5, 2008)

A ‘Call 311’ Campaign to Help the Homeless (City Room, Mar 5, 2008)

Plan for Frozen Meals for Seniors Gets Cool Reception in City Council (NY Post, Mar 4, 2008)

Critics Say Frozen Meals-on-Wheels Are in Poor Taste (Village Voice, Feb 28, 2008)

Elderly Advocates Angry Over Bloomberg Plan to Change Hot-Meal Deliveries (Daily News, Feb 22, 2008)

Preliminary Mayor's Management Report (, Feb 15, 2008)
An interim look at the performance of various city agencies was released yesterday in a report called the Preliminary Mayor's Management Report. Published annually, it takes a look at the city's performance in the first four months of the fiscal year and forecasts performance expectations. Much of the information can be broken down by individual agency, issue, or community. Some significant highlights were: Sewer back up complaints jumped by 23 percent; the average response time to heat complaints rose by 50 percent (although stays within the goal of seven hours); and major felony crimes in schools were nearly a third lower than the same quarter last year.

Spitzer Announces Food Stamp Expansion (NY 1, Feb 5, 2008)

Seniors To Get Closer To The Arts (NY 1, Feb 5, 2008)

City to Expand Program for Low-Income Mothers (NY Post, Feb 4, 2008)
Pairing experienced nurses with first-time mothers in very low income communities has been so successful in reducing infant mortality that Mayor Bloomberg has decided to pump another $22 million to expand the program.

Council Hearing On Steam Pipe Blast Gets Heated (Daily News, Jan 23, 2008)
Con Ed knew a leaky and dented steam pipe under Lexington Ave. needed to be replaced before last summer's deadly explosion, but didn't want to tear up the street for the difficult job, it was revealed Tuesday.

Angst over Issues WIth Times Plaza Post Office in Brooklyn Grows (Brooklyn 12, Jan 23, 2008)

State Makes Bid to End Costly Tax-Refund Loans (NY Times, Jan 18, 2008)

US Releases Aid for Heating Costs (NY Times, Jan 17, 2008)

Food Stamps Rolls Rise Under Bloomberg (NY Sun, Jan 17, 2008)

When Help for the City's Poor Runs Out (NY Times, Jan 14, 2008)

Cold Weather Prompts City To Round Up Homeless (NY 1, Jan 3, 2008)

City Cuts Bronx Center’s Aid, Citing Misuse of Funds (NY Times, Jan 3, 2008)

Administration Seeks New Poverty Measure (NY Times, Dec 30, 2007)
The Bloomberg administration, frustrated by the federal government's long-standing method of determining who is poor, is developing its own measure.

Bloomberg Seeks New Way to Decide Who Is Poor (NY Times, Dec 30, 2007)

Late Library Books Can Take Toll on Credit Scores (NY Times, Dec 26, 2007)

"Opportunity NYC" May Use Public Funds in Future (NY Post, Dec 19, 2007)

Language Barriers Exist In City Benefits Offices (NY 1, Dec 13, 2007)

Council Says Many Elderly Worry About Having Enough Food (City Room, Dec 12, 2007)
The City Council issued a report today arguing that many residents above age 60 skip meals, go hungry or worry about how they are going to feed themselves. The report recommends expanding the number of senior centers that serve breakfast; allowing them to serve a second free meal; increasing financing so they can stay open seven days a week; and expanding the availability of home-delivered meals.

Advocate Blasts City on Van Strike (Daily News, Dec 12, 2007)

Strike Forces Disabled Riders to Seek Alternatives (City Room, Dec 12, 2007)

Watch Out for Confidence Schemes, Officials Warn (City Room, Dec 12, 2007)

Food Shortage Calls for Greater Price Fix (City Limits, Dec 11, 2007)

Negotiations Restart for Van Strike (NY Post, Dec 11, 2007)

"Project Homeless Connect" Offers Resources, Services (NY 1, Dec 6, 2007)

City to Give $1M to Soup Kitchens (Daily News, Nov 26, 2007)

New York Debates Who's Really Homeless (Washington Post, Nov 21, 2007)

New Housing For Homeless Irks Upper West Side Residents (NY Sun, Nov 16, 2007)

Free Legal Aid Sought for Elderly Tenants (NY Times, Nov 16, 2007)

Pregnant Teens Need City Help, Groups Say (Metro, Nov 15, 2007)

After Fatal Shooting, Police Department Eyes Procedure Change (Newsday, Nov 15, 2007)

Housing Court Lawyers for Seniors (Metro, Nov 15, 2007)
A bill to provide free lawyers to senior citizens in Housing Court will be introduced today by City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, D-Manhattan.

One in Four Homeless is a Vet, Says Report (Daily News, Nov 13, 2007)

Money Wasted As Foster Care Fails (NY Times, Nov 6, 2007)

Proposed Licenses May Not Stand for City Services (NY Post, Nov 6, 2007)

Welfare Rolls Dip to 40-Year Low (NY Post, Nov 2, 2007)

Contracts for Two Flawed Welfare-To-Work Rroviders Renewed (City Limits, Nov 1, 2007)

Hospitals Violate Law Requiring Information on Insurance Assistance, Survey Finds (NY Sun, Oct 31, 2007)

Commissioner Defends Homeless Policy Despite Opposition (City Limits, Oct 30, 2007)

Can Bloomberg’s Antipoverty Program Work? (New York Magazine, Oct 30, 2007)

Lawmakers Questioning New Homeless Policy (NY Sun, Oct 25, 2007)

With Change in Policy, Fewer Families Request Emergency Shelter (NY Post, Oct 24, 2007)

Council Member Questions New Policy on Homeless (NY Sun, Oct 24, 2007)
The city's new policy of turning away some families seeking shelter at night is coming under fire from City Councilmember of Bill de Blasio, who says he's troubled by the idea.

