Pols push gov on aid to prevent evictions
Say $400M plan cheaper than spending on shelters
Nearly a dozen members of the New York congressional delegation want Gov. Cuomo to get on board with a proposed state program to help keep families out of homeless shelters.
The 10 Democrats sent a letter to the governor asking him to include funding for the Home Stability Support measure, which would create a new rent subsidy to keep people in their homes, in this year’s budget.
The program is a “cost-effective means to prevent homelessness,” the group, led by Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffires, wrote. “This muchneeded program will keep families and individuals in their homes and out of homeless shelters, provide relief to communities across the state by stabilizing families and reduce costs to taxpayers by preventing evictions.”
Among those calling for the full funding of the measure are freshman Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-BrooklynQueens) and Max Rose (DStaten Island).
The supplement would be applied to New Yorkers eligible for public assistance and facing eviction.
Assembly Social Services Committee Chairman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) has been fighting for the program for several years and is confident that it can work in this year’s budget, if Cuomo agrees.
“We’ve made an aggressive push, and I think we have a real shot,” Hevesi told the Daily News. “I believe that since Gov. Cuomo is the only person standing in the way that we have a very good shot this year.”
The measure, which has widespread bipartisan support in the Legislature and among local government officials, is estimated to cost $400 million over the first five years and then $400 million annually to keep it running.
As the April 1 budget deadline nears, the Assembly has allocated $100 million, and the Senate promised another $20 million to get the program started.
Hevesi said the growing cost of housing the homeless in shelters would far exceed the price tag for the subsidy program. “A rent supplement like this is one-third the cost of shelters, and that’s part of the reason we’ve been able to get such bipartisan support.”
A $15 million pilot program was included in the current state budget.
The subsidy has support beyond just Democrats as a number of Republicans have also backed the measure, including Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, who ran a failed bid to unseat Cuomo in November.
“It is clear more must be done to not only serve homeless individuals but to prevent homelessness,” Molinaro wrote in a letter of support last month.
Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall noted the governor’s efforts to preserve affordable housing and added that budget negotiations are still underway.
“Gov. Cuomo’s $20 billion housing and homelessness initiative is supporting the creation or preservation of more than 100,000 units of affordable housing and 6,000 units of supportive housing,” Conwall said. “As for this piece of legislation, we’re reviewing and the budget process is ongoing.”