January 5, 2006
NYCWatch: '06 KICK-OFF
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BLOOMBERG & QUINN: 2nd term for him, 2nd-in-charge for her | |
Before the holidays, we reported that DOH was going to sit down with nonprofit Community Research Exchange (CRE) to make it the master contractor for FY06's $2 million moneypot for the New York Communities of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition (NYCCOCHAC), which funds dozens of groups doing HIV/AIDS prevention and services right in the thick of neighborhoods of color hardest hit by the epidemic. DOH and CRE, we reported, were going to work out a fair RFP (application) process for the money—and finally try to disburse these crucial funds in a swift and transparent manner.
Well, we're happy to report that the RFP is ready—and here it is, along with a crucial final addendum. Take a stab at it if your group a) has an annual budget under $6 million, b) is based in—and has grown out of—communities of color, and c) has a five-year-or-more history of serving HIV-positive women of color or MSM (men who have sex with men) of color. Preference will be given to groups whose senior leadership and boards primarily reflect the demographics of communities they serve. Contact Housing Works city advocate and NYCCOCHAC member terri smith-caronia with any questions at smith-caronia@housingworks.org or 347.473.7418. The deadline for RFP submissions is 5pm on Wednesday, January 11.
But wait—there's crucial new information you should know first. On December 19, there was a meeting of reps from about 15 groups within NYCCOCHAC—including Housing Works, GMHC, Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIVAIDS (APICHA), Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Harlem United,the citywide PWA meal service Momentum Project, the New York State Black Gay Network and the HIV peer-education group Conscious Contact. The coalition decided that, because the funding's spending timeframe ending June 30 was too short for recipient groups to spend their roughly $50,000 each of NYCCOCHAC money on direct HIV/AIDS services, groups who get money this year will devote it entirely to an HIV/AIDS advocacy issue of their choosing—promoting that issue with either lobby visits to Albany or Washington, community education efforts or some sort of HIV/AIDS marketing campaign (e.g. bus shelter posters).
Later that week, though, the plot thickened further when CRE staffers, sitting down with DOH HIV/AIDS commissioner Dr. Scott Kellerman and other DOHers to work out the application process, were told that NYCCOCHAC groups could not use city money to bring people to Albany or Washington (a claim that HW's city advocate terri smith-caronia is checking with the comptroller's office)—and that any marketing or media campaigns had to be OK'd by the DOH before they went up (a process that would likely eat into the spending period).
That effectively knocks out two of three purposes that NYCCOCHAC groups intended the money for, notes smith-caronia, adding that she hopes groups will find creative ways around the restrictions—but that, first and foremost, she wanted the DOH and CRE to expedite the process of reviewing RFPs and rewarding grants. "We hope that, all told, people can be awarded their money by February," she said.
Movin' forward, movin' up...
Finally, some nods to noteworthy transitions. First, we salute Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the occasion of the swearing-in last weekend of his second term in office. We expected an over-the-top, slightly deranged rendition of "New York, New York" from inaugural entertainer and legend Liza Minnelli, and boy, did we get it. Likewise, we expect great things from Bloomberg in his second term in the service of people with HIV/AIDS—and in a few weeks, just in time to inform the writing of the mayor's state of the city address in late January, we will submit to his office (and publish here) our HIV/AIDS wish-list for the years ahead.
Next, we extend our congrats to Christine Quinn for being elected this week the first woman and first openly gay speaker of the City Council—the city's most powerful position after mayor. Quinn is passionate about issues she cares about, fiercely intelligent and politically savvy, a hard worker (who'll also work you hard, her staffers tell us) and sometimes hot-headed—and we don't just mean that fiery red hair!
But she has also been a consistently strong supporter of progressive policies for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS, championing issues ranging from supportive housing to needle-exchange programs. We hope she continues in this role. We also hope she continues to be a needed counterweight to the Bloomberg administration and to stand tall against City Hall positions that she opposes—as she and former speaker Gifford Miller did last year in successfully opposing the mayor's push for a West Side stadium.
Finally, big-ups go out to Grace Moon, promoted in the DOH from coordinator of AIDS policy to chief of staff for HIV/AIDS commissioner Dr. Scott Kellerman. Moon played a key role in shaping a more integrated Ryan White Planning Council in 2003-4 and has always been an open and accessible city official toward the HIV/AIDS community. We hope she stays that way.