Supplies Dwindle at Food Pantries (NY Times, Oct 18, 2007)

Con Ed Installs Free Bulbs (AM New York, Oct 16, 2007)

New Shelter Check-in Rule May Leave Homeless in Cold (Daily News, Oct 11, 2007)

Funds for Job Training (NY Times, Oct 5, 2007)
The Bloomberg Administration announced $4.2 million dollars in awards for companies that develop their own job training programs for disadvantaged New Yorkers.

City Food Bank Claims Worst Food Shortage In 20 Years (NY 1, Oct 5, 2007)

Over 30,000 Get Food Stamps Back (NY Times, Sep 28, 2007)

Bloomberg's Cash Incentive Program Begins (Daily News, Sep 13, 2007)

Wall Street Comes to Rent Stabilized Real Estate (City Limits, Sep 11, 2007)

Process of Reapplying for Food Stamps Is Criticized (NY Times, Sep 6, 2007)

Not Officially Homeless, Families Seek Refuge in Shelters (NY Times, Sep 4, 2007)

Bloomberg Charges the Homeless Rent (Village Voice, Aug 29, 2007)

Affordable Housing Now With More Asterisks (City Limits, Aug 28, 2007)

Millions Slated For City’s Affordable Housing (Daily News, Aug 21, 2007)

Queens Library Number One in the Country (NY Sun, Aug 14, 2007)

Queens Judge Notes Shortage of Interpreters for the Deaf in the Courts (NY Times, Aug 10, 2007)

Spitzer Faces Deadline Today for Welfare Expansion (NY Sun, Aug 1, 2007)

City Will Match – and Double – Savings by Foster Children (Daily News, Jul 27, 2007)

Audit Finds Alarm System A Wreck (NY Post, Jul 19, 2007)

Violence at Rikers Rising (Village Voice, Jul 12, 2007)

9/11 EMTs Request Benefits (NY Post, Jul 12, 2007)

Spending on Domestic Violence (NY Post, Jun 20, 2007)
The city spent almost $230 million directly on domestic violence in the 2005 fiscal year, with a small fraction going toward preventive services, according to a report released yesterday.

City to Pay the Poorest to Learn and Work (Daily News, Jun 19, 2007)
Acing those Regents exams can do more than get you a high school diploma - it can make you $3,000 richer. The city is dangling a big fat carrot in front of New York's poorest kids, offering them $600 for every tough Regents exam they pass as part of Mayor Bloomberg's ambitious $53 million anti-poverty program. (NY Times, NY Post)

Board Fires Leader of Influential Domestic Violence Program (Village Voice, May 16, 2007)

Child Care Workers Get Right to Unionize (NY Times, May 12, 2007)
Governor Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order Friday giving approximately 28,000 workers who provide childcare in their homes the right to unionize.

Bloomberg Hits Spitzer (, May 12, 2007)
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday criticized Governor Eliot Spitzer for signing an executive order that gives 28,000 home day-care providers in the city the right to join unions and negotiate for higher pay. Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser complained the governor's move could hurt poor families by driving up the cost of day care.

Older Residents Get Tax Relief, But Less Of It (NY Times, Apr 30, 2007)
When Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders announced $1.3 billion in new property tax relief late last month, they did not mention that older New Yorkers got largely cut out of the deal.

In Mexico, Mayor Checks Out Model Poverty Program (NY Times, Apr 25, 2007)

Mayor's Plan to Pay the Poor Works, Studies Say (NY Post, Apr 3, 2007)

City Put Homeless Men In Condemned Building (Daily News, Apr 2, 2007)
The Bloomberg administration moved 26 formerly homeless men into an apartment building that was in such disrepair it later had to be condemned - forcing the men back into shelters and possibly onto the streets.

Homeless Services Department Finds Homes For Veterans (Daily News, Mar 26, 2007)
Mayor Bloomberg promised in late December to find permanent homes for 100 veterans living in city shelters within 100 days. The Homeless Services Department actually hit that goal on March 14, about one week ahead of its deadline. It was a welcome relief for Grant, who had lived in a series of dormlike shelters for years.

Welfare Rolls Plunge To 43-Year Low (Daily News, Mar 15, 2007)
The number of New Yorkers collecting welfare hit a 43-year low last month - an 8% nosedive from last March, city officials said yesterday.

Case Before The Supreme Court (Involving MTV Founder Thomas Freston): Should Parents Of Disabled Be Reimbursed For Tuition In Private School If They Haven (NY Sun, Feb 27, 2007)

New Human Resources Administration Head Robert Doar Interviewed On His Plans For Social Services (City Limits, Feb 13, 2007)

Concerns Of The Working Poor (, Jan 25, 2007)
This survey by the Community Service Society looks at what low-income New Yorkers see as the most important policy issues for public officials. The survey is set up to compare and contrast the attitudes of American born New Yorkers to those of immigrants. Both see as the top issues keeping rent down and improving public education, but the U.S.-born are worried most about jobs and crime; immigrants say housing and health care. The report examines the reasons for the differences.

