A package of bills approved by the City Council and vetoed by Mayor Adams could save the city more than $730 million annually on housing and social services costs, according to a report released Thursday by a homeless services provider.
The findings of the report, which was compiled by the homeless service provider Win, compare estimates of costs associated with sheltering and caring for homeless families with the cost of an expansion to the housing voucher program proposed in the City Council’s bill package.
The Council has enough votes to override the mayor’s veto on that bill package, but it remains unclear if, or when, it might do so.
Win’s President Christine Quinn described the homeless situation in the city right now as “a humanitarian disaster” and suggested that it’s ample justification for the Council to override the mayor’s veto.
“With shelters already over-capacity, we need to invest in solutions that help New Yorkers get out of shelter and or stay in their own apartments, which is exactly what the City Council’s legislation does,” she said. “The numbers are clear: these bills will save the city $730 million and help 92,000 of our neighbors avoid becoming homeless and entering shelter. Enacting these bills isn’t just smart policy — it’s the right thing to do.”
Adams has argued — most recently in a Daily News op-ed — that the bills will ultimately cost the city $17 billion over the next five years, though.
But the report from Win, which it shared exclusively with The News, claims the opposite is true and that the city will find savings through the bills.
“Win’s analysis of eviction data estimates dramatic savings accrued through reductions in shelter and other service utilization,” the report states, adding that the bills “will also result in financial savings of over $730,000,000 for New York City.”
The Council’s legislative package aims to expand eligibility for CityFHEPS vouchers to people at risk of eviction, remove work requirements associated with the vouchers and raise the income eligibility to receive them.
Adams has argued that the expanded breadth of the program under the bills would cost the city billions of dollars in additional expenses as he’s trying to tighten the city’s fiscal belt — and that the savings achieved through reduced homeless shelter costs would be relatively small, estimating that it would come to about $300 million over five years.
“Even if we offer only as many vouchers as the appropriations in our coming budget will allow, the bills would force families in the shelter system who are currently eligible for CityFHEPS vouchers to compete for vouchers with families who are still housed, but behind on the rent,” he wrote in The News op-ed.
Win’s savings estimate is based on more than shelter costs and includes expenses associated with providing healthcare to homeless, juvenile detention and child welfare investigations.
“Altogether, by looking at these costs and solving for the households and children who could experience homelessness because of voucher denial, New York City spends almost $600 million in medical, juvenile detention, education, foster care and shelter costs alone,” the report states.
The Council approved the bills to expand the voucher program with 41 yes votes in May — enough to override Adams’ veto.
One of those bills seeks to end a decades-old rule requiring people to stay in a homeless shelter for 90 days before becoming eligible for the voucher program. Adams suspended that rule himself a month after the bills were all approved by the Council, a move that got a tepid response from the Council.
After his administration suspended the rule, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams signaled a veto override could soon be in order.
“While we welcome the administration finally seeming to drop its opposition to end the 90-day rule, the Council’s legislation importantly codifies the change and provides a more comprehensive approach to remove other obstacles to housing vouchers that can help protect New Yorkers,” she said at the time.
“The only reliable path forward to truly confront the city’s eviction and homelessness crises is for the mayor to sign the entire package of legislation.”
