Part 10 — Institute for Community Living (printable pdf - 7 pages)

The $9.7 Million Allowance Amendment

A 2023 DHS contract amendment expanded ICL’s Borden Avenue contract to $48.5 million while giving the City continuing control over how the additional funds could be used.

A June 2023 contract amendment between the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the Institute for Community Living (ICL) provides an unusually detailed look at the financial and contractual structure behind Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence. The 67-page document increased ICL’s overall contract by $9,703,731, from $38,814,922 to $48,518,653, while incorporating requirements governing food, security, privacy, employment practices and financial accountability.

The additional $9.7 million should not be mistaken for another year of ordinary operating funding. DHS designated it as an “Allowance” and retained the money until specified conditions were satisfied. The funds could be authorized for cost-of-living and indirect-rate increases or for additional services, equipment and supplies. Supporting documentation and DHS approval were required for qualifying expenditures.

That distinction is important because the FY2024 Budget Summary Form displays both Borden Avenue’s $9,237,639 underlying annual budget and the $9,703,731 allowance, producing a combined figure of $18,941,370. The underlying operating budget nevertheless represents substantial growth from the $3,725,445 DHS budget in FY2020—an increase of approximately 148 percent.

The allocation of those resources raises additional questions. By FY2024, Borden Avenue budgeted approximately $3.99 million for personnel and fringe benefits, $1.58 million as a Mental Health Services Adjustment, and $1.09 million for contracted security. Food received $539,473, while client transportation received $32,379. Recreation, client stipends and kitchen personnel were each budgeted at zero.

These expenditures occurred within a much larger organization. ICL reported approximately $214.3 million in revenue in FY2025, demonstrating that Borden Avenue was operated by a substantial behavioral-health organization rather than a small shelter provider.

The amendment is significant for another reason: DHS imposed specific operating requirements alongside the funding. The incorporated NYC Food Standards required contractors to meet nutritional standards and, notably, to solicit resident feedback annually concerning taste, food quality and cultural preferences. The security rider established that even when security was subcontracted, ICL remained responsible to DHS for the security company's acts and omissions.

Those obligations take on greater significance when considered alongside ICL's experience at the Tillary Street Women's Shelter. Gothamist's 2026 reporting documented extensive emergency activity, arrests and hospitalizations at that ICL-operated facility before ICL relinquished it. Tillary Street is a separate program, and its conditions do not establish that the same failures occurred at Borden Avenue. But the reporting provides relevant context for evaluating oversight of a large nonprofit operating high-needs congregate shelters.

Ultimately, the Allowance Amendment documents more than increased funding. It demonstrates that DHS possessed contractual mechanisms to direct money, demand documentation, establish operating standards and hold ICL accountable. The central question therefore is not simply how much public money was available, but whether DHS and ICL ensured that those resources translated into safe conditions, adequate food, effective services and meaningful support for the veterans Borden Avenue was funded to serve.

Sources

Part 10: Institute for Community Living

ICL-(Redacted)_-_Allowance_Amendment_07120P8200KXLA003