Homeless Agency Placing Thousands In Apartments, Many Of Which Have Lead Paint (Daily News, Jan 16, 2007)

First Anniversary Of Child Abuse Slaying Of Nixzmary Brown Spurs Call For Reform Of State Court System (NY Post, Jan 12, 2007)

Officials Neglect Elderly, Public Advocate Charges (NY Post, Jan 11, 2007)

Bloomberg Picks Pataki Official to Run City's Welfare Agency (NY Times, Jan 9, 2007)

Bloomberg Starts Putting Together His Charitable Foundation (Associated Press, Dec 28, 2006)

Can Moving Out Of A Poor NYC Neighborhood Improve The Lot Of A Poor Family? Results Are Mixed For "Moving To Opportunity" Program (Wall Street Journal, Dec 28, 2006)

City Charities Say Needs Are Great, And New Yorkers Are Meeting Them (More Or Less) By Donating And Volunteering (Metro, Dec 27, 2006)

Mayor Forms Task to Find Housing for Homeless Veterans (Daily News, Dec 22, 2006)
Mayor Bloomberg said the city and the VA have formed a task force to come up with a plan to get more homeless veterans into permanent housing. He said they have 100 days to come up with a report.

Homeless NYC Youth (Estimated At As Many As 30,000) Will Be Counted Officially For The First Time (Metro, Dec 19, 2006)

Bloomberg Plans New Office to Help New York (, Dec 19, 2006)
The city is planning to spend an extra $150 million a year in public and private money on the core priority of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s second term: combating poverty that is hidden beneath New York’s vast wealth. The effort would involve the creation of a new city office that would operate in part like a philanthropic foundation and in part like a venture capital company. The program, called the Center for Economic Opportunity, would administer a $100 million fund to support experimental programs, like giving cash rewards to encourage poor people to stay in school or receive preventive medical care, or matching their monthly bank deposits to foster greater savings. The office would also oversee a program giving tax credits to impoverished families to offset child care costs. Programs are to be constantly evaluated, and those that cannot show success will be terminated. The administration has hired Veronica M. White, a business planning and management consultant who has worked in housing development

City and State Officials Agree to Pay Retroactive Benefits To Disabled New Yorkers For Food Stamps Withheld in Welfare Shift (NY Times, Dec 19, 2006)
New York City and state officials agreed yesterday to distribute millions of dollars in retroactive benefits to settle a class-action lawsuit by disabled New Yorkers who improperly lost their food stamps when they were transferred from welfare to the federal disability rolls. The settlement still needs the approval of the United States Department of Agriculture, which ultimately pays for the benefits.

Young Hispanic And Old Asian Women At High Risk For Suicide In NYC, Assembly Hearing Told (NY Times, Dec 8, 2006)
In New York City, teenage Hispanic girls are hospitalized for depression at a rate of 388 per 100,000 (compared with 374 for teenage white girls) and are hospitalized after attempting suicide or talking about it at a rate of 95.5 per 100,000 (compared with 88.5 for teenage white girls). Asian women 65 and older in the city have a suicide rate of 11.6 per 100,000, more than double the rate for non-Hispanic white women in that age group

8,000 City Workers Rely On Food Stamps (Daily News, Dec 1, 2006)
Roughly 8,000 New York City employees - or 3% of the municipal workforce - earn such an abysmally low salary that they are forced to get food stamps to feed themselves and their families, the Daily News has learned.

How Many City Workers Need Food Stamps? Councilmember Wants to Know (Daily News, Nov 22, 2006)
Councilman Bill DeBlasio, who chairs the Council's welfare committee, called on Mayor Bloomberg to launch a study to find how many city workers rely on food stamps or food pantries to feed their families.

NYC Welfare Chief Concedes Need for Food Aid Is Growing (NY Times, Nov 21, 2006)
New York City’s top welfare official offered an unusually candid assessment of shortcomings in social services yesterday, vividly describing offices where caseworkers are overwhelmed by paperwork, hindered by antiquated computers and not given adequate training. Furthermore, the official, Verna Eggleston, acknowledged that the need for food and nutrition assistance is growing in the city — so much so that some of her own employees are receiving food from charities between paychecks.

Looking for a Successful Government Social Program? Check Out the Queens Library (City Journal, Nov 15, 2006)

City Hall Pays $11 Billion to Private Contractors to Provide Services, Report Finds (Daily News, Nov 3, 2006)

Social Service Center In The Bronx Evicted (Village Voice, Oct 25, 2006)

Adults on Welfare With H.I.V. or AIDS Hit With State-Ordered Rent Increase (NY Times, Oct 5, 2006)

(NY Times, Sep 26, 2006)

Judge Orders City to Aid Battered Immigrants (NY Times, Aug 30, 2006)

Mayor (NY Sun, Aug 30, 2006)

No Improvement in Poverty Rate (NY Times, Aug 30, 2006)
Despite New York City’s economic rebound from 9/11 and the national recession, the proportion of city residents who live below the federal poverty level — about one in five — has not budged in the last five years, according to census figures released yesterday. The stagnant poverty rate, coming at a time of relative prosperity, suggests that wealth has not trickled down to the city’s poorest and has raised concerns among experts and policy makers.

