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4mn411 Bronx nonprofits say the city is months late in reimbursing them for millions of dollars in contracted services, straining their financial outlook and ability to provide critical social services. While this issue is not new, leaders of organizations say this year has been worse than ever. BronxWorks — which provides youth programming, meals, homeless shelters and more — is currently owed $9 million in unreimbursed services and recently had to use a line of credit to cover payroll, chief financial officer Gordon Miller told the Bronx Times. Bronx Defenders, a provider of legal assistance and holisti c support for Bronxites in the criminal justice system, is waiting on $1 million, according to Executive Director Juval Scott. The Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), however, told the Bronx Times that the city is dedicated to helping nonprofits “navigate the invoicing challenges” and assisting them in getting paid. Despite the city’s pledge, organizations say that late payments, which have been a persistent problem, are now even worse. The city contracts with social service providers for billions each year, but slow payments are leaving many scrambling, forcing some to cover expenses through borrowing — and footing the bill for high interest costs. Small nonprofits are especially affected — even waiting on $10,000 can have a drastic impact on their bottom line, said June Jimenez, interim executive director of the Bronx Community Foundation, which supports the borough’s nonprofit sector. Lack of consequences Past attempts to improve the city contract process resulted in temporary gains. Shortly after Mayor Eric Adams was elected, he and Comptroller Brad Lander announced a Task Force on Nonprofit Contracting, culminating in a February 2022 report with recommendations for improving the “onerous and slow” process. That spring, the mayor touted his “Clear the Backlog” initiative, which freed up over $4 billion in contractual dollars owed to nonprofits. But any past progress is now “stalled” — and the city is again unacceptably late in payments to many nonprofits doing critical work, said Council Members Althea Stevens and Justin Brannan in a recent op-ed . Stevens, who represents the southwest Bronx, and Brannan, who represents Brooklyn neighborhoods including Bay Ridge and Coney Island, said the current contract process creates no incentive for prompt repayment, as it has no set timeframes or deadlines — a fact that has apparently not changed since the same concern was raised in the 2022 task force report. “[T]he city is behaving like a disengaged, deadbeat parent,” wrote Stevens and Brannan, who are working together on legislation requiring the city to pay interest on late payments. Stevens told the Bronx Times that “Clear the Backlog” was proof that the administration knows how to resolve the issue but has not consistently made it a priority — leaving nonprofits “essentially floating the city.” “If the city doesn’t have consequences, they don’t have incentive to pay these people,” she said. In a statement to the Bronx Times, MOCS affirmed the administration’s commitment to keeping critical service organizations going, noting that the nonprofits also have many employees. “The Adams administration has made it clear that supporting the workers that provide vital services to New Yorkers, particularly our most vulnerable residents is a top priority.” The office pointed to measures aimed at protecting vulnerable New Yorkers — while acknowledging challenges in the contract process. “MOCS continues to collaborate with the City’s contracting agencies to ensure that procurement professionals and our nonprofits receive the necessary information, resources, and personalized support to successfully navigate the invoicing challenges.” But Stevens said local nonprofits are not receiving enough help. The task force should be reconvened, she said, because many social service organizations are worried about even making payroll in December — putting thousands of New Yorkers at risk for a terrible holiday season without the services they rely on. Stevens predicted that until change comes to the contract process, more nonprofits may suffer the same fate as Sheltering Arms, which shuttered and filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after years of budget cuts and delayed city payments. “It’s not their fault. This is not okay,” she said. ‘It’s unsustainable’ Many New York City nonprofits are increasingly dissatisfied when contracting with the city. In a recent survey by the Human Services Council of New York, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, half of its 70 respondents called the contract process “the worst it has ever been.” Raye Barbieri, CEO of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, agreed. “This year seems to be particularly horrible for everybody across the board.” The center was founded in 1974 and has a food justice arm, a rape crisis center, early childhood programming and more. The Human Services Council survey found that 90% of respondents were waiting on payments totaling $365 million — and nearly one-third were delayed by more than six months. Additionally, the survey found that 48% of respondents had to use loans or lines of credit to cover the late funds, saddling them with a total of $6 million in interest that cannot be reimbursed. A major contributor to the delays lies with PASSPort, the city’s system for contract management, which was upgraded this year to include invoicing and payment capabilities, said Miller at BronxWorks. Problems with implementing the new functionality appear to have made