‘Staff Purges’ at NY HUD Offices Will Disrupt Housing Programs, Local Lawmakers Warn

Hundreds of thousands of New York residents rely on HUD housing programs that could be impacted by Trump’s federal layoffs, a group of elected officials warned this week, including NYCHA tenants as well as Section 8 voucher holders.

The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce, including at local field offices for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will leave New York tenants and landlords in the lurch, a group of area representatives warn.

More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress who represent New York sent a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner Sunday decrying what they described as “staff purges” at the agency’s local offices, including one in lower Manhattan that reportedly has just one “Field Policy and Management employee” left.

“We have been informed that our constituents seeking help in person at local field offices will likely be turned away because reduced staff cannot adequately serve all those who need it,” reads the joint letter, which was signed by several lawmakers representing New York City, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres.

The staffing cuts, the representatives wrote, would disrupt the operation of housing initiatives that benefit hundreds of thousands of New York residents, including tenants at NYCHA as well as voucher holders enrolled in the nation’s largest Section 8 rental assistance program.

HUD field offices are also charged with making sure building owners comply with Fair Housing Act rules, and investigating discrimination complaints lodged by tenants.

“As Congressional representatives, our staff is in constant communication with our Region II field offices, asking for and receiving answers to questions about critical program status such as Section 8 waitlists, HUD building inspection results, landlord regulation compliance, and more,” the letter reads. “This is a matter of public health and safety for our nation’s most vulnerable residents.”

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has set his sights on slashing the federal workforce in the name of “governmental efficiency,” an effort primarily being led by billionaire Elon Musk. Last month, Trump’s budget office ordered federal agencies to “initiate large-scale reductions in force.”

It’s not clear how many HUD employees have been targeted for layoffs, or will be. A HUD spokesperson declined to share those details, saying the agency doesn’t comment on “individual personnel matters.” But reporting by NPR in February said the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, plans to reduce HUD staffing levels by about half.

Trump’s appointed HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement last month that he was assembling his own DOGE Task Force, “composed of HUD employees who will examine how to best maximize the agency’s budget and ensure all programs.”

HUD operates three regional field offices throughout New York State: one in Buffalo, another in Albany and a third at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in lower Manhattan, which officials say alone services nearly 1 million HUD beneficiaries.

In their letter to Turner, the New York elected officials urged him against any layoffs. “This irresponsible attempt to handicap HUD’s field offices will necessarily undermine HUD’s stated mission,” the group wrote.

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