Poverty Rate Rises Among Seniors (Daily News, Aug 30, 2006)
One in five city senior citizens is living below the poverty line, even as the overall number of poor New Yorkers has dropped slightly, new U.S. census data show.

Advocacy Group: Make September 11th A National Day Of Volunteer Service (Staten Island Advance, Aug 18, 2006)

Questions Raised over Girl (Daily News, Aug 2, 2006)
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum yesterday called for the Administration for Children’s Services to provide information about its actions in the case of 2-year-old Sharllene Morillo, who died Friday, allegedly after being beaten by her mother’s companion. ACS has confirmed its staffers saw the child twice, but investigators found no "solid evidence" that Sharllene needed rescuing, a spokeswoman said.

Feds Say They Are Sending $25 Million In Anti-Terrorist Funds To NYC Non-Profits (NY Sun, Jul 25, 2006)

The Mayor Focuses on Poverty, and a Panel Is Ready to Help (NY Times, Jul 17, 2006)
It is a group drawn from the upper echelons of New York City’s business, nonprofit, academic and social services sectors. For the last four months, the group has been focused on solving a perplexing riddle: the problem of rising poverty in a city as wealthy as New York. Their conclusions are expected to form the basis of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plans to attack chronic poverty in New York during his second term.

Fighting Poverty and a Decade of Welfare Reform (Gotham Gazette, Jun 19, 2006)

More Money Sought for ACS (Metro, Jun 14, 2006)
A budget initiative would add $4 million for child welfare services overseen by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, City Council members announced yesterday. The money — to be included in the city’s fiscal year 2007 budget — would allow ACS to hire about 240 additional preventive service workers and bring current employees’ caseload closer to the nationally accredited standard ratio of 12 cases per caseworker.

State Bill Would Reduce Sentences Of Inmates Who Were Victims Of Domestic Violence (City Limits, Jun 13, 2006)

City Changes System for Evaluating Disabled Children (Village Voice, Jun 7, 2006)

Not Homeless Enough (Daily News, May 30, 2006)
Homeless advocates say the city's new rules to tighten up the shelter system are mistakenly pushing needy children and families out into the streets.

City Launches Drive to Get Domestic Violence Victims to Seek Help (Daily News, May 19, 2006)

Children (NY 1, May 19, 2006)

New Child Service Workers Graduate (NY 1, May 10, 2006)

Critics See Flaws in a Program to Help the Homeless Pay Rent (NY Times, May 8, 2006)
A 17-month-old city program to help homeless people leave shelters by paying part of their rent is drawing criticism from advocates and lawmakers, who say that while well-intentioned, the program is flawed because it discourages participants from working and has placed hundreds of families in crumbling and decrepit apartments.

The Mayor and the Poor (NY Times, Apr 19, 2006)
After four years of near silence, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared his own war on poverty during his re-election campaign. But when his aides moved recently to ease rules for obtaining food stamps for some adults , he blocked them. Some observers say this points up Bloomberg’s ambivalence toward anything that carries even the faintest whiff of welfare. Although Bloomberg holds some socially liberal ideals , he seems far less comfortable championing the needs of the poor and has often ignored the issue.

Welfare Rolls Dip, But Only 23 Percent Of Those Who Leave Find Work (City Limits, Apr 18, 2006)

Mayor Overrules 2 Aides Seeking Food Stamp Shift (NY Times, Apr 18, 2006)
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took the rare step yesterday of overruling his own top two social service officials, deciding not to pursue a federal waiver that would make it easier for able-bodied childless adults to receive food stamps.

Mayor Seeks to Lower a Barrier for Food Stamps (NY Times, Apr 17, 2006)
The Bloomberg administration, in a significant departure from the welfare policies of the Giuliani era, is pursuing a federal waiver that would make it easier for able-bodied adults who do not have children to qualify for food stamps, even if they are not working.

Welfare Rolls Falling Again, Amid Worries About Poverty (NY Times, Apr 6, 2006)

Child Obesity Picture Grim Among New York City Poor (NY Times, Apr 6, 2006)

Group Seeks More Child Protection Funds for Latinos (Metro, Mar 29, 2006)

Aid Runs Out for Katrina Victims in NY Hotels (Metro, Mar 1, 2006)

City Begins Annual Census of Homeless (Daily News, Feb 27, 2006)

Humanitarian Group Plans (NY Sun, Feb 22, 2006)

City Seeking Wider Power In Child Care By Accessing Domestic Violence Registry (NY Times, Feb 21, 2006)
Noting a strong correlation between domestic violence and child abuse, the New York City public advocate, with the support of the Bloomberg administration, proposed yesterday that child-welfare officials be given access to a state database of protection orders. The change, if approved by the Legislature and Gov. George E. Pataki, would give the New York City Administration for Children's Services the ability to search the database when conducting background checks of prospective foster and adoptive parents.

Katrina Evacuees In Queens Hotel Will Not Be Evicted After All (Daily News, Feb 14, 2006)

How to Protect Endangered Children -- Before They Need ACS (New York Magazine, Feb 13, 2006)

Officials Call on Mayor to Fire Head of Administration for Children (Daily News, Feb 10, 2006)
Two members of an Assembly committee scrutinizing the child-abuse death of Nixzmary Brown called yesterday for the ouster of city child welfare boss John Mattingly.

