The Daily Dirt Digs Housing Voucher Reform
A lot has happened with city housing vouchers over the past few months.
On Thursday, the Adams administration announced that it is doing away with credit checks for voucher holders who are selected for affordable housing.
“Every New Yorker knows we don’t have enough affordable homes, but once you find one, the city should do everything in its power to give you the keys as quickly as possible,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
The change will help 4,000 families get into housing more quickly, he predicted.
The action quickly gained the approval of landlord groups.
“Common sense solution! We love to see it!” Jay Martin, executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Meanwhile, the City Council approved a measure requiring the Department of Social Services to keep track of how long it takes for rental assistance payments to be made. The agency must begin posting quarterly reports on such payments starting in March 2024.
These actions follow the mayor’s announcement that holders of CityFHEPS vouchers can use them to rent housing in other parts of the state. They also come after the City Council approved a package of bills expanding voucher eligibility. The mayor vetoed those measures, but the council overrode the veto.
The mayor has billed the changes sanctioned by his administration as a way to free up shelter space for the influx of migrants arriving in the city. The mayor is also pushing to suspend the city’s right-to-shelter mandate and is traveling to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia this week to urge would-be migrants away from the city.
What we’re thinking about: A spokesperson for billionaire Ken Griffin wrote a statement for the mayor of Miami. Do you know of any instances where a New York real estate professional has done something like that for an elected official? Send a note to [email protected].
A thing we’ve learned: The television series, “The X-Files” premiered just over 30 years ago, on September 10, 1993.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Frank James, who opened fire on a Brooklