New York’s CityFHEPS housing voucher program has grown into a fiscal albatross that is barely making a dent in keeping vulnerable low-income residents in their homes — and draining the city coffers of billions of dollars, according to a nonprofit’s report released Monday.
The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) — a nonpartisan nonprofit that examines city and state public policy — says CityFHEPS is proving that City Hall cannot “voucher its way out” of the affordability crisis gripping the city and that another more effective solution must be found.
The CBC report comes out at a time when the Adams administration, the City Council and the Legal Aid Society are in a protracted legal battle over the expansion of CityFHEPS. The Council approved the expansion in 2023, overriding a veto from Mayor Eric Adams, who said the costs to expand CityFHEPS were too great.
The Legal Aid Society later sued the Adams administration for failing to execute the new law; City Hall contended that the Council overstepped its authority in approving the bill because, in its view, only the state legislature had the power to impact social services policy. A state Supreme Court judge ruled in the Adams administration’s favor; the case is being appealed.
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