The President's Proposed Budget (, Feb 7, 2006)
New York City took a hit yesterday in the new White House budget, suffering cuts to Medicare, housing, anti-poverty and first-responder programs. Congressional analysts projected a $30 million cut in the city's Medicare funding, hurting many of New York's 1 million recipients.

Debate Rekindled on Preserving Families at Risk (NY Times, Feb 6, 2006)
A string of four deaths of children over the past 10 weeks, which received extraordinary news media coverage, has found the city on the defensive about its family preservation efforts. Child welfare officials have pledged to stay the course, and while conceding that a number of the deaths resulted from mistakes or possible misjudgments by caseworkers, they have disputed the notion that the children died because of the failings of a systemic philosophy.

Mayor's Budget Cuts Millions from City Programs (Daily News, Feb 2, 2006)

4-Year-Old Bronx Boy Is Dead; Family Was Being Investigated (NY Times, Jan 31, 2006)
A 4-year-old Bronx boy whose family was being investigated by child welfare officials died yesterday after suffering a fractured skull and severe lacerations to his liver in the messy, cold two-bedroom apartment he shared with four siblings and two adults, officials said. The boy's mother, 26, and her companion, 18, were being held last night for questioning in the child's death, the police said. Law enforcement officials said they were also investigating whether the boy's siblings, who were taken into custody by the Administration for Children's Services, had been abused. The death of the boy, Quachon Browne, was at least the fifth fatality since November of a child whose family was known to the child welfare authorities.

Caseworkers Missed Chances to Save Nixzmary, Report Says (NY Times, Jan 31, 2006)
Repeated lapses over many months by caseworkers at the city's child welfare agency created a chain of missed opportunities to save Nixzmary Brown, culminating in a canceled plan to visit her home the night she was killed, agency officials said yesterday. A preliminary review released by the city's Administration for Children's Services gave the most detailed account of the case to date, and it found that police officers played a role in deciding against conducting an emergency intervention at a crucial juncture in December: when a guidance counselor reported that the girl, already emaciated, had returned to school with a black eye after a prolonged absence. And, adding to questions about whether the police missed an opportunity to help prevent the girl's death, the report says caseworkers believed that the detectives had spoken for 15 minutes with the man now accused of Nixzmary's murder, her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez. That was at odds with the Police Department's own assertion that its detectives did not speak with Mr. Rodriguez and, in fact, that detectives had played only a limited role in the case. The new chronology of missteps in Nixzmary's case came as City Hall remained transfixed by what is suspected to be another case of fatal child abuse, this time in the Bronx, and the potentially deadly inefficiencies in the system designed to prevent it. The review was released as the city's child welfare commissioner, John B. Mattingly, appeared before the City Council to answer questions about agency procedures and as the police sorted through the details of the most recent death, in a home the agency had been monitoring.

Homelessness Increases, Report Finds (Metro, Jan 25, 2006)

Family Court Overwhelmed With New Cases (City Limits, Jan 24, 2006)

Police: We Never Even Talked To Girl (Daily News, Jan 17, 2006)
City policy called for cops to investigate Nixzmary Brown's injuries alongside child welfare caseworkers - but detectives never even talked with the girl, according to the NYPD and the notes of a caseworker who was there. That raises questions about whether the NYPD followed the city's rules for investigating reports of serious child abuse - and whether cops could have done more to help the 7-year-old before she was beaten to death, allegedly by her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, last week. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has fully backed his detectives. The NYPD has referred all questions on the investigation to City Hall.

Child Abuse Reports Soar After Publicized Case (, Jan 17, 2006)
Reports of suspected child abuse and neglect surged in New York City for several days after the death of Nixzmary Brown, officials said. The reports by teachers, doctors, police and others increased by 77 percent following the 7-year-old girl's death on Jan. 11, compared to the same period last year.

Council Probe Hits Food Stamp Woes (Daily News, Jan 15, 2006)
About half of the 2 million New Yorkers eligible for food stamps are getting them - and many receive the benefits only after clearing bureaucratic hurdles, a group of legislators charged yesterday.

New York One of Nation (Newsweek, Jan 13, 2006)

Bloomberg Puts Team in Place for the Work of 2nd Term (NY Times, Jan 11, 2006)
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's cabinet relies more heavily upon longtime associates who followed him from Bloomberg L.P. than lifelong civil servants. Patricia Harris,50: Appointed first deputy mayor, she was the communications director of Bloomberg L.P. Kevin Sheeky, 39: Appointed deputy mayor for government relations. former employee, Bloomberg L.P. Edward Skyler 32: Appointed deputy mayor for administration. former communications director and another former Bloomberg L.P. employee. Linda I. Gibbs, 46: Appointed new deputy mayor for health and human services, former commissioner of homeless services.

Katrina Evacuees Still Languish in NYC Hotels (Village Voice, Jan 4, 2006)

Weiner: Hunger Growing In NYC (1010 WINS, Jan 3, 2006)
Hunger is a growing problem in New York City, with food pantries and soup kitchens having to give out more meals, according to a study released by Rep. Anthony Weiner on Monday. The study found that from July 2005 to October 2005, food pantries and soup kitchens served more than 3.5 million meals, an 8 percent increase from the same period the year before. Almost 1 million meals were served in October.

