The New York Legislature passed a bill in June to increase the value of the state’s FHEPS rental subsidy program to fair market rent—$2,026 for a two-bedroom in New York City. But the governor has yet to sign the legislation, which will get automatically vetoed by the end of the year if she doesn’t act on it.
The tragedy galvanized residents of 710-720 Hunts Point Ave., where the incident took place, to demand safer conditions. A half decade later, they’re still fighting for fixes. “We’ll never forget that day those little girls died,” tenant association leader Annie Martinez told City Limits. “And they haven’t changed anything since.”
Since July 1, the city has paid CORE nearly $3 million to operate five shelters that provide two-year stays for young people experiencing homelessness. The troubled nonprofit operates 99 beds for teens and young adults in Brooklyn and The Bronx.
“The solution to homelessness is housing,” one stakeholder said. “But the city agency charged with solving homelessness has no jurisdiction over housing, so we are setting them an impossible task.”
During the first 10 months of 2020, nonprofit providers scheduled nearly 3,000 interviews with supportive housing applicants, 560 of whom were outright rejected. The housing shortage allows providers to “cherry-pick” applicants who require the fewest services, a process known as creaming or screening, tenants and advocates say.
“This is the biggest rezoning this administration has done over our eight years,” the mayor said ahead of Tuesday’s vote on the plan, which will upzone an 82-block swath of the Brooklyn neighborhood to add an estimated 8,500 new apartments.
‘Currently only 25 percent of eligible households receive the housing voucher, meaning that nearly everyone in need of aid does not receive it. The impact of fully funding vouchers would be astounding: it would help an estimated 1.1 million households in New York state alone.’
The incident came on the heels of another violent encounter between police and New Yorkers who were camping out on a Lower Manhattan sidewalk near Tompkins Square Park Nov. 10.
Advocates are pushing for the incoming Eric Adams administration to address the persistent issue with a number of policy changes, including hiring more DOE staff to work directly with students in shelter, who tend to experience a number of challenges that impact their learning compared to their permanently-housed peers.
‘Expanding supportive and affordable housing for homeless families in New York City would immediately save lives and dramatically improve health outcomes for families of color in the long-term.’
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