Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) met today with Steven Banks, the Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration, to address multiple issues regarding food stamps, most notably his constituents’ difficulties in receiving re-certifications on their food stamp applications in a timely manner. The meeting was immediately arranged after Assemblyman Hikind called upon the Commissioner last week to address numerous complaints from community members as well as his own staff regarding the F22 Food Stamp Center’s lack of attention to the matter.

“I was delighted that Commissioner Banks was willing to personally address this important matter so quickly,” said Hikind. “The Commissioner and his staff expressed their clear intention to address the matters that we discussed so the application process is hastened and food stamps are made available to the many New Yorkers who rely upon them without undue delay. Commissioner Banks agrees that people shouldn’t have to fear loss of benefits and an inability to feed their family because of a breakdown in the system.”

In the meeting, Assemblyman Hikind noted that for quite some time his office staff and he had been receiving complaints from constituents regarding their inability to re-certify their SNAP benefits. The re-certification process allows for the process to be done by phone, but Hikind had received numerous complaints that the date and time that they were given (via mail) to expect a call from HRA was often ignored and that no call was ever received.

“This was a very informative and useful meeting,” said Hikind. “We were able to share our concerns with Commissioner Banks and his staff and I am confident that matters will now improve. To everyone’s benefit, we expect to see implementation of significant changes in 2015 that will cut down on the bureaucracy that was frustrating to everyone. In the meantime, my community members are certainly encouraged to contact me and my staff regarding any issues that concern them.”

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