Funding for Public Childcare Shrinks As Number of Children Enrolled Grows (NY Sun, Dec 29, 2005)

Immigrant Victims of Abuse Are Illegally Denied Benefits, Lawsuit Charges (NY Times, Dec 13, 2005)
Hundreds of battered immigrant women and children are being illegally denied food stamps and other aid because of programming errors in New York welfare computers and faulty staff training, according to legal papers that poverty lawyers plan to file in federal court today. The lawsuit is a last resort, the lawyers said, because city and state officials have failed to fix systemic problems that force many women to choose between staying safe and feeding their families, despite government policies aimed at supporting them until they can get on their feet.

Home Health Aides Walk off Job (NY 1, Dec 9, 2005)

Kelly Orders Crackdown on Panhandlers at Penn Station (Daily News, Dec 2, 2005)

Comptroller Finds Conditions At Salvation Army Homeless Shelter (Now Closed) "Horrendous" (Newsday, Nov 29, 2005)

Bloomberg's Track Record On Social Services (, Nov 1, 2005)
Social services are, by most accounts, not Michael Bloomberg's passion. Yet passionate or not, Mr. Bloomberg's technology-reliant and results-oriented management style is remaking this part of city government - as many in the city's large and vociferous army of advocates for the poor readily acknowledge.Most conspicuously, the administration has overhauled how the city treats homeless families and finances foster care. The application process for benefits like food stamps and cash assistance has been simplified. After-school programs have been redesigned and day care made available to more children. ...if the Bloomberg approach is gentler, his welfare policies have largely extended the Giuliani agenda.

Welfare Program Whacked: Advocates File Suit Against City (, Aug 30, 2005)
WeCare is supposed make life easier for disabled welfare recipients. But Legal Aid says it could be making things worse.

Fewer New Yorkers Get Food Stamps, and Critics Blame City (NY Times, Aug 24, 2005)
The number of New Yorkers receiving food stamps in July declined by 18,110, the sharpest monthly drop in enrollment since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office.

Adult day care offers a lifeline for partners (, Aug 20, 2005)
Nearly 25 percent of American households care for an aging friend or relative, a number that is expected to grow, according to the National Adult Day Services Association. A little-known step between senior centers and nursing homes, small adult day programs are thought to help about 150,000 Americans receive social, intellectual and physical stimulation while living at home.

Court Rules That Low Income Immigrants Must Receive Same Benefits as Citizens (NY Times, Aug 19, 2005)

City Gets Right to Deny Shelter to Some Homeless People (Daily News, Aug 17, 2005)

City's New Approach To Solving Homelessness -- Turn Some People Away (City Limits, Aug 9, 2005)

Working With the City's Most Troubled Men (Village Voice, Aug 3, 2005)

City's Cooling Centers Not Activated Despite the Heat (Newsday, Jul 21, 2005)
The mercury hit 92 degress in Manhattan Wednesday, which was hot enough to make life miserable, but not sufficiently steamy to activate dozens of emergency air-conditioning centers in municipal buildings.

Citing Shoddy Bookkeeping, U.S. Won't Reimburse City for 9/11 Counseling (Daily News, Jul 11, 2005)

City Council Passes Legislation To Ease Food Stamp Application; City Unveils Borough-Wide Hunger Task Force (, Jul 10, 2005)
The fight against hunger inched forward last week, with new legislation passed in the Council and the launch of a new body to combat the problem itself. The changes come at a time when the Bloomberg Administration has proposed a $670,000 cut to emergency food programs in the city, and refused to seek a waiver that would allow unemployed adults seeking work claim the federal food benefit, even as 2 million New Yorkers are at risk of hunger, according to the Food Bank of New York City. The new legislation, now sitting on the mayor’s desk, will create an online food stamp application and distribute paper applications for the federal program at food pantries and soup kitchen, as well as make it easier to apply via fax and obtain exemptions from face-to-face interviews if disabled. Mayoral support for the bills is uncertain; calls to the city’s Human Resources Agency were not returned by press time. Meanwhile, earlier in the week, city officials and hunger advocates officially unveiled five, borough-wide hunger task forces. More than 500 people crowded into Cooper Union’s Great Hall to kick off the new groups, which organizers say will bring a neighborhood focus to anti-hunger organizing.

City Overpaid Hospital (Newsday, Jul 6, 2005)
The city's Administration for Children's Services mistakenly paid New York Foundling Hospital in Manhattan nearly $500,000 in improper reimbursements for contracted social service programs and then tried to cover up the transaction. according to an audit released yesterday by the city comptroller's office.

City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift Of $20 Million "Anonymously" (, Jul 6, 2005)
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has expanded the breadth of his personal philanthropy during each of his four years as mayor, has showered another $20 million on 400 New York City arts and social services groups through a gift to the Carnegie Corporation of New York.... A complete list is available. While the grants through Carnegie represent just a portion of the mayor's overall philanthropy - last year he gave a total of about $140 million in donations to more than 800 institutions and groups - they are often vital to local groups that are struggling with fund-raising and, sometimes, have also struggled with budget cuts imposed by the Bloomberg administration. And the donations cannot but help earn Mr. Bloomberg good will with the community leaders and board members connected to such organizations

Anti-Begging Law Ruled Unconstitutional In 1992 Still Being Used To Arrest Hundreds (Daily News, Jul 5, 2005)
An anti-begging law ruled unconstitutional in 1992 has since been used in more than 1,800 arrests and prosecutions statewide, a Daily News analysis of court data found

Broken Homes: A Special Section (, Jun 12, 2005)
A yearlong investigation of adult homes for the mentally ill found neglect, malfeasance and death

New City Regulation Lets Single Welfare Recipients Spend A Year In School (, Jun 12, 2005)
Virtually all city welfare recipients are now able to spend up to 12 months pursuing education and training full-time under a new city policy. The city already had to allow single parents on welfare to pursue education as part of their welfare-to-work program under the Davila decision of 2003, but adults without children were not afforded that option. In January, the city voluntarily changed its policy to allow childless adults to enroll in educational or training programs for up to one year.

