Minutes of the
CONSUMERS COMMITTEE
January 28, 2025, 2:00PM – 4:00PM
MINUTES
Committee Members Present: Marcelo Maia Soares (Co-chair), John Schoepp (Co-chair), Raffi Babakhanian (Consumer-at-Large), Asia Betancourt, Lisa Best, Paul Carr, Billy Fields, Lawrence Francis, Yves Gebhardt, John Goldenbridge, Ralph Henderson, David Klotz, Annette Tomlin, Rob Walker
Staff Present: Michael Navejas, Doienne Saab, Kimbirly Mack, Daniel Bickram
Guests Present: Kenneth Atkins
Agenda Item 1: Welcome/Introductions & Reading of Rules of Respectful Engagement/Moment of Silence/Minutes
John S. and Marcelo opened the meeting, followed by introductions and the rules of respectful engagement and a moment of silence. The minutes of the December 17, 2024 meeting were approved with no changes.
Agenda Item 2: Appointed Council Member Tablet Update
Daniel Bickram provided an update on the progress of ordering tablets for use by appointed members of the Planning Council and was followed by questions from the Consumers Committee. Questions addressed the following information about the tablets:
- They can only be used for Council or NYCDOH related purposes.
- They will not be equipped with a data plan.
- They will be pre-loaded with security features.
- A user agreement will have to be signed.
Agenda Item 3: Update on Trump’s Administration Freezing of Federal Grants
David Klotz addressed the Consumers Committee to provide an update on Trump’s recent freezing of federal grants. David stated that many organizations view the freezing of federal grants as a usurping of power. That if Congress has approved expenditures is must be spent and that lawsuits have been filed by the attorney general of New York and others. David then shared that in a recent call with our HRSA Project Officer (PO), he was told that all PC activities should continue as normal until advised differently. In another call with the Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR) Coalition, David shared that attendees expressed that Ryan White funding has always had bi-partisan support and one should take some solace in that, as many people stand to benefit from funding, not just Democrats or not just Republicans. In brief, David expressed that the Trump administration seems to want to make sure that federally funded programs abide by their new ideology around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), gender and immigration.
Agenda Item 4: CAB Town Hall Subcommittee
Update and Discussion
Marcelo opened the discussion of the CAB Town Hall Run of Show by first providing context for the purpose of the town hall. In his remarks Marcelo stated that one of the main purposes of the town hall is gather consumer input that will convince agencies to support CABs as the best way for getting meaningful consumer feedback and that the Town Hall would also serve as an event to encourage consumers to get involved in their CABs and to encourage those without CABs to advocate for one.
In a stepwise manner, Consumer Committee members then reviewed the CAB Town Hall Run of Show from its beginning at 9:30 am to its finale at 2:30pm. Discussion led by John S. included a review of the Panel Discussion questions and of the potential invited guests. Based on Consumers Committee member feedback, questions will be reordered and edits from Consumer Committee members will be incorporated. It was agreed that Michael Navejas would take the lead in contacting guests to participate. Guests that may be invited from ACQC, Callen-Lorde, SUNY Downstate, Housing Works, a Tri-County agency, and H+H.
The Consumers Committee also discussed edits to the breakout group questions. The revised questions will include suggestions made by Consumers Committee members. It will also include Doienne Saab’s suggestion of making the Breakout session two-fold. The first part of the Breakout session would include a brainstorming session and the latter part will be questions that inspire the development of goals for a CAB or some other actionable step.
The Consumers Committee members also addressed concerns about the Town Hall with respect to its format and location. These concerns included the following:
- Is the Planning Council’s Zoom account secure?
- Should registration be with a passcode?
- Is The Center a secure space for the Town Hall?
- Will The Center have security?
Agenda Item 5: Public Comment
Public comment included a Consumer Committee member giving thanks to the CAB Town Hall Subcommittee for all their time and effort.
Agenda Item 5: Other
The next meeting of the Consumers Committee will be from 2 to 4pm on Tuesday, February 18 via Zoom.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
