 Good afternoon. Happy Friday, and thank you all for being here with us today. I am Vilda Vera Mayuga, the commissioner at the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Now, you may know, but each year, DCWP helps thousands of New Yorkers get their fullest tax return possible at no cost to them through our New York City free tax prep program. Over 1.4 million returns have been filed through the program since 2008, thanks to efforts of our partners like Bishop Taylor from Urban Earthbound and Miquela from Grove Brooklyn, who's here with us today as well. If you made $80,000 or less as a family or $56,000 or less as an individual in 2022, I urge you to take advantage of New York City free tax prep so you can avoid, prepare a fee, claim important tax credits, and get the refund amount you are entitled to. You can call 311. It really works. Trust me. I've done it myself. You can ask for a tax prep. You can visit us, nyc.gov, slash tax prep. Learn more. There's a map there to help you find the place that's going to be nearest to you, over 100 locations across all five boroughs. Now, this year, which is why we're here today, right? This year, New Yorkers can keep even more of their hard-earned money thanks to the Expanded New York City Earned Income Tax Credit. Mr. Mayor, you might not remember, but almost a year ago to the day we were in East Harlem standing together promoting your push to our colleagues in Albany to increase the EITC, the Earned Income Tax Credit. And I'm so excited to see that one year later, we're now able to celebrate and get the word out about this victory for working families in our city. And it's really all thanks to you. It's thanks to you, Mr. Mayor, Mayor Adams, who is launching a multi-media ad campaign to help spread the word of the increased EITC. Let's take a look. Hey, New York. The hustle is real. So is the return. The Earned Income Tax Credit helps hard-working New Yorkers and their families catch a tax break. Now it's expanding for the first time in 20 years thanks to Mayor Adams, the city council in New York state. Nearly one million New Yorkers will get more money to help cover whatever you need. You deserve more credit. Act now. Visit nyc.gov. Get credit to see if you qualify today. Incredible, right? Yes, I'm going to speak. I'm going to do a little monologue. I'm no doubt that this campaign will help get the word out about this valuable tax credit. Now we're going to hear more from you, Mr. Mayor, about the expanded EITC and the campaign. Thank you. Thank you so much. You know, one of the things that I saw not only on the campaign trail, but my time in government, we often didn't get it, but the public does not receive it. And the goal is to find very real ways using social media advertisement to get the information and then assist people to navigate the system to get the resources. It is almost a defeatist when you look at the number of New Yorkers who don't apply for SNAP, WIC, SCREED, DREED, all of these things that are available to help them during these difficult times. Even the reduced fare metro card. We want to make sure people have access to those items. And Jose, who's in charge of our ethnic media, really came up with the idea that we must go out and get this information to everyday New Yorkers. So I really want to thank you, Jose, and your vision around this. People thought it was not possible over 20 years. We did not see an increase in Earned Income Tax Credit. Every time people tell me I had a terrible year last year in Albany, I keep going back to the countless number of victories we receive around childcare, around nitro, land trusts, around speed cameras, and a host of other things. But this is one of the areas that we are really proud about. And I want to thank Commissioner Meuga, because this tax season is real. And I know it's real, because in the next couple of days, I'll be getting calls from you guys asking me where's my tax returns. So this is the time of the year. But you would be surprised how many New Yorkers don't know about EITC. If you were to go to the average New Yorker, low income New Yorker, and say, do you know about EITC? They would not know what you are talking about. What's the purpose of fighting for these benefits in Albany and in the city council? And then it does not get to those who are in need. Last year, we were accomplished that this is going to put over $350 million back into the pockets of New Yorkers, who will go into the local bodega, the local store, the local cleaners, and recycle those dollars. So this $1.5 million television print, subway, and social media ad campaign is reaching New Yorkers where they are. And we're going to be doing this often. As we get the benefits for New Yorkers, we're going to make sure it gets to New Yorkers. And our outreach team is going to also play a role to speak with New Yorkers one-on-one and tell them about these benefits. And so we are really excited about this. The EITC will reach over 800,000 New Yorkers. That's a significant number of people and helping them pay for essential food bills, rent, all the things that New Yorkers are asking to get assistance for. And so our goal is to show New Yorkers that under the EITC, a single parent with one child with an income of $14,750, we see that benefit increase from $187,000 to $933,000. That's a 400% increase. And that's real money. And if you're married and you have two children an income of $25,000, we'll see their New York City benefit increase from $300 to $925. And so our information as we look at the cars that's going to go around, look at the posters that are going to go around, the handouts, we are going to really encourage people to be engaged. But it's more than the campaign. We did something else that was crucial. We reached out as we tried to expand on our women and minority-owned businesses. We reached out to two businesses that are truly women-owned to do this ad campaign, Athena Creative and Venus Media Group. These are two women-owned minority businesses, it's a real combination. And it is showing how the city, the state, and federal government are all working together to bring back resources to everyday New Yorkers. This is so important and we're going to continue to expand on this form of direct to consumer communication so they can go after those resources that they need. We send back billions of dollars to the federal and state government because people are not taking access to the benefits that are available. We're not going to do that. If I get it, New Yorkers must get it. And that is the goal we will accomplish. Thank you so much, Commissioner. All right. Should we do every repeat? No, okay. Now just because New York City free tax prep is free, doesn't mean that we compromise quality. And I really wanted to pause for a moment on that because I've had actually some some interviews and answering some questions about the program where I'm told it's like, so what was the expectation we can set for New Yorkers who qualify for this free service? We want to manage expectations. They're not going to get the same quality service that if they paid. And I'm like, hold it. That's definitely not true. Just because it's free, it doesn't mean that it's less quality. It is absolutely the best service you will receive in quality in substance in everything. And I want to stress that that's only because we have fabulous tax partners or volunteer tax heroes that are led by individuals and organizations in urban up on like Bishop Mitchell. And I would like to invite him over to share a few words with us on his experience being one of our partners. Thank you, Commissioner Mayuga and to Mayor Adams and to Jose and to my boss, Eric B, who's on our board at Urban Upbound and all of you today. I'm excited about the expansion of the EITC, the Earned Income Tax Credit. It's a very valuable resource for low income and moderate earners in New York. And like the mayor said, most people don't know what EITC means. Well, Urban Upbound knows what that means. We've been doing this since 2004, building a track record of professional tax preparation for New Yorkers all across the city. And so now to have a mayor that is invested in continuing to break those cycles of poverty by giving New Yorkers the tools and resources through this valuable asset, the Earned Income Tax Credit by promoting it and letting New Yorkers know you can get it. Now here's the thing. The commissioner said people think that because it's free, the services are diminished. That's not true. Urban Upbound, if you go to the IRS website, we are listed on their website as one of the few organizations in the country that are recommended for difficult tax preparation. And not only do you get your taxes done during the tax season, we're open all year around 21 sites in New York City. So this is what we've been doing for the last 18 years. I'm excited that the mayor has put $1.5 million to promote this initiative. So Mayor Adams, thank you so much. This is going to be a big lift for our city and I'm excited to continue to do the work that we're doing. We're up to $400 million in cumulative returns thus far. So we're grateful for this boost. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Bishop Taylor. And we really just want to turn it back to you, Mr. Mayor, for any questions. Thank you. It's a 50-year hip hop, so he's here. I have a question. If you could explain a little bit more about the car wrapping, will it be on city vehicles? How long it will be? Because tax season is only however long it is, and just what's the rollout? So this is Carvertize. Look, when we saw this proposal from the media vendor and it's here, so we say we have to do this. So this is the first time that the city is going to do one of the first times that city is going to do some advertising here. So these cars that they do deliveries, they bring passengers. So we're going to go intense zip codes in the city that's going to be predominantly in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, and they are going to have all of that. So this is like a multimedia platform advertising just all around the city. The cars on you see on the back, they have a QR code. So people just on the streets, they just point at the QR code and they're going to go to the landing webpage. We can send you the zip codes where they're going to be. We're going to be focusing on those. But that's one of the best assets for this campaign. Yes, families of four making $80,000 a year and less, and single $50,000 or less. It's actually $55,000 for single and $80,000 for a family of four. Yes. Before the expansion, how many more people are now able to access this credit? Actually, let me just clarify something. The credit hasn't changed. The qualifications for the credit are the same and the focus has been on who qualifies for the free tax prep services. We want you to go to one of these providers because they're going to help you identify all the credits that you're eligible for. What the mayor has achieved last year that we get to roll out this year is the enhanced income tax credit because more people, the same people that were eligible before, we're still be eligible. They're going to get more money back. And those are the correct. So that was where the figures that the mayor was sharing, where you're going to see like a 400% increase as an example. One of the examples that the mayor provided is getting that much more money on the earned income tax credit because now New York City has been authorized by the state based on the mayor's advocacy to be able to contribute more and match that federal tax credit. You really want these people to come to the city and let the city help them walk them through this process so they can get all their... Absolutely. We want everybody, you know, you're going to save in tax preparation fees, right? I mean, that's something that a lot of people you see like a place in your neighborhood and you're used to it and that's fine. We're not, you know, not here to criticize any providers that may charge a fee, but we want New Yorkers to keep as much money as possible in their pockets. And if you don't need to pay for these services, we want you to come to us. I mean, these tax preparation fees are in the hundreds, right? And you're talking about like, I can keep that money. I can, you know, you know, I have to buy food. I have to pay the bills. I have to pay the rent, right? And so we want you to keep that money and use one of the over 100 and like 30 something, if not more providers throughout the city, if you have those income levels that will make you qualified to receive it for free and high quality. I have two questions. One's easy one for you. Do you know what stations that add the television spots going around? Yes. So we are going to do English and Spanish and television. So basically on Spanish, you know, Telemundo, Univision and other ones, but also on this, we're going to do OTT that's when you watch Hulu or Netflix or that. So that's going to be because now we're seeing that we can get more attention on those platforms and on the other one because you see the commercial, you go get a coffee, come back and say we lost the person. But on those ones, that's going to be the priority. Could you just clarify, you know, there's like a federal EITC, there's a state and then this is called the New York City one and like sort of the credit's coming out of money that the state used to be taking in taxes. Is that right? I think that, you know, the earned income tax credit is called, of course, a federal credit. The city has contributed money to expand the earned income tax credit. So when you file your taxes, you'll get a federal credit and you'll get a bonus from the city. Not every locality has that. So we're proud to be one of the localities that does offer the expanded earning income tax or just any match of the federal because not every locality your state offers it. So the city is obviously offering this enhancement and then what's the state component? Like why did you need state legislation to make this happen in all of So mayor, I could help with notice with the ad, you know, was like thanks to mayor Adams and the city council in the New York state for getting this tax credit. You know, is it important you think that the public knows that this came from you? You know, you're seeing this as kind of a letting the public know what you're doing for them? No, it's from us. There were three entities. It was crucial that people need to see the coordination. One of the things that we are facing in our city and state is that people think of them and it's not working together. And we want to dispel that myth. And it has been shown last year. I walked out of last year, my rookie year with some real lessons. And one of those important lessons, I believe is the fact that we have. Thank you. Yes. And the winner is, you know, you know, the the we learned from last year that New York is felt that there was this a disjointedness that we were not working together. And we wanted to be clear that the city, the state and the city council in the mayor's office is working together. So we were extremely intentional. A part of getting people resources. We also want people to understand that all three levels of government or entities are working together. And it was a clear that we were clear by including our partners in the state in the city council. Yeah, I'm wondering if the if you expect more people to potentially come out, are there more providers? Has that been dealt with? There's a deluge of people who see these ads and want to take advantage of this. Will they will they be able to find a provider? Yeah, the goal is to make sure we identify exactly where people can go to get these free tax prep of we have been doing this for a long time. And I am always when I'm out in the city, I like to ask people different questions, you know, where you go get your taxes done, do you know you can get it done free? So you know what earning income tax credit is. And I am just mystified at how much New Yorkers don't have this basic information. We take it for granted. This administration, we're not. And we're going to make sure that people are aware of all of the free locations. We're going to do a real street campaign going to subway systems, handing out information. That's why we got the QR code on the cars. People are going to be able to click on those QR codes and get a wealth of information. But our goal is to make sure no one goes without a location to get their free income tax preparation. There's an increase you expect there to be. We will accommodate. We're going to we're going to make sure that no one goes without free tax prep.