New York Takes Control of Adult Home (, May 24, 2005)
New York State officials seized control of the Brooklyn Manor adult home yesterday, saying that the mentally ill residents who live there were in imminent danger because of abuses on the part of the management. The move came less than a month after a fire in the home left one resident dead and raised renewed concern about the overall management of Brooklyn Manor, which is meant to offer a refuge for mentally ill people who have no other place to go.

Advocates split on how to proceed with welfare reauthorization (, Apr 7, 2005)
As welfare reauthorization heads to the Senate floor this week, now in its tenth extension in four years, two distinct camps have emerged among welfare watchdogs: One favors keeping up the negotiations between Senate and House, pushing for a compromise. The other backs keeping the bill out of negotiation—even though committee leaders have threatened to cut TANF’s budget if it isn’t revised.

City (, Mar 15, 2005)
Local Official Testifies Before Congress That Less Than Half of Welfare Recipients Are Fully Employable.

Unmarried Fathers Gain Tax Incentive in Pataki Proposal (, Mar 15, 2005)
Gov. George E. Pataki will unveil a program this week that would make New York the first state in the nation to use tax credits, along with other incentives, intended to motivate low-income fathers to work and pay child support, according to state officials.

Where The Mayor Stands On Welfare (, Feb 16, 2005)
During the 2001 mayoral campaign, Michael Bloomberg promised to rethink, but not revamp, Giuliani-era welfare reforms that slashed public assistance rolls by two-thirds in the 1990s. Soon after Bloomberg took office, his fiery new Human Resources Administration commissioner, Verna Eggleston, signaled bigger changes were afoot. Deriding former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's approach as "heavy-handed," Eggleston told a conference in March 2002 that "the only target and the only goal" of Giuliani's policies was to reduce the number of welfare recipients. The Bloomberg administration, she vowed, would focus on providing child care, training and health services so that the needy receiving direct cash payments would be better able to get jobs. Three years into Eggleston's tenure, critics say she remains obsessed with keeping down the number of people receiving public assistance, although they concede she has abandoned Giuliani's purge-the-rolls conservatism.

One In Six Young People In NYC Is Disconnected (, Feb 16, 2005)
A new report by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit, antipoverty organization, reveals that 16 percent of New York City’s 16 through 24-year-olds are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market. These nearly 170,000 young people are “disconnected.”

The Cate Debate: State Judge Strikes Down City Council Law Easing Welfare Recipients' Access to Education (, Jan 19, 2005)
A state judge has struck down a 2003 city law allowing welfare recipients to pursue education and training as part of their work requirements. The November 24 ruling, which the City Council plans to appeal, marks the latest installment in the battle over the council’s Access to Training and Education (CATE) legislation.

While Fewer in City Receive Welfare, Many More Get SSI (, Jan 19, 2005)
NYC Independent Budget Office, Inside the Budget No. 136, December 2, 2004.

Social Services in City to Lose $100 Million (, Jan 19, 2005)
Barring an 11th-hour rescue by the State Legislature, New York City is to lose nearly $100 million in state aid for social services programs in the current fiscal year, according to the city's Independent Budget Office.

Bowed by age, battered by an addicted nephew and forced into begging and despair (, Jan 5, 2005)
Elder abuse crimes are typically underreported, according to Brooklyn officials. But the stories are tragic. Victims can endure years of physical abuse, and be taken advantage of financially, often at the hands of family. One case involving two Brighton Beach sisters in their seventies forced to panhandle to support a nephew’s drug habit highlights how far the degradation can go.

Joint effort to head off child abuse in city shelters (, Dec 1, 2004)
The city announced it will closely monitor homeless families with a history of abuse or neglect—regardless of whether any investigation is current—at city shelters. A report released earlier this year found that while fewer than 1 percent of children live in city shelters, 18 percent of deaths of children with abuse cases occur in shelters.

Between Hope and Hard Times: New York (, Nov 17, 2004)
In this first-of-its-kind report, the Center and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy explore the conditions and policy responses to low-income working families in the Empire State.

The Unheard Third: Bringing the Voices of Low-Income New Yorkers to the Policy Debate (, Nov 17, 2004)
Findings from a citywide survey of 1,012 New York City residents, including 753 low-income and 259 moderate- and higher-income New Yorkers. The survey was conducted for Community Service Society of New York by Lake Snell Perry & Associates between August 25 and September 9, 2003.

Court Limits Removing Child When Mother Is Abuse (, Nov 5, 2004)
The seven-member New York State Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, said children should not be taken out of their homes solely because they had seen their mother being beaten, suggesting that it would unfairly punish innocent women and even harm the children themselves.

Taxicabs For Disabled Increase From 3 To 30 (, Oct 17, 2004)
New medallions will bring the total number of accessible cabs to 30 out of the 12,487 taxis on the streets. There are now only three cabs, all minivans with wheelchair ramps

Domestic Abuse Center to Open (, Oct 11, 2004)
Calling domestic violence a "disgraceful scourge," Mayor Bloomberg unveiled plans yesterday to open the city's first one-stop help center for victims of abuse.

