ALIGN

"Sandy was something that you'll never forget," says Miny Lasper, who has been a home care worker for 29 years with Rockaway Manor Home Care. As a resident of Far Rockaway near Jamaica Bay, she went without light or heat for two weeks. But she didn't survive the storm alone. Miny's home care client is 77 and is on oxygen because of lung problems. Miny knew she wouldn't be able to reach her client when the storm hit. When her client's building went on lock-down, Miny had to act fast.  She made the decision to bring her client into her own home to wait out the storm.

ALIGN and the Transform Don’t Trash coalition's released a new report that outlines how the commercial waste industry is highly polluting, inefficient, costly to the City, disproportionately burdensome on low-income communities of color, and dangerous and exploitative for workers.

Over 1 million New York City residents interact with the home care system, either as paid or unpaid caregivers, or as seniors and people with disabilities who receive care. In the next two decades as Baby Boomers age, up to 1 million more people will require home care. ALIGN and the New York Care Council conducted a comprehensive survey to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and concerns of New Yorkers vis-à-vis the home care system, and to determine aspects of the system New Yorkers are most passionate about changing.

New York State’s 113 Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) provide aid to businesses to locate or expand in
the state. In exchange for tax exemptions and tax-exempt bond financing, companies often agree to create
or retain a certain number of jobs. Too often, however, these businesses fail to meet their commitments, or
create low-wage work that doesn’t promote real economic growth. Performance standards, accountability
measures, and transparency reforms are needed to ensure that IDAs do not waste public dollars.

On June 27, 2013, Josh Kellermann delivered testimony at the New York City Council on wage theft in the fast food industry. A recent Fast Food Forward report shows that as many as 84% of fast food workers have suffered from at least one form of wage theft in the past year, such as unpaid overtime and the withholding of legally required meal breaks.

New York spends approximately $7 billion annually on economic development. Dozens of different economic development programs issue subsidies such as tax exemptions, tax credits, grants, tax-exempt bonds, and discounted land to corporations, ostensibly in the name of job creation, economic growth and an improved quality of life for all New Yorkers. At such a high price tag, New Yorkers deserve to know: how is this money being spent, and what return are taxpayers getting from this investment? Are these programs actually creating good jobs and community benefits? Our new report surveys and rates the larges economic development programs.

New York City’s Action Plan for Disaster Recovery, released in draft form in late March, allocates $1.77 billion in federal Sandy funds. The federal money comes with standards that require the City to account for how its housing and recovery plans will support displaced residents. This report from the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding identifies a series of major flaws in the City’s Action Plan, and proposes solutions that will help ensure a just and equitable rebuilding for all New Yorkers.

On May 7, 2013, a report entitled ‘Sandy’s Mold Legacy: The Unmet Need Six Months After the Storm’ was released by ALIGN, Community Voices Heard, Faith in New York, Make The Road New York, New York Communities For Change, and VOCAL-NY. The report indicates that New York City’s current approach to post-Sandy mold remediation needs expansion and improvement.

Maya Pinto, ALIGN's Senior Policy and Research Analyst, delivered this testimony at the Committee on Economic Development hearing on the proposed Community Impact Report bill.

Carlos Llenes is on the front lines of the movement for just, equitable and sustainable recovery and rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy. Originally from Ecuador, Carlos has been a remediation worker for more than 20 years, and is working with the environmental remediation company Synatec Incorporated to thoroughly clean and rehabilitate homes throughout New York and New Jersey that have been infected with mold due to flooding from Superstorm Sandy.