The New York City Council has announced its calendar of upcoming remote hearings that the public can testify on via Zoom or over the phone. The remaining hearings this month focus on the FY21 budget or oversight.

Below are highlighted City Council hearings taking place that are relevant to the workforce community. If you would like to sign up to testify via phone or Zoom, you must submit your name at least 24 hours in advance. Written testimony may be submitted through the same link up to 72 hours after a hearing has been adjourned.

• Committee on Government Operations (Oversight - 2020 Census) -  June 22  /  11 am  /  Details
• Committees on Contracts and Youth Services & Aging (Oversight - Youth and Senior Services Nonprofit Contracting during a Pandemic) - June 23  /  12 pm  / Details
• Committee on Economic Development (Oversight - NYCEDC's Relief Efforts During the COVID-19 Crisis) - June 24  /  12 pm  /  Details

• Council ‘Supermajority’ Calls on Mayor de Blasio to do More to Help Small Businesses Struggling with the Devastating Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis (June 15)
• Joint Statement from Speaker Corey Johnson, Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, Democratic Conference Chair Robert Cornegy, Co-Chairs of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus I. Daneek Miller and Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm, Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Vanessa L. Gibson, and Public Safety Committee Chair Donovan Richards on Proposed Cuts to the NYPD Budget (June 12)

• Nonprofits' Open Letter to the City to Center Black and People of Color Led Organizations in Reallocating Policing Funds
• New York City Nonprofit Leaders of Color Call for Action and Reform

This week, Mayor de Blasio announced the expansion of the College Bridge Program, a collaboration between CUNY and the NYC Department of Education to provide support to graduating NYC DOE high school seniors as they transition to college and career pathways at CUNY and beyond. The program, launched in 2016, will expand this year to reach every 2020 graduating senior, estimated to be approximately 57,000 students (up from 15,000 students served through the program in prior years). 

Using a near-peer approach, College Bridge pays college students from CUNY to serve as coaches to graduating seniors. The program will help with preparing for all postsecondary options for young New Yorkers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies show that as many as 40 percent of students accepted to and planning to attend college can experience “summer melt” and ultimately not matriculate at a college in the fall. This is in part due to the complicated application and enrollment tasks they must tackle over the summer. College Bridge aims to facilitate the transition and get rising college freshmen set up for a successful fall. To learn more about becoming a College Bridge coach click here.

New York Forward Loan Fund, an economic recovery loan program aimed at supporting small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords in New York, is still accepting applications. The loan fund will target small businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, nonprofits and small landlords that have seen a loss of income or rental income. If approved, these loans will need to be paid back over a 5-year term with interest. This loan is available to those who did not receive a loan for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration.