Margert in the News
Housing Trust Fund
Corporation and DHCR Approve $106 Million in Affordable Housing Awards
The Full Story
August 7, 2007...At the 236th meeting of the Housing Trust Fund Corporation, $106 million
dollars in funding to preserve and develop affordable housing was approved.
Below is a list of all of the awards. Also see:
| MARGERT COMMUNITY CORP. |
QUEENS |
RESTORE |
$50,000 |
| MARGERT COMMUNITY CORP. |
QUEENS |
HOME |
$500,000 |
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NPC/RPC Review Task Force
The Full Story
August 9, 2007
From the Desk of Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen...
Governor Eliot Spitzer's 2007-08 budget included a call to action for DHCR to
take a fresh look at the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs and engage
in a thoughtful review process. We need your help and suggestions for improving
these programs and insuring a consistent level of quality service across the
state for years to come.
We are excited about this opportunity to re-affirm these programs as models
for success in affordable housing.
DHCR is working in partnership with the Neighborhood Preservation and Rural
Housing Coalitions. We have established a task force for each program. They will
meet throughout the summer and fall with the goal of creating a shared vision
for the future of the programs, and recommending steps we can take together to
make that vision a reality.
We intend for this process to be as inclusive, participatory and transparent
as possible. With that in mind, DHCR has established this
web site to encourage
participation and share ideas. Through this site, you can
submit comments to the
Task Force, read meeting minutes, access related documents, and keep up to
date on our progress. The site will be updated regularly.
We've also scheduled a number of Regional Open Forums that I encourage you to
attend and make your voice heard. The dates and times are listed below.
- Tuesday, August 21st - Capital District Regional Open
Forum
NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal
38-40 State St., Hampton Plaza Ballroom, Albany, NY
NPC 10am-Noon
RPC 1pm-3pm
- Thursday, August 23rd - New York Regional Open Forum
NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal
25 Beaver Street, Rm. 510, New York, NY
NPC/RPC 10:30am-12:30pm
NPC/RPC 1:30pm-3:30pm
- Tuesday, August 28th - Syracuse Regional Forum
CNYDDSO
800 Wilbur Street, Auditorium, Syracuse, NY
NPC 10am-Noon
RPC 1pm-3pm
- Wednesday, August 29th - Buffalo Regional Forum
Holiday Inn Express Hotels and Suites - Buffalo/Galleria
Empire Room
601 Dingens Street, Buffalo, NY
NPC 10am-Noon
RPC 1pm-3pm
To attend an open forum, please complete our
online registration form.
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State to Begin Hearings on
Universal Health Coverage
The Full Story
The Journal News
By CARA MATTHEWS
ALBANY BUREAU
(Original Publication: August 15, 2007)
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer's administration announced yesterday that it
would hold five public hearings in the fall on providing universal
health-insurance coverage in New York, which has about 2.5 million residents
without it and spends more per person on medical care than any other state.
Spitzer announced in January that his administration would develop a plan for
affordable health insurance for everyone. The hearings, which are being
conducted by the state Insurance and Health departments, will be held between
September and December. At the same time, the state is seeking a consultant to
analyze proposals.
A panel of experts will help the insurance and health commissioners, who are
required to submit recommendations to the governor by May 31.
"We must ensure that we spend our health-care dollars efficiently and
effectively so that every New Yorker can afford health insurance and access the
quality of care they need to live longer and healthier lives," Dr. Richard
Daines, health commissioner, said in a statement.
But the key question will be how New York pays for it.
"Really the trick is going to be, as we all understand, is how we finance it,"
said William Van Slyke, a spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York
State, which supports the concept of universal coverage.
"Everybody that's got a hand in this has got to be part of the solution,"
said Van Slyke, whose organization represents hospitals and health systems.
According to census data from 2006, 16.5 million New Yorkers have
health-insurance coverage and 9.3 million of them are in employer-sponsored
plans. More than 7.2 million people are in government health-care programs.
About 400,000 people purchase insurance privately.
The New York Health Plan Association, which represent managed health plans, says
the state should reform requirements for products in the individual and
small-group health insurance markets to make them more flexible and look at the
heavy use of taxes and surcharges to finance the system, spokeswoman Leslie
Moran said.
Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, said he
would like "publicly sponsored, publicly funded coverage for every New Yorker."
For 15 years, he has sponsored legislation in the Assembly to do that but it
hasn't gone anywhere.
"I don't know, certainly, where the Spitzer administration will ultimately come
out, but they go into this topic with more genuine interest in that kind of
option than perhaps any governor in the country," he said.
Health care should be funded through the tax system and should not be a "market
commodity," Gottfried said.
Senate Insurance Committee Chairman James Seward, R-Milford, Otsego County, has
a different opinion, spokesman Duncan Davie said.
"Sen. Seward believes that we should utilize as much as possible the market
that exists out there to make health insurance more affordable, as opposed to
raising taxes" to fund programs and services that could duplicate what is
already available, Davie said.
Seward sponsored legislation this year that would provide tax credits for small
businesses and individuals who need health care and would make it easier for
people to purchase high-deductible health-insurance plans coupled with
health-savings accounts. Neither bill passed both houses.
United Hospital Fund President James Tallon, one of the experts, said capturing
the 2.5 million uninsured people is urgent for the health-care system, and few
issues are more important in economic development than health-care costs. The
fund is a health-care research and policy group.
"Uninsured people are a huge structural flaw in the health-care system because
they generate costs without a source of paying for them," he said.
Tallon's group, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Fund, released a report
in December that outlined a long-term "blueprint" for universal health-insurance
coverage in New York. The report said it would cost about $4.1 billion to expand
coverage to almost all of the uninsured. Individuals, businesses, the state and
the federal government would share costs. A mandate for individuals to obtain
coverage would be necessary, they concluded. The Commonwealth Fund is a
foundation that focuses on health care.
This year, the state expanded eligibility under Child Health Plus, made Medicaid
enrollment simpler and agreed to allow employers to buy into Family Health Plus,
all good first steps, Tallon said.
Massachusetts passed a law last year designed to bring about near-universal
coverage. Everyone who can afford it is required to purchase health insurance.
Businesses that don't provide insurance to employees have to help pay for it,
and the government provides subsidies to ensure affordability.
Other experts on the panel are Mark Scherzer, legislative counsel for New
Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage, which represents people with serious
health needs; Stan Lundine, former lieutenant governor under ex-Gov. Mario
Cuomo, a Democrat; and attorney Elizabeth Moore, a partner with Nixon Peabody
and former counsel for Cuomo. The Web site for development of the plan is
www.partnership4coverage.ny.gov.
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Fr. Jim Cunningham Elected
Chairman of the Board
The Full Story
Far Rockaway, September 14, 2007....At its regularly scheduled September
meeting, the Board of Directors of Margert Community Corporation unanimously
elected Rev. James K. Cunningham as the organization's Chair.
Rev. David J. Espinal, Associate Pastor at St. Mary's in Far Rockaway, was
elected as Vice Chair. Paul Gannon and Joseph Barden were both
returned to their respective positions as Treasurer and Secretary.
Developing story...
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