Thank you, Chairs Brannan and Ayala, and the esteemed members of the Committees on Finance
and General Welfare for the opportunity to submit testimony on the Fiscal Year 2026
budget. My name is Chris Mann, and I am the Assistant Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
at Win, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing to families with children in New
York City and the nation. We operate 16 shelters and nearly 500 supportive housing units across
the five boroughs. Each night, nearly 7,000 people call Win “home,” including 3,800 children.
As the federal government threatens to significantly cut funding for housing, homelessness, and
social welfare programs, it is imperative that our City government allocate more funding for
programs and initiatives that serve the lowest-income New Yorkers, including rental assistance,
cash assistance, and legal aid.
In January, Win released Project Hope, a report outlining administrative and legislative actions
New York City and State lawmakers can take to protect low-income, homeless, and immigrant
New Yorkers from the draconian policies laid out in the conservative blueprint Project 2025. In
anticipation of massive federal cuts to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) workforce,
the slashing of individual federal benefits, like Section 8 and the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Trump Administration’s mass deportation efforts that are
already underway, we urge the City to: