The money that New York City and some surrounding areas have received from the stimulus bill has provided immediate relief to several low-income families and prevented some from suffering greater pain than they otherwise would have, says Community Voices Heard, an advocacy group of low-income New Yorkers.

Last week the organization led a group of reporters and government officials on a tour of four downstate cities to show them what the stimulus bill has done and to build their case that Congress should pass a second one.

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“This money’s gonna be going away, it’s not long-term,” said Chris Keeley, Coordinator of The New York Stimulus Alliance, a statewide coalition of grassroots organizations such as CVH. “So what happens after that? We’re gonna start seeing cuts in services, we’re gonna start seeing people getting laid off. So the Stimulus Alliance is looking towards, how can we get that ‘stimulus two,’ how can we make sure that those jobs are maintained and all of our services aren’t cut.”

New York State received $29.4 billion of the stimulus money, and the three of the four cities toured – New York City, Yonkers and Newburgh -- received about $9.4 billion of that, according to a May 10 study released by the Kirwan Institute. But many low-income families are living under conditions that predated the nation's housing crisis and recession and their lives won't improve without a significant increase in public investment, the tour's organizers said. “The money that they gave in the first place was not really enough,” said Anne Washington, a board member of Community Voices Heard. “And it was because of the fact that they dumbed it down so much that only a certain amount was given. But we really need to get more money here.”

City Limits joined the tour for stops in New York City, Yonkers and Newburgh. During it, members said they wanted stimulus money to address issues as mundane as the broken elevators inside their housing developments and as systemic as chronic African-American unemployment.

New York City
About $9 billion in recovery investments were made in New York City. About 36 percent of that money went to county government and schools. Another 31.6 percent went directly to individuals in the form of aid such as food stamps, unemployment benefits and Pell grants.

CVH organizers said New York City's share of any additional stimulus investment in New York State should be significantly larger than its previous share – the city has 40 percent of the state's population, but only received one-third of New York State's stimulus investment and only 15 percent of New York State's stimulus-created jobs.

Jackie Robinson Park
Suzanne Lavington was a direct beneficiary of New York City's share of the stimulus. Shortly after the bus cruises past Jackie Robinson Park on 145th & Bradhurst, she gets up and talks about the job she got there through the Parks Opportunity Program (POP), which received stimulus funding. The POP provides people with temporary work, usually six to nine months, trains them and gives them a chance to earn a permanent position.

“It’s better to do a job and get some money than just sit around and get welfare,” says Darryl Pleasant, a former POP participant who helped lead the tour.

Highbridge Gardens, 145th Street and Bradhurst, Harlem
The stimulus also improved the living conditions in some New York City buildings, including the public housing development Highbridge Gardens, which received $4 million in stimulus funding, says resident Linda Williams. When the bus stops there, roofers are repairing leaks that once left some top floor apartments wet during rains. A new playground sparkles. Still, Williams worries that with one maintenance worker for all six 13-floor buildings Highbridge doesn't have enough. “My sink’s backed up now,” she says. “If I call [the maintenance guy] now, he won’t be able to come ‘til next week. I must well just deal with it myself.”