City may drop rent rule for working homeless

The city appears likely to drop the rule that requires homeless people with jobs to pay rent to stay in shelters, Commissioner Seth Diamond of the Department of Homeless Services testified yesterday. In place of the rule, the city would require the working homeless to deposit some of their income into a savings account that they would be allowed to keep. The Bloomberg administration pushed to implement the policy last year, stirring up intense controversy in the media and amongst homeless advocates. Diamond said the rent rule “was never about revenue for the city…it was really about building good behavior.” But, he added, “if we can do that in a better way with savings…we’re happy to do that.” [NYDN]