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Talk to us The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) engages in advocacy, research and direct service to champion better job opportunities to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty among low-income New Yorkers. Our work is particularly targeted toward communities of color that have been historically disadvantaged and now comprise the majority of our city. We use a variety of tools to encourage decision makers in the public and private sectors to support measures to help these hard-working New Yorkers get ahead. CSS promotes policies and programs that result in systemic change and advance the economic security of the working poor and, as a result, strengthens our city.
One-third of all New York City's voting age citizens live in a low-income household. Taken together, low-income New Yorkers constitute a sizeable voting bloc, yet politicians rarely speak to their issues and concerns.
CSS defines a low-income household as earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or about $34,000 for a family of three. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, in 2006 there were a total of 3.3 million low-income New Yorkers – a number greater than the population of Chicago – totaling 42 percent of the city's population
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CSS's housing experts play a leading role in taking on predatory practices in the subsidized rental housing market.
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