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

VOCAL-NY CALLS ON COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REJECT A BUDGET THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE CITYFHEPS EXPANSION

Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin Have an Opportunity to Decrease Evictions and the Number of New Yorkers Living in Shelters

NEW YORK — Today, VOCAL-NY’s Homelessness Union is urging the New York City Council to reject a budget if it doesn’t include CityFHEPS Expansion. In response, VOCAL-NY’s Homelessness Union released the following statement:

“Today it’s time for the City Council to draw a line in the sand: no budget without CityFHEPS expansion. The City Council has been a strong and consistent champion in the fight to improve and expand CityFHEPS – but we need them to continue to stand strong. 

In passing these reforms, overriding a veto, and suing to implement them, the Council has shown its belief in the program’s potential to keep New Yorkers housed and to secure housing for homeless New Yorkers. Unfortunately, more than 42,000 Council constituents have been evicted since these laws were passed. More than 25,000 of these families would have been able to remain in their homes if they had access to CityFHEPS. 

This is why we need the Council to urge the Mayor and the Speaker to show how a united city government can deliver for struggling New Yorkers by resolving this legal conflict and funding expansion in this year’s budget. The longer this fight drags on, the more New Yorkers will languish in the shelter system and run the risk of becoming homeless.”

BACKGROUND:

Mayor Mamdani, while running for office, pledged to drop the lawsuit and implement and expand the 2023 CityFHEPS reforms. Homeless New Yorkers are deeply disappointed in the Mayor’s reversal and abandonment of campaign promises. The expansion and implementation of CityFHEPS are crucial tools in realizing Mayor Mamdani’s goal of a more affordable New York for working-class and low-income New Yorkers. 

The 2023 CityFHEPS 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. 

VOCAL-NY, alongside coalition partners, organized to pass these reforms, overrode Mayor Adams’ veto, and supported the Council and the Legal Aid Society in their 2-year-long litigation for implementation. 

The Fiscal and Human Cost of Homelessness in NYC:

• According to the Mayor’s Management Report and the latest NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS), it costs the City $8,106 per month to house a single family in a shelter, while the median citywide rent was $1,641 per month. It costs the City, on average, 5 times more to keep people in shelters rather than supporting them with permanent housing.
• In FY27 alone, NYC DSS is projected to spend $4.14 billion on shelter contracts for 86,037 individuals or approximately 44,235 households. By contrast, as of October 2025, CityFHEPS had served 145,382 individuals or approximately 65,000 households at a cost of $1.2 billion—serving nearly twice as many individuals at one third of the cost. 
• Over 4,500 individuals were sleeping unsheltered on the streets and subways of New York City on the night of January 28, 2025.
• Although one third of extremely low-income households live in rent-regulated housing, 73% are severely rent-burdened, making them vulnerable to unexpected events such as job loss or a family illness.
• 150,000 DOE students live in shelter—and have 63% rate of chronic absenteeism, double the citywide rate. 

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