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Incoming Mayor and Comptroller Announce Joint Task Force: A Better Contract for New York

Eric Adams and Brad Lander partner on convening stakeholders to improve contracting and get nonprofit service providers paid on time

NEW YORK, NY – Newly elected citywide leaders, incoming Mayor Eric Adams and incoming Comptroller Brad Lander, are already working together to solve long-standing issues in city governance that impact the delivery of services to New Yorkers. The pair announced “A Better Contract for New York: A Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid On Time” and convened the first meeting of the taskforce on the first day of December.

New York City contracts out many of its programs to nonprofits—from health care and housing assistance to shelter operation to nonprofit human service providers. Unfortunately, many of these partners wait months, and up to more than a year, to get paid for services they provide to New Yorkers. Delays and dysfunction in the process of approving, investigating, registering and paying contractors have left many nonprofits in a lurch, taking out loans to continue their essential operations while they wait for reimbursement from the City.

“The City cannot deliver critical services to New Yorkers without our nonprofits—and so they must be treated fairly and responsibly by government,” said Mayor-elect Adams. “My partnership with Comptroller-elect Lander on this task force will repair long-standing failures of government that have harmed New Yorkers by harming our nonprofits, and also send the message to our providers and taxpayers that the City will run more efficiently and effectively as we face serious challenges in the months and years ahead.”

“NYC's nonprofit human service sector provides essential resources to New Yorkers, and their support has been needed more than ever during the pandemic,” said Comptroller-elect Brad Lander. “Reforming our procurement process to get contracts done and paid on time so that nonprofits can continue to provide those essential services is a top priority to ensure our city lives up to its promises. I’m proud to work with Mayor-elect Adams on this first collaboration towards solving critical problems that get in the way of delivering for New Yorkers.”

This Task Force will help develop concrete actions plans for both leaders to implement. Key areas of focus will include:

  • Preventing delays in the contract registration process

  • Significantly reducing payment delays to nonprofit contractors and increasing the predictability of payment schedules Improving and better integrating the City’s contracting systems, including but not limited to PASSPort

  • Increasing public transparency in the contract registration and payment process

  • Delivering on the City’s recent commitment to increase the “indirect cost rate” (many organizations have not had their contract amendments for increased ICRs approved or paid for recent years)

  • Creating new systems for improved and shared accountability through enhanced coordination between Mayoral agencies and the Comptroller’s Bureau of Contract Administration

  • Addressing procurement challenges with respect to non-City capital funds

The Mayor and Comptroller are jointly responsible for procurement and contract administration, each playing a defined role to protect public funds and award contracts fairly. Achieving meaningful reform — to ensure nonprofit contractors are paid on time, in full, on a predictable schedule, while preserving appropriate oversight to prevent abuses — requires coordination between Mayoral agencies and the Comptroller’s Bureau of Contract Administration.

Mayor-elect Adams and Comptroller-elect Lander are committed to partnering together to bring disparate agencies and nonprofit stakeholders into the room to reform the contracting process and reduce payment delays.

Task Force Members:

Co-Chairs: Amy Sananman and Annie Levers


Debbie Almontaser, Bridging Cultures Group Inc.
Meg Barnette, Nonprofit New York
Doug Bauer, The Clark Foundation
Louisa Chafee, UJA-Federation of New York
Naima Chisolm, BTQ Financial
Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Dance NYC
Sharon Greenberger, YMCA
David Greenfield, Met Council
Wayne Ho, Chinese American Planning Council
Michelle Jackson, Human Services Council
Ken Jockers, Hudson Guild
Jennifer Jones Austin, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Myung Lee, Volunteers of America - Greater New York
Jose Mercado, NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA)
Morgan Monaco, Red Hook Initiative
Haydee Morales, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education
Anthony Ng, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD)
Lisette Nieves, Fund for the City of New York
Michael Ognibene, NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA)
Victor Olds, Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS)
Joey Ortiz, NYC-ETC
Ronald E. Richter, JCCA
Marcos Soler, Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)
Jonathan Springer, WHEDco
Susan Stamler, United Neighborhood Houses
Dan Symon, Former CCPO, NYC
Ben Thomases, Queens Community House
Maria Torres-Springer, Ford Foundation
Catherine Trapani, Homeless Services United
Alan Van Capelle, Educational Alliance
Erin Villari, Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS)
Barika Williams, Association of Housing and Neighborhood Development
Michelle Yanche, Good Shepherd Services
Jo-Ann Yoo, Asian American Federation

Annie Levers