By Sally Goldenberg and Gloria Pazmino

One day after the City Council released a list of recipients for $50 million in discretionary grants—using a new formula that dictated the money be distributed based on poverty levels in each Council district—several members who got the lowest amounts questioned the approach.

"The formula should have been just equal for everyone across the board. We all have distinct issues in our districts," said Steve Matteo, a Staten Island Republican who got one of the lowest allocations. "We don't have a (public) hospital on Staten Island. We have [Hurricane] Sandy-related issues, transportation issues. So for me, I would've preferred if every member just received an equal amount for their district."

After years of leadership-determined distribution of the funds, known as "member items" and distributed every year, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who took over the body on Jan. 8, decided to allocate money based on objective criteria. She still left herself a $16.1 million account that she could distribute at her own discretion, regardless of poverty levels. That account is part of the overall $50 million.

Under the new plan, the Council's 51 members each received a base of $400,000. Each member then got a bump of either $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 based on the concentration of their constituents living 100 percent below the "federal poverty line," which is a standard set by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.


http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/06/8547960/mixed-council-reaction-poverty-formula-grants