Landlord lobby, homeless advocates unite in push to boost voucher values
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Former Council Speaker Christine Quinn, now the head of family shelter provider Win, says boosting voucher values will provide housing for up to 2,700 families while saving the city millions. AP Photo/Mike Groll
By David Brand
Three days a week, Tasha Wells makes the trip from a Brooklyn family shelter to a renal clinic for dialysis.
Wells, 36, need a kidney donation, but she is unlikely to get one until she finds a permanent home. Shelter rules will prevent her from receiving the post-surgery home care that she and her three children will need.
Even with a city-backed housing subsidy, Wells can’t find a place to live. The voucher, known as CityFHEPS, is designed to cover a year’s rent, but is pegged at values that trail actual market rates.
“I have everything I need to get a place but there’s no availability out there,” said Wells, whose voucher would cover a $1,580 two-bedroom apartment — near non-existent accommodations in New York City. “With CityFHEPS, you cannot find anything for the amount allotted.”
Legislation introduced by Councilmember Steven Levin would increase the CityFHEPS voucher values to match market rates and actually move families out of shelters. FHEPS stands for Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement.
Opponents are skeptical of the upfront costs for a cash-strapped city in austerity mode. They also point to an earlier subsidy program known as Advantage that the city and state allowed to expire, plunging families back into homelessness.
Former Speaker Christine Quinn, one of the bill’s main boosters, refutes those concerns and points to a report on major cost savings compiled by Win, the family shelter organization she leads.
Win estimates that between 2,600 and 2,700 families would move out of shelter in the first five years after the voucher values increase, saving the city about $187 million in shelter and service costs. New York City is mandated to provide shelter space for anyone experiencing homelessness who seeks it.
“This actually will cause the city to spend less money because vouchers are less expensive per night than a night in shelter,” she said. “Either way, the city is going to pay to house the homeless, that’s not a question. The question is whether they want to do it cheaper.”
In 2019, shelter and services for a family cost the city $158 per night, or more than $4,700 per month, according to the Department of Homeless Services. The average cost of rooms and services at hotels converted to shelter use was $237 per night, or more than $7100 per month, DHS reported.
Quinn and Win back raising the rate of two-bedroom vouchers to $2,053 a month. Levin’s bill would raise the value to match annual fair market rents set by the federal government.
The Council’s general welfare committee and human rights committee held a joint hearing on the legislation last month after the bill first stalled in 2018.
Judith Goldiner, the top attorney in Legal Aid’s Civil Law Reform Unit, said the value increase is a “no-brainer” as New York City contends with an historic economic and health crisis. She recommends raising the value to the same level as federal Section 8 housing vouchers while ensuring the same standard of housing.
The higher values may not address another pervasive issue, however. Prospective tenants say voucher discrimination is routine and that the subsidies can come with a stigma.
But one major landlord group says the small property owners they represent are seeking steady rent payments amid economic uncertainty.
The voucher value increase has the backing of the Community Housing Improvement Program as long as it is funded for a few years into the future, said Executive Director Jay Martin. CHIP represents thousands of small landlords throughout New York City.
“It’s a win-win,” he said. “Vouchers could really be a lifeline to people struggling financially and provide, frankly, the means for a landlord to place someone in an apartment that they otherwise can’t afford.”
