Preview - What's New at PEU - December EOY 2024 in Review

Dear NYC friends and neighbors,

As we step into a new year, we’re taking this moment to look back on all that we achieved together in 2024. With the mission of making NYC more affordable for everyone, we connected New Yorkers to essential resources by meeting them at their doors, at neighborhood events, on their phones, and online.

Now, for the numbers! In 2024, we…

knocked on over 122,000 doors

made over 400,000 phone calls
sent over 2.6 million text messages

organized 20 Days of Action, including 7 with over 300 interagency staff volunteers

supported New Yorkers living in 170 zip codes

These efforts were made possible through the dedication of our teams: Special Projects, the Tenant Support Unit, the Home Support Unit, and GetCoveredNYC, each contributing to connecting New Yorkers with the programs and services they need most.

We’re proud of everything we accomplished this year and are grateful for the support that made it possible. As we reflect on our progress and look toward 2025, we remain dedicated to empowering all New Yorkers with access to vital resources, information, and protections—ensuring everyone can thrive in the year ahead.

Happy New Year 🎆,

The Public Engagement Unit

Special Projects in 2024

In 2024, PEU’s Special Projects team worked to connect New Yorkers with essential services and put money back in taxpayers’ pockets. This included:

organizing 20 Days of Action, offering resources like HEAP Cooling assistance, free tax prep, benefits screenings, homeowner support, and more

hosting 40+ CUNY interns and training them extensively to expand our capacity to promote programs such as Citi Bike discounts, Rent Freeze, child care vouchers, and Fair Fares
assisting new arrivals with work authorizations and other resources
strengthening partnerships with community organizations and supporting a student voter registration drive with NYC Public Schools, enhancing access to resources and fostering civic participation

Tenant Support in 2024

The Tenant Support Unit continued its vital work in 2024 to protect tenants across New York City. In addition to knocking on over 80,000 doors in NYC to speak with tenants, providing case management for those at risk, managing the Tenant Helpline, and supporting the Rent Freeze program, the team went above and beyond to:

organize a Day of Action to prevent illegal lockouts

release a We Speak NYC video with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

become a founding member and coordinator of the Tenant Protection Cabinet to strengthen tenant protections citywide

These efforts reinforced the Unit's commitment to preventing displacement and advocating for tenant rights.

Home Support in 2024

The Home Support Unit continued strengthening partnerships with brokers and landlords in 2024 to expand housing access across New York City. Key initiatives included:

deepening partnerships with NYC brokerage firms like Compass, launching a landlord canvassing pilot (and knocking on over 9,000 doors), and making over 60,000 phone calls to recruit new broker and landlord partners
partnering with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) for a Section 8 Application Outreach Drive

hosting a Homeowner Day of Action and providing education on the City of Yes initiative to promote greater housing collaboration and development citywide

GetCoveredNYC in 2024

In 2024, GetCoveredNYC continued its crucial work to connect New Yorkers with essential health and social services. The team supported over 7,000 New Yorkers this year and some of our key efforts included:

helping NYC Care members make primary care appointments, connecting asylum seekers to health care, and promoting Medicaid for newly eligible undocumented 65+ individuals and new health insurance options for DACA recipients
raising awareness about the first Open Enrollment since the pandemic, as well as cost-saving updates to Qualified Health Plans
assisting with child care voucher applications and helping those turning 26 secure health insurance

Thank you for being part of our journey this year; stay tuned for more updates in 2025!

About 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.

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