Mamdani Administration Appeals Housing Voucher Expansion

In a move sure to induce whiplash among supporters and detractors alike, Zohran Mamdani’s administration is appealing a court order that would expand the CityFHEPS housing voucher program.

The appeal to the state’s highest court was filed Tuesday, the City reported. Mamdani’s administration is arguing that the City Council isn’t authorized to expand the city-funded vouchers, which could grow in importance following a recent ruling regarding Section 8 vouchers.

The appeal appears to be in direct contrast with Mamdani’s campaign promise to implement an expanded voucher program that cleared the Council in 2023, leading to a back-and-forth legal tussle between the Legal Aid Society and Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams. That measure expanded eligibility based on income level and eviction danger.

The rationale behind the appeal is more complicated, though. While Mamdani has backed off on the promised full expansion of the program, he is still pursuing an expansion and is working towards a settlement with housing advocates and City Council to avoid increasing the stubborn budget gap.

A spokesperson for Mamdani said the administration was working towards a “rental assistance program that is sustainable for the long term.”

Still, housing advocates are incensed by the appeal.

A spokesperson for Legal Aid said it was “regrettable that the Mamdani Administration has chosen to continue this litigation rather than focus on ensuring that vulnerable New Yorkers can access the housing support they urgently need.”

“We have repeatedly urged them to drop this endless litigation, which only serves to delay an agreement,” Council Speaker Julie Menin added in her own statement.

Approximately 68,000 households take advantage of the CityFHEPS program, which requires renters to put a third of their income towards rent. But it’s an expensive program, costing the city $1.8 billion last year, nearly 70 times what it cost only six years earlier.

The full expansion could add another 47,000 households to the program, according to an estimate from the Independent Budget Office, projecting the annual cost to increase to $4 billion by the end of the decade, though that could be partially offset by saved shelter costs.

— Holden Walter-Warner