New law will add homes for the homeless

New residential buildings getting city funding will have to set aside at least 15% of their units for homeless people under a bill expected to pass the City Council on Thursday.

The legislation will lead to about 1,000 new units of housing for the homeless per year, the grassroots Coalition for the Homeless estimates. “We face a predicament of record numbers of people in shelters because there has been a lack of permanent solutions to address the issue at hand,” said Councilman Rafael Salamanca (DBronx), the bill’s prime sponsor, pointing to the roughly 60,000 people in city shelters.

The legislation gives “a path forward to creating what advocates, shelter residents and people within the administration have been calling for — thousands of new permanent housing [units] for the homeless.”

The Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings unanimously passed the bill Wednesday.

Starting in July 2020, the Council and city Department of Housing Preservation and Development will work with developers on the set-asides for the homeless.

The Department of Homeless Services will maintain a list of families “ready for independent living” who can move into the new units, Salamanca said. He added that individuals will also be eligible for the housing.

His bill has 37 total sponsors and the support of Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

“This is a really huge victory,” said Paulette Soltani of activist group VOCAL-NY.