the existing backlog problem even worse, he said. The public version of PASSPort can be found here . The city defended the technology, saying in a statement that “MOCS is diligently working around the clock to evaluate the PASSPort system and implement upgrades that enhance in-system payment processes. This is to guarantee that payments to our valued nonprofit contracting partners are not interrupted.” But Miller said payments have indeed been severely interrupted — and that BronxWorks is paying the price. While he said he has seen recent signs that the backlog is slowly clearing and the city granted two partial advances on their contract, those funds dried up, leaving BronxWorks no choice but to use a line of credit to make payroll. For now, the organization is getting by, he said. “We’re still continuing our excellent service and working with our clients.” But even if every problem with PASSPort was fixed tomorrow, “You gotta play catch up.” Barbieri said her organization has not yet needed to use its available line of credit, thanks only to scrimping and saving, and she could not give a dollar amount for which the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center is owed. But she said there is much anxiety around the delays, especially for their largest contracts with the Department of Education. Barbieri said nonprofits are treated unfairly compared to other entities that contract with the city. Despite — or perhaps because of — the essential nature of their work, they have little choice but to keep going while waiting on their funds. “There’s no other category of vendor in New York City that would ever be expected to or asked to provide services, programming or supplies before a contract is registered and in place,” she said. There’s no construction company that’s going to say, ‘Sure, we’ll start working without a contract.’” ‘It’s unsustainable’ Scott at Bronx Defenders also expressed frustration at not being able to begin any steps of the reimbursement process. The organization has been unable to submit invoices in PASSPort for the past six months due to technical problems, she said. The late payments are bringing down staff morale, adding another layer of stress to their already challenging workload — which in turn trickles down to clients, said Scott. Within Bronx Defenders, the sectors waiting on the most money are legal services for immigrant families and residents facing eviction, areas that already struggle to meet demand, said Scott. The late payments “seriously jeopardize” the organization’s ability to continue services, she said. As with BronxWorks, the city also gave the Bronx Defenders a partial advance on their contract, which got them through for a time. But now, with the advance running out, Scott said she desperately wants to avoid taking out a loan. “It’s unsustainable,” she said. “It’s not a good way to manage.” Scott said while the late payments seem mainly due to technical and administrative problems, they have a real “punitive effect” on nonprofit organizations. If the Bronx Defenders takes away funds for other services to cover loan interest, “The people that benefit from this are the banks.” Barbieri said while nonprofits are resilient, the sector needs to be treated with greater priority. Until reform comes, her organization will continue its work — such as providing holiday food packages for over 500 residents last week — even if running on fumes. “We’re gonna deliver services because that’s our mission,” she said. “A construction company can say ‘full work stoppage.’ We can’t do that.” Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes

Weather Radar Market Size & Trends To 2030The Dodgers have had a “preliminary dialogue” with utility man Tommy Edman regarding a potential extension, per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network . It’s unclear how far those initial talks progressed, but there’s no indication that a deal between the two sides is particularly close at this time. Edman, 29, came to L.A. as part of the three-team swap between the Dodgers, Cardinals, and White Sox that brought Michael Kopech to L.A. and sent Erick Fedde to St. Louis just before the trade deadline this summer. At the time, Edman hadn’t played in the majors at all in 2024 due to setbacks in his rehab from offseason wrist surgery. The switch hitter ultimately made his Dodgers debut on August 19 and made a strong first impression down the stretch. With the Dodgers, the versatile defender split time between center field and shortstop while hitting a respectable .237/.294/.417 (98 wRC+) with six homers and six steals in 153 trips to the plate during the regular season. His performance reached a new gear during the postseason, however, as he again split time between shortstop and center field as the Dodgers mixed-and-matched between Gavin Lux , Miguel Rojas , and Enrique Hernandez up the middle. Amid those frequent position changes, Edman was able to maintain a high level of offensive production as he hit .328/.354/.508 with two homers, five steals, and five doubles in 16 playoff games. That strong performance was key to the club’s World Series championship and even earned him MVP honors for his work in the NLCS against the Mets. Looking ahead to 2025, Edman seems likely to be penciled into center field for the club’s Opening Day roster although his impressive versatility should allow him to second or third base, shortstop, or an outfield corner should the Dodgers require it. Edman’s performance in the regular season with L.A. was more or less in line with what he had done throughout his career with the Cardinals. While his rookie season saw him slash an excellent .304/.350/.500 (124 wRC+) in 349 trips to the plate as a part-time player, he settled in as more of an average to slightly below average bat who generates value with his defense, versatility, and baserunning once he became a more regular fixture in the St. Louis lineup. From 2020 to 2023, Edman appeared in 504 of the club’s 546 regular season games and hit .258/.314/.392 (92 wRC+) with 42 home runs and 92 steals. He also connected for 104 doubles (plus 12 triples) during that time while playing quality defense at every position on the diamond except for first base and behind the plate. Overall, Edman’s profile is not entirely dissimilar to those of Hernandez and Chris Taylor , who have spent eight and nine years respectively in Dodger blue thanks to their valuable versatility. With Edman just one year away from free agency, the Dodgers would likely have to pay something close to free agent prices to retain the switch-hitter beyond next season barring a hometown discount from the southern California native. Taylor received a four-year, $60M contract in free agency from the Dodgers after hitting the market following an age-30 season that saw him earn All-Star honors, though that deal hasn’t worked out very well for L.A. to this point and the club may not be comfortable committing to Edman at that same level. With Edman already due to make $9.5M in his final year before free agency next year, perhaps a three-year deal at an AAV similar to that the Dodgers offered Taylor could make some sense for both sides. This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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Israeli airstrikes hit a Yemen airport as a jet with hundreds onboard was landing, UN official saysActor Kasthuri Shankar, who came out on a conditional bail from Puzhal prison on November 21, is one such celebrity-talking head currently in the news over controversial remarks. She was picked up by the police in Hyderabad for making a loaded, controversial comment about the ‘Telugu’ origins of the Tamil Nadu ruling party DMK’s first family. With this arrest, Ms. Kasthuri joins a growing list of anti-DMK voices to have been arrested for making unpalatable comments about the ruling dispensation. She made these remarks at a protest organised by the Indu Makkal Katchi, a right-wing Hindu nationalist party, led by Arjun Sampath. The protest was called demanding that a law akin to the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1952, (PCR Act) to protect Brahmins from slander and defamatory comments on their caste identity from certain political sections be enacted. Widespread criticism While comparing slander of Brahmin sensitivities and identity to the expulsion of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir in the early 1990s, Ms. Kasthuri said Brahmins could not be called ‘outsiders’ by ‘Telugu speaking people’, who came to Tamil Nadu along with Telugu kings to take care of the needs of their harems. She encountered widespread criticism for her comments, prompting her to clarify that she didn’t cast aspersions on Telugu speakers as a whole. After coming out of the prison, Ms. Kasthuri thanked those critics for transforming ‘a small voice like hers into a raging cyclone’. Having returned to India in 2017 from the U.S., where she was living with her husband, Ms. Kasthuri, known for her spunky choice of films such as Amaidi Padai, Indian and Thamizh Padam, has been one of those celebrities who became ubiquitous on television, YouTube and social media, often opining on diverse topics — be it the language divide in India, the NEET controversy, federalism, MeToo or Tamil nationalism. An avid quizzer and a former Miss Chennai, Ms. Kasthuri, who has acted in more than 50 films in multiple languages, emerged as an celebrity commentator as an eco-system of politically aligned social media personalities mushroomed. Social media presence Having been a busy actor until the early 2000s, Ms. Kasthuri took a break before turning heads with an item song in a spoof film, Thamizh Padam, featuring Mirchi Shiva in 2009. She also hosted a quiz show on a Tamil private channel and continued to feature in other reality shows, including Bigg Boss. She was seen taking on the political class, debating vexatious issues that yield no agreements and taking to task die-hard fans of Tamil film actors, riling their supporters and inviting senseless trolls. Having masqueraded as a fairly neutral voice on television and social media, Ms. Kasthuri is today identified mainly as someone who reflects the views of upper class, Tamil Brahmins in politics. With people consuming news and information mainly on social media, the phenomenon of celebrity talking heads and online opinion makers, especially critics, finding themselves in the cross hairs of the State government has only served to expose the double standards of the political establishment in Tamil Nadu, which wants to be seen as leading the ideological fight against the ‘fascist’ BJP government even while using the State’s resources to jail critics. However, Ms. Kasthuri’s transformation from a former quizzer, actor and a well-informed neutral voice on several issues to a right-wing commentator talking about upper caste issues is difficult to miss, particularly after her decision to participate in the Indu Makkal Katchi protest. She seeks to equate ridicule and criticism of privilege in society with hatred and hegemony. Kasthuri’s comment about the ‘Telugu origins’ of the DMK’s first family has kicked up a storm in the State. Published - November 24, 2024 01:00 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tamil cinema / Tamil Nadu / The Hindu Profiles / The Hindu Explains