Giuliani Numbers Cut (, Oct 11, 2004)
As former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani touts his welfare reform accomplishments to Republicans around the country, the Bloomberg administration has quietly downgraded key job placement statistics from Giuliani's final years in office.

Suit: Home Shafts Mentally Disabled (, Oct 11, 2004)
An adult group home in Brooklyn for the mentally disabled was hit with a class action lawsuit yesterday alleging the residents are being deprived of their monthly allowance "as a form of behavior control."

Report on Day Care Death Shows Flaws In System (, Oct 8, 2004)
Two months after a baby suffocated under a pile of toys in a crib at a day care center while two city inspectors ignored muffled noises, the city's Health Department yesterday issued a scathing portrait of its oversight of 9,400 day care centers in New York City, calling it a bureaucratic maze riddled with problems that spell potential dangers for children

Push to slow Mitchell-Lama Drain (, Jul 20, 2004)
The city hopes to stop owners of Mitchell-Lama buildings from taking their apartments to market rate by helping them refinance debt and make repairs, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.

Bayside Neighbors Disgusted With Overdevelopment In Area (, Jul 20, 2004)
“Enough is enough,” was the chant of over 30 Bayside residents on Friday night, who stood under umbrellas in heavy rain for nearly two hours to protest the planned demolition of two historic homes in their neighborhood.

City Council Affirms Domestic Partner Benefits (, Jun 30, 2004)
Overriding another of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's vetoes, the City Council voted yesterday to require that companies doing business with the city offer equal benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. The override, approved by 41 of the Council's 51 members, clears the way for New York to join a handful of other large cities that require businesses seeking municipal contracts to extend to same-sex couples the same family health insurance benefits provided to other workers." The mayor said he would probably have his Law Department sue to block implementation of the law.

Court Roster Will Decide Future of Death Penalty (, Jun 30, 2004)
Disappointed supporters of capital punishment lashed out on Thursday at a ruling from the state's highest court that effectively suspended the state's death penalty. The judges in the court's 4-to-3 majority, they said, showed that they were out to sabotage capital punishment and would never approve an execution. Death penalty opponents, in contrast, said the court had finally shown that it was not lost in a sea of technicalities and was finally focusing on fundamental injustices in the capital punishment law. Both assertions may have been premature - political theater designed, perhaps, to ratchet up pressure on the judges for the next case involving the death penalty.

A 4-3 Ruling Effectively Halts Death Penalty in New York (, Jun 30, 2004)
New York State's highest court ruled yesterday that a central provision of the state's capital punishment law violated the State Constitution. Lawyers said the ruling would probably spare the lives of the four men now on death row and effectively suspend the death penalty in New York.

CUNY on the Job (, Jun 21, 2004)
The Introduction and Key Findings from the Center's new report on workforce development at the City University of New York, "CUNY on the Job.

The Impact of the Seven-Year Limit on Refugees' Eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (, Jun 21, 2004)
Refugees, persons granted asylum, Cubans and Haitians with refugee-like status, and certain other “humanitarian” immigrants who have fled persecution, often including violence and torture, in their home countries, are subject to a provision in the 1996 welfare law that limits their SSI eligibility to their first seven years in the United States unless they are able to become naturalized citizens. 

In Age of Terror, Police Chief Rises (, Jun 1, 2004)
Last Tuesday, after the city's former police and fire commissioners endured hours of withering criticism from the commission charged with investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, the current police commissioner presented his views on how the city deals with current threats.

4-Hour Trek Across New York For 4 Hours of Work, and $28 (, May 17, 2004)
More than 18,000 household workers in New York City metropolitan area--nannies, cleaners, home health aides--endure daily trips of 90 minutes or more for jobs paying less than $25,000 a year.

As Wealthy Fill Top Colleges, New Efforts to Level the Field (, May 6, 2004)
At prestigious universities around the country, from flagship state colleges to the Ivy League, more and more students from upper-income families are edging out those from the middle class, according to university data.

City Demands the Final Word If It Wins 2012 Olympics Bid (, May 6, 2004)
The city is trying to control advertising messages on public structures in and around potential Olympic sights should the city win its bid to host the 2012 summer games. Civil libertarians are calling it "a dangerous precedent."

Access-A-Ride Strike: City's Infirm Are Left in the Lurch (, May 6, 2004)
Thousands of elderly and disabled New Yorkers were stranded yesterday after a sudden strike paralyzed the Access-A-Ride van system, leaving them without rides to their jobs, doctors and families.

Ederly Asian American New Yorkers Face Higher Levels of Poverty and Depression (, Mar 25, 2003)
Press release from the Asian American Federation of New York, February 19, 2003.

TANF Reauthorization Roundup: (, Mar 25, 2003)

2003 Yellow Book: Statistical and Narrative Summary of the Executive Budget (, Mar 1, 2003)
By the Assembly Ways and Means Committee of the New York State Legislature.

Painful Contractions (, Oct 28, 2002)
Article in City Limits WEEKLY describing the concerns of the city's job training contractors about a new (November 2002) requirement that 80% of their clients be on public assistance. Because payment for these clients is delayed until most services are completed, job trainers rely on their other clients to provide current income.