CityFHEPS, the city’s rental subsidy, can be a life-changing resource for thousands of families and individuals and a crucial intervention for addressing homelessness, stakeholders say. But the administrative process for voucher holders to get approved for permanent housing is an onerous one that undermines the program’s successes.
Hundreds of thousands of New York households have fallen behind on their mortgages or property taxes during the pandemic, putting them at risk of losing their homes after statewide foreclosure protections expired earlier this month. So what exactly should homeowners do? City Limits talked with three experts for guidance.
En años anteriores, el gobernador y los líderes del Senado y la Asamblea —los proverbiales “tres hombres en una habitación”— trabajaron la maraña de proyectos de ley y resoluciones en un presupuesto ejecutivo, un proceso poco transparente. Si bien la óptica es diferente esta vez, algunos expertos en elaborar presupuestos dicen que no esperan que el proceso cambie drásticamente.
A coalition of groups representing undocumented immigrant workers, cash earners and others excluded from traditional worker benefits are campaigning for a stronger social safety net for these employees, who they say were essential to keeping New York running throughout the pandemic.
By training and paying students to support their peers on the path to college, not only do schools reduce their student-to-counselor ratio, they also make an investment in the student leaders themselves.
For the first time in nearly two years, New York’s expansive COVID-related eviction protections have come to an end for tenants who owe back rent. Landlords are rejoicing, renters are feeling the heat and city officials are bracing for impact.
New Yorkers who owe back rent can once again apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) after judge ordered the state to reopen applications, citing what could be a substantial second round of funding in March. But the federal government has yet to approve a new round of cash for the tapped-out fund, and eviction protections end Saturday.
In years past, the governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly—the proverbial “three men in a room”—worked the tangle of bills and resolutions into a budget, an often opaque process. While the optics are different this time, some budget experts say they don’t expect the process to change dramatically.
In her State of the State plan, the governor pitched “a different kind of abatement program” to replace 421-a, which critics see as a developer-friendly policy that siphons nearly $2 billion per year from the municipal property tax pool.
Adams stressed unity in her first speech as City Council’s new leader, saying the legislative body—the most diverse in the city’s history—would prioritize addressing the pandemic, including the recent shortage of tests and booster appointments, as well as public safety, healthcare equity and affordable child care.
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