Community Service Society of NY

New Yorkers are sending a clear message ahead of the 2025 local elections: housing must come first.

In a new CSS survey, 50% said reducing housing costs is the top priority, followed by curbing homelessness.

Read more at nytimes.com

Adams’ Rent Guidelines Board approved a 12.6% hike over 4 years—5x more than de Blasio’s first term and slightly above Bloomberg’s final term.

Our new fact sheet breaks down how recent increases compare across mayoral administrations.

Check it out cssny.us/3KntzLY

Stabilized Rents Up 12.6% in Adams’ New York

Rent increases are contributing to an affordability crisis in NYC. A new factsheet from @cssnyorg.bsky.social draws on our RGB testimony to show that hikes for rent-stabilized tenants under Adams and Bloomberg have caused rents to outpace the cost of other goods. www.cssny.org/publications...

Our President & CEO, David R. Jones, reflects on lessons we’ve learned working with the Watson Houses community—offering a blueprint for NYCHA on resident engagement.

A new day for public housing is possible, starting with resident-led reform.

Read more amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/09...

Federal healthcare cuts are threatening coverage for many New Yorkers.

Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at CSS, shares how New York can fight back and protect vulnerable communities.

Q&A via
@cityandstateny.bsky.social

cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/20...

Federal healthcare cuts are threatening coverage for many New Yorkers.

Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of health initiatives at CSS, shares how New York can fight back and protect vulnerable communities.

Q&A via
@cityandstateny.bsky.social

cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/20...

1 in 10 of all U.S. health care coverage losses under federal cuts will hit New York. But we have tools that work to keep people insured and minimize coverage losses.

85K+ people kept their coverage after COVID-era rollbacks thanks to the Keep NY Covered Project.

Learn how cssny.us/KNYC

Trump’s HUD cuts would blow a hole in New York’s affordable housing.

A 44% slash would gut Section 8, leave public housing in disrepair, and displace residents with low income — all to bankroll tax breaks for the wealthy.

Read the Urban Agenda cssny.us/45ctaCv

Albany must act now on SNAP cuts With the stroke of a pen in Washington, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are now living under the threat of hunger and illness. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” guts the Supplemental Nutrition Assi…

A measure by @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @fpwa.bsky.social
and CSS shows NYC families need far more than the poverty line to get by, nearly $15K/year just for food.

SNAP cuts will deepen food insecurity for many New Yorkers.

Albany must act now! nydailynews.com/2025/07/29/a...

Support older adults in our community! @cssnyorg.bsky.social mobilizes thousands of volunteers through their Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, a model in volunteer service that has been replicated nationally and internationally. Learn more and sign up here: www.cssny.org/issues/entry...

Corporate landlords are spending millions to block tenant protections, but rent control remains a proven, popular, and viable solution that could protect 30 million families from displacement.

A new report offers data and tools to move policy forward.

bit.ly/homesfutures

Opinion: We Need More Middle-Income Housing  - City Limits "Mitchell-Lama was one of New York’s most successful projects, and the time has come for us to do it again."

A recent CSS report shows eviction orders targeting middle-income households jumped 12% post-pandemic.

New York's affordability crisis is pushing people out—94% of the 400K+ who left the state between 2020 and 2022 were city residents.

Read more: citylimits.org/opinion-we-n...

📢Today, CSS is in Syracuse, learning about housing in Central New York.

Excited to find out about enthusiasm for Good Cause Eviction and anti-flipping legislation.

Programs like EDCAP New York , funded by the state, offer free, trusted help to borrowers—from repayment plans to forgiveness options. EDCAP is a lifeline.

But the scale of the federal cuts demands greater awareness and a more robust safety net for New Yorkers.

Student aid opened doors once closed to working-class families. One bill could slam them shut again, hurting NYers and the state economy.

The federal rollback is an attack on 20 years of work toward equity. New York must step up to mitigate the damage.

amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/07...

A federal monitor flagged unconstitutional practices by NYPD’s Community Response Team — a unit meant to address quality-of-life issues.

97% of those targeted were Black or Latino men.

Read the Urban Agenda

amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/07...

Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of Health Initiatives at CSS, joined Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to honor Westchester Disabled on the Move—our long-time partner in health programs like CHA, ICAN, and the CSS Navigator Network.

Opinion: GOP’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ will savage NY’s health care system, budget and economy The GOP bill would leave 1.5 million New Yorkers uninsured, cut hospital funding by $3 billion and blow a $13.5 billion hole in the state budget.

Spot on. @cssnyorg.bsky.social @cityandstateny.bsky.social
www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...

The Community Service Society applauds the NYC Council
for doubling Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP) funding in FY2026—a bold move to protect healthcare access as federal proposals threaten to erode the safety net for New Yorkers.

Read more cssny.org/news/entry/c...

Opinion: GOP’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ will savage NY’s health care system, budget and economy The GOP bill would leave 1.5 million New Yorkers uninsured, cut hospital funding by $3 billion and blow a $13.5 billion hole in the state budget.

The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ would devastate NY.

Hospitals would lose $3B, and the state budget would be slashed by $13.5B.

Seven NY Republicans can stop it.

Read the Op-ed by CSS President & CEO David R. Jones to see what’s at stake:

www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...

Fair Fares Coalition to Mayor Adams: Stop Kicking the Can and Expand Fair Fares to 200% of the FPL - PCAC June 26, 2025 Honorable Eric AdamsMayor, City of New YorkCity HallNew York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor Adams, As New York…

NEW: We joined @cmbrookspowers.bsky.social along with 17 @council.nyc.gov members and groups including @cssnyorg.bsky.social, @ridersalliance.org, @rpa.org, & @reinventalbany.bsky.social in calling on Mayor Adams to expand Fair Fares to 200% of FPL and the railroads in NYC. pcac.org/fair-fares-c...

Opinion: Restoring the right to serve on juries for people with felony convictions The Jury of Our Peers Act is a step toward equal justice.

We stand with Assembly Member Eddie Gibbs in calling to restore jury rights to New Yorkers who have served their time.

More inclusive juries improve deliberations and build greater trust in verdicts.

www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...

A graphic quote card that reads "The city regularly touts the success of the CityFHEPS program in helping people move from shelter to permanent housing. Yet instead of providing proven systems of support to pregnant people experiencing homelessness, the city is choosing to delay help through an unnecessary study, failing to deliver what it already knows works." This words are by Alison Wilkey – Director of Government Affairs & Strategic Campaigns | Coalition for the Homeless Rachel Swaner – Vice President of Policy, Research, and Advocacy | Community Service Society.

Read our op-ed, co-authored by @cssnyorg.bsky.social to understand the flaws in the City’s new research study on pregnant people seeking shelter. citylimits.org/opinion-city... Originally published in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social.

New York has adopted many of the report’s recommendations—standardizing financial aid forms, limiting collections, and protecting patients with low income.

National standards like these could ease the burden of medical debt for millions.

Medical debt burdens as many as 100 million Americans.

New @lowninstitute.org data shows how hospital charity care + collection policies vary widely—sometimes helping, sometimes hurting patients.

lowninstitute.org/press-releas....

The Adams administration has proposed increasing the rent contribution required of some #CityFHEPS voucher holders from 30% to 40% of their income.

This change could worsen financial hardship for nearly 30,000 low-income households.

Read our testimony cssny.org/news/entry/t...

The House is set to vote on the biggest health care cut in US history.

New York’s economy could lose $11B a year, millions could lose coverage, and families may face premium increases of up to $300/month.

Lawmakers must reject this reckless proposal.

cssny.org/news/entry/c...

Community Service Society: Eyed Medicaid cuts 'a bullseye on the state of N.Y.' Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the Community Service Society, joins Capital Tonight.

Elisabeth Benjamin, VP of Health at CSS, spoke with Spectrum News about the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s plan to cut $880B from Medicaid—a move that could devastate millions of New Yorkers and undermine our state’s public health infrastructure.

spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-...

A recent study from Brown University found that NY hospitals are charging 4x more than doctors’ offices for routine medical services.

It’s not fair and it’s hurting New Yorkers.

Tell Albany: take action and pass the #FairPricingAct!