Introduction to CityFHEPS
As New York City grapples with the ongoing housing crisis, CityFHEPS, a city-funded voucher program for low-income households, has played an increasingly prominent role in securing housing for some of the poorest residents in the city. But the program, which has grown astronomically since its inception in 2018, is locked in legal turmoil amid a years-long battle to expand it.
History and Expansion of CityFHEPS
CityFHEPS started out under the de Blasio Administration in 2019 as a consolidated version of several city-funded rental subsidy programs designed to reduce the population of homeless shelters across the city by ensuring that low-income households pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. Underlining the scale of the city’s housing crisis, the program has grown from a budget of just $25 million in its inaugural year to a staggering $1.25 billion in 2025, covering more than 55,000 households.
Criticisms and Limitations
The program’s expansion has helped to ease the burden on the massively over-subscribed Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, which also ensures that low-income households pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. According to 2024 data, nearly 123,000 households in New York City rely on federally funded housing vouchers, which remain in high demand, with waitlists stretching for years. However, critics say the program has an inherent flaw – one that has been the subject of a two-year legal dispute between City Hall and City Council. CityFHEPS is primarily only available to households who are in homeless shelters, meaning that a rent-burdened household must lose their home and enter the shelter system if they are to qualify for a city-funded housing voucher.
Legal Disputes and Controversies
The City Council voted in 2023 to expand the program to rent-burdened New Yorkers before they enter the shelter system, but the move was met with pushback from the Adams Administration, who vetoed the council vote, stating that the costs to expand CityFHEPS were too great. The council then overrode that veto, forcing the administration to expand it– which Adams defied citing cost. The council then filed a lawsuit. Estimates for the cost of the expansion vary greatly, with the Council’s fiscal impact statement estimating that the expansion would cost $10.6 billion over a five-year period. City Hall, meanwhile, estimates that the expansion would cost the city $17.2 billion over five years.
Reactions from Lawmakers and Advocates
Deputy Council Speaker Diana Ayala, chair of the Council’s Committee on General Welfare who represents the 8th Council District in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx, said she was disappointed by the Adams administration’s efforts to block the expansion of the program, noting that it costs the city more to house individuals in homeless shelters than it does to keep them in their existing apartment via a housing voucher. Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing who represents a portion of the West Bronx in Council District 14, similarly lambasted the Mayor’s office, describing the Adams Administration as a “paradox” that touts affordable housing preservation and construction goals while not doing the “one thing” that can help local communities the most.
State and Federal Initiatives
The New York State legislature included a $50 million housing voucher pilot program in the recently-approved state budget, effectively replacing the state’s $65 million Advantage housing voucher program axed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 when he sought to balance the state budget. The State’s Housing Voucher Access Program, which takes effect in March 2026, will provide state-funded vouchers for homeless families or families at imminent risk of losing their housing. Vouchers will be available to households making up to 50 percent of AMI. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has proposed major cuts to the Section 8 voucher program at the federal level, proposing a move that would tie Section 8 housing vouchers, public housing aid, and assistance to the elderly and disabled into a single grant and cutting the total by $27 billion nationwide.
Conclusion
CityFHEPS can provide a solution to the city’s housing crisis, but both those in favor and opposed to its expansion agree that it cannot be the only solution. Lawmakers and advocates believe that the city needs to address other issues such as wage inequality and soaring rents in order to provide households with the means to become self-sufficient. The program’s expansion and the ongoing legal disputes surrounding it highlight the complexity and challenges of addressing the housing crisis in New York City.
FAQs
- What is CityFHEPS and how does it work?
CityFHEPS is a city-funded voucher program for low-income households that helps them pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. - What are the eligibility requirements for CityFHEPS?
Currently, CityFHEPS is primarily available to households who are in homeless shelters. - What are the proposed changes to the Section 8 voucher program at the federal level?
The Trump Administration has proposed major cuts to the Section 8 voucher program, proposing a move that would tie Section 8 housing vouchers, public housing aid, and assistance to the elderly and disabled into a single grant and cutting the total by $27 billion nationwide. - What is the State’s Housing Voucher Access Program and how will it work?
The State’s Housing Voucher Access Program will provide state-funded vouchers for homeless families or families at imminent risk of losing their housing, with vouchers available to households making up to 50 percent of AMI. - What are the estimated costs of expanding CityFHEPS?
Estimates for the cost of the expansion vary greatly, with the Council’s fiscal impact statement estimating that the expansion would cost $10.6 billion over a five-year period, while City Hall estimates that the expansion would cost the city $17.2 billion over five years.
