About the Public Engagement Unit (PEU)

The NYC Public Engagement Unit (PEU) uses community organizing principles to re-envision how the city provides services to its most vulnerable communities. Rather than expecting constituents to navigate a complex city bureaucracy to get the help they need, PEU adopts grassroots tactics to meet residents where they are — at their doors and on their phones, in their social media feeds and in their communities. PEU combines this proactive outreach with comprehensive case management, and in doing so, builds long-term relationships between New Yorkers and their government.

TEAM WINS

Canvassing with the Department for the Aging

For the last few months, PEU has supported the Department for the Aging (DFTA) by conducting outreach to thousands of older New Yorkers who are receiving meals through the City’s 60+ Recovery Meal program. The program, established during the height of the pandemic, ended on June 30th, and PEU’s outreach was critical to ensuring that DFTA clients who needed continued support were able to connect with additional services. In total, PEU made more than 15,000 calls and knocked on doors for more than 400 clients without phone numbers.

SCRIE/DRIE Renewal Campaign

PEU’s Rent Freeze team conducts in-person outreach to older New Yorkers and New Yorkers with disabilities to help them freeze their rent by tabling at libraries and sending peer-to-peer to text messages. This month, the Rent Freeze Team held multiple tabling events at libraries, sent text messages, made phone calls, and went to New Yorkers homes in advance of the Rent Freeze renewal deadline. As a result, PEU directly contacted nearly 1,000 New Yorkers who were identified as in jeopardy of losing their Rent Freeze status to ensure that they were able to renew in time to keep their benefit, potentially saving their families thousands of dollars a year.

If you or anyone you know is looking for assistance with a Rent Freeze application, please call PEU’s Rent Freeze Specialists at 929-252-7242.

Home Support Unit Field Outreach

Our Home Support Unit (HSU) works with rental owners, real estate agents, and property managers to lease vacant units to qualified New Yorkers receiving rental assistance, including voucher holders. HSU helps participating owners navigate the rental process by arranging viewings, assisting with leasing paperwork, and ensuring access to financial incentives for placing qualified tenants into stable housing. The HSU team continues to use phone calls and peer-to-peer text messaging to contact landlords and brokers in an effort to identify vacant units for Emergency Housing Voucher recipients. The team started canvassing on June 23rd and launched a texting campaign July 5th. With 21 empty units in the Bronx, our Specialists are currently in the process of coordinating with the owner of the building on matching and linking the empty units to voucher holders. Learn more about leasing your apartment to voucher holders at nyc.gov/hsu. 

Puerto Rican Heritage Celebration

The 116th Street Festival is the largest Latin street festival of its kind in the North East. It spans more than 25 blocks! The festival, which has been going strong since 1985, showcases the traditional Hispanic culture of Puerto Rico to its numerous visitors. PEU tabled at the festival to help people sign up for city benefits services in housing, health insurance, tenant issues, and much more.