CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org 

AS RENT GUIDELINES BOARD CONSIDERS A RENT FREEZE, CITY HALL & COUNCIL SHOULD UNITE TO DELIVER ANOTHER CAMPAIGN PROMISE FOR LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS IN THE CITY BUDGET 

Funding CityFHEPS & Free and Expanded Fair Fares will Show Low-income New Yorkers Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin’s First Budget Negotiation is for Them 

NEW YORK – As the New York City Rent Guidelines Board prepares to consider a vote on a rent freeze on June 25 – a key campaign promise from the Mayor –  the New York City Budget deadline provides the next opportunity for low-income and working-class New Yorkers to see the City’s government working for them. Mayor Mamdani and the NYC Council can deliver for struggling New Yorkers –  putting money back in their pockets, and helping people get out of homeless shelters and stay housed – if they can unite and negotiate a budget that funds an expansion of CityFHEPS and free and expanded Fair Fares. VOCAL-NY released the following statement:

“Freezing the rent is just the start. The City budget offers an opportunity for the Mayor and Council to make good on their promises to make housing and transit more affordable for struggling New Yorkers. 

An expansion of CityFHEPS means many New Yorkers will be able to leave homeless shelters and move into homes they can call their own. Others won’t risk losing their rent-stabilized homes — or face the trauma of high rents, eviction, and homelessness. 

Free and expanded Fair Fares would mean a New York City where low-income and working-class New Yorkers could get to their medical appointments, to a job interview, to their grandchild’s birthday party, home after a long day – without the risk of getting a ticket they can’t afford to pay or spending time in jail.  

We urge the Mayor and Speaker to put aside politics and unite to deliver for millions of low-income and working-class New Yorkers whose lives would be transformed and improved from these policies.” 

BACKGROUND:

The Mayor and City Council Speaker stand to gain politically by negotiating a budget that would fund a meaningful expansion of CityFHEPS, along with free and expanded Fair Fares. Mamdani campaigned on the promise to fund CityFHEPS, and Speaker Menin – along with the Progressive Caucus and BLA Caucus – have clearly stated their desire to make a meaningful investment into its expansion. Similarly, the free and Fair Fares program is strongly supported by the Speaker and the Council, and would deliver for the working-class voters that the Mayor promised to govern on behalf of as a step towards free and fast transit for all. It would also help reduce the rising number of fare-evasion arrests and policing of the poor that the Mayor’s supporters, including the DSA, have strongly opposed. 

VOCAL-NY Budget Memo:

CityFHEPS Expansion: We urge City Hall and the Council to agree on a settlement approach for CityFHEPS expansion focused on delivering the most expansive, fiscally feasible reforms in FY27. The 2023 reforms expanded the program to households at risk of eviction in the community, increased the income limit for homeless households, removed work requirements, and extended eligibility to homeless households in non-DHS shelters. Building on that foundation, full expansion would reduce the shelter population and stop the flow of New Yorkers into homelessness. This is the clearest opportunity for the Mayor and Speaker to demonstrate their commitment to keeping people housed — and to show what aligned city government delivers. 

Free and Expanded Fair Fares: Free fares are crucial for low-income New Yorkers to stay engaged in treatment, get to medical appointments, court dates, job interviews, access childcare, and stay connected to their communities. Expanded Fair Fares (half-priced OMNY cards) would put money back in the pockets of working-class New Yorkers. Together, they would reduce fare evasion enforcement — tickets and arrests that are currently on the rise — and set the city on a path toward universal MTA access for all. Nearly 2 million New Yorkers, including roughly 50% of Bronxites, would benefit directly from this shift, making this a powerful and visible early win for the administration and the Council.

• Free Fares for New Yorkers living at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Line
• Expanded Fair Fares for New Yorkers living at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Line

Real Solutions to Mental Health Needs: The administration must back its vision for an office dedicated to community safety — and redirecting police toward serious crime — with real investment in agencies other than the NYPD. The current budget calls for the expansion of the NYPD headcount by 580 officers. Instead, we urge the Mayor and Speaker to: Invest an additional $60 million into community-based mental health programs (on top of the ~$60 million already in the Executive Budget) to scale up infrastructure to address existing gaps for struggling New Yorkers. This could eliminate the IMT waitlist, expand ACT and FACT teams, increase Residential MICA treatment beds, fund crisis respite centers, and expand access to low-barrier housing.  

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