The Bridge Project is New York City’s first guaranteed income program. Launched in June 2021 by The Monarch Foundation, The Bridge Project is designed to support low-income mothers in New York City during the first 1,000 days of their children’s lives by providing them with consistent, unconditional cash on a biweekly basis. The first phase of the Bridge Project provides either $500 or $1,000 a month to 100 low-income mothers living in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Central Harlem for three years, and is a randomized controlled trial in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research. The program has since expanded to a second phase, which launched recruitment in April 2022. The program dramatically expanded to include a cohort of 500 additional low-income, pregnant mothers across the project's existing neighborhoods in Northern Manhattan, along with the neighborhoods of East Harlem, the Central Bronx, and the South Bronx. Selected mothers are receiving $1,000 a month for the first 18 months of the program and $500 a month for the last 18 months, all on a biweekly basis. The program hopes to continue to expand throughout various neighborhoods and boroughs across New York City to support mothers and their babies and alleviate child poverty. The demographic and spending data on this page is based on 100 mothers in the first phase of The Bridge Project.
Neighborhood
Washington Heights, Inwood, Harlem, South Bronx, Central Bronx
Category
Women, Families, and Kids under 18, Universal/Saturation Pilots
Phase 1: June 2021 - June 2024 Phase 2: June 2022 - June 2025
Implementation Status
Active
Total Number of Participants
Phase 1: 100 Phase 2: 500
Type of Funding
Private
Participants Receiving the Transfer
Individuals
Transfer Amount
Phase 1: $250 or $500 Phase 2: 500 for first 18 months, 250 for last 18 months
Frequency of Payment
Bi-Weekly
Duration of Payment
36 months
Other Intervention Components
N/A
Is Use of Funds Available?
Yes
Is the Pilot a Randomized Control Trial (RCT)?
Yes
Other Intervention Components
N/A
TARGETING INFORMATION
Type of Tagergeting
Geographic and individual/household means-testing and demographic
Targeting Details
Individuals with at least one child up to 1 year old or who are currently pregnant in target zip codes, and have an annual household income under $52,000