City Council Members and the Public Advocate at a rally on Nov. 22, 2016. Image Credit: Council Member Stephen Levin.

City Council Members and Citywide Officials formally endorse Home Stability Support legislation. On November 22, 2016, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and thirty members of the City Council formally endorsed the promulgation of the Home Stability Support program. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference and rally on the steps of City Hall. The event was co-hosted by the Public Advocate and Council Member Grodenchick, and included speeches by Council Members Crowley, Levin, Gentile, Richards, Reynoso, and Williams. The proposed program has been long championed by State Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi who represents the Forest Hills area of Queens in Albany.

Home Stability Support is a new rent subsidy program to be passed by the State Legislature in order to be statewide. The legislation is a reaction to the exploding homeless crisis across New York State. In New York City alone, over 60,000 persons sleep in shelters each night. Advocates of the program point to inadequate shelter allowances and a lack of rent supplements as a cause. The strongest case for the program, beyond obvious humanitarian concerns, is the sheer savings to the taxpayer. In New York City Home Stability Support would cost $11,224 per year for a household of three in direct rent subsidies, compared to the $38,460 it costs for housing that same family of three in the City’s shelter system—saving the taxpayer $27,236 per household per year. For CityLand’s previous coverage of Home Stability Support, click here.

“New York City is facing the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression,” said the Public Advocate. “For too long, our government has employed a piecemeal approach to providing housing assistance, resulting in inefficient and inadequate support that leaves too many behind.”

“Our city has long been a leader in finding creative solutions to the greatest challenges we as a society face,” said State Assembymember Hevesi. “Our city has long been a leader in finding creative solutions to the greatest challenges we as a society face. The growing homeless crisis is no different.”

The complete list of Council Members supporting the legislation is as follows: Barry Grodenchik, Stephen Levin, Donovan Richards, Paul Vallone, Andrew Cohen, Corey Johnson, Elizabeth Crowley, Carlos Menchaca, Rafael Salamanca, Vincent Gentile, Costa Constantinides, Andy King, Deborah Rose, Daneek Miller, Rafael Espinal, Jr., Mark Levine, Alan Maisel, Daniel Dromm, Ritchie Torres, Inez Barron, Peter Koo, Karen Koslowitz, Helen Rosenthal, Ruben Wills, Antonio Reynoso, Daniel Garodnick, Lauri Cumbo, Margaret Chin, Benjamin Kallos, and Jumaane Williams.

By: Jonathon Sizemore (Jonathon is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2016).