Nonprofits in New York Are Told Their Contracts ‘Have Been Paused’

As New York leaders sought to make sense of the Trump administration’s recent directive freezing trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, a trickle of real-life implications started to surface.

Nonprofit groups began on Tuesday to receive emails from their federal contacts telling them their contracts had “been paused,” according to Kristin Miller, executive director of Homeless Services United, an umbrella group for organizations that provide homeless services and operate shelters in New York City.

Among the federal agencies that are telling nonprofits that funding is on hold are the Department of Veterans Affairs, whose Supportive Services for Veteran Families branch funds shelters for veterans.

“There are four organizations in New York City that receive federal money for veterans’ shelters, and the V.A. is saying ‘hold it,’” Ms. Miller said.

It is still not immediately clear how broadly the order will affect New York, but the state is expected to receive about $90 billion in federal funding this year, according to the state’s budget office. The City of New York’s budget is expected to rely on up to about $10 billion in federal funds. This money feeds and houses poor New Yorkers and keeps them healthy.

Billions of dollars in federal funds are helping construct a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. And schools across the state receive close to $5 billion in federal aid.

Speaking in Schenectady Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the area had 45 road projects that could be at risk, and it receives millions of dollars in federal funding for law enforcement. The largest portion of federal funding flowing to the state is the $60 billion directed to Medicaid, which provides care to about seven million New Yorkers. State officials said Tuesday that they were having trouble accessing the online portal used to draw down these funds.

Ms. Hochul said she was in search of more clarity but added that elections have “consequences and we have to make sure that we’re not harming the people of our state.”

Richard Buery Jr., chief executive of the Robin Hood Foundation, an antipoverty group in New York City that gives millions in grants, said that several child-care providers who have contracts with the federal Head Start program told him they were not able to access the government’s payment system to withdraw money owed to them.

“There are people who are taking care of people’s children tomorrow who don’t know if they can stay in business because they don’t know if they can pay their staff,” Mr. Buery said.

Mihir Zaveri contributed reporting.