As city council's about to raise rent voucher caps to help the homeless, The Blaz prefers to keep them unhoused

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Real Deal

Odds are that a bill to raise the value of rental vouchers for homeless New Yorkers will pass the City Council Thursday afternoon.

The measure would beef up the city’s Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement or FHEPS voucher to match the higher rates guaranteed by the federal Section 8 program.

The legislation is championed by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and has 40 sponsors — six more members than Johnson would need to override a veto by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who raised a red flag on the bill this week. Landlord and tenant groups support it.

In an interview with NY 1’s Errol Louis Monday night, de Blasio acknowledged he had opposed bumping the price of city vouchers in the past because he wants the state to match the raise.

In March, de Blasio sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking him to increase state FHEPS vouchers to federal fair-market rates, so he might do the same for the city’s subsidies.

De Blasio said if the city alone lifted limits, landlords might discriminate against apartment seekers bearing state FHEPS vouchers.

State budget proposals had included $2.3 million for such a raise, plus $200 million for a new voucher program sponsored by Sen. Brian Kavanagh, but both were dropped from the final budget this spring.

The mayor, who has never vetoed a bill — largely because the council rarely passes legislation he opposes — told NY 1 he thinks there’s a good chance the state will get on board with the raise.

“Look, I think we can get this all pulled together, get the state to act, the city to act and get everything aligned in a process to help more homeless folks,” the mayor said.