New York City Council overrides Mayor Adams’ veto on set of housing bills

It comes at a time when there are more than 80,000 people in the city's shelter system, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

News 12 Staff

Jul 14, 2023, 11:36 AM

Updated 457 days ago

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The New York City Council voted to override Mayor Eric Adams' veto of bills aimed at addressing the homelessness crisis.
The mayor vetoed the package of bills that would expand access to housing vouchers a few weeks ago. The council voted to override that Thursday night believing expanding the program would allow New Yorkers to move into available permanent housing more quickly.
It was a vote of 42 to 9, the first time the council has overridden a mayoral veto since the Bloomberg Administration.
It comes at a time when there are more than 80,000 people in the city's shelter system, according to the Department of Homeless Services.
The four-bill package would reform the CityFHEPS rental assistance voucher program. The mayor vetoed three of the four bills, which the city council overrode.
Homelessness service providers say pushing the package through is a move that would save the city over $730 million.
"There is no need to pin the lowest income New Yorkers who are facing housing insecurity and homelessness against each other," says Speaker Adrianne Adams.
Mayor Adams disagrees and believes it would actually cost the city saying in part, "Unlike the council, we do not, however, believe that New Yorkers should spend $17 billion on a package of bills that would put New Yorkers in shelter at the back of the line for a CityFHEPS voucher and make it harder for them to find permanent housing."
The mayor says they are reviewing the next steps and if the City Council doesn't manage to get the administration on their side, this could end up in court.