Despite his campaign promise to improve affordability, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is backing away from expanding the $1 billion-plus City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement rental voucher program because of a projected $7 billion deficit over two years, reports The New York Times.
"The prior administration mismanaged not only the budget, but also, frankly, housing and assistance programs," Mamdani said in remarks in late January, referring to former Mayor Eric Adams' City Hall.
"Looking forward, we want to make sure that we balance New Yorkers' access to medium- and long-term housing, while also crafting a sustained and balanced budget."
City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement, known as CityFHEPS, is a New York City rental assistance program designed to help individuals and families find affordable, permanent housing, with vouchers generally lasting up to five years, or longer for some households.
More than 60,000 families rely on the program to help pay their rent.
Mamdani promised to expand the program during his campaign.
"Zohran will drop lawsuits against CityFHEPs and ensure expansion proceeds as scheduled and per city law," his campaign website read.
Joe Calvello, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said the city is "aiming to prevent homelessness while delivering a budget that is responsible and sustainable."
Robert Desir, who has worked on the campaign to expand the voucher program, called it "a great lifeline."
"For some, there’s really not a path toward gaining housing or maintaining housing without it," he added.
Christine Quinn, the president and chief executive of WIN, the city’s largest shelter provider, told the Gothamist that narrowing the program’s expansion "shouldn’t even be on the table."
"CityFHEPS has been central to addressing family homelessness and is the most effective tool to prevent families from entering shelter and to help families exit shelter," she said.
"Delays in dropping the CityFHEPS lawsuit will be devastating for families in shelter and means higher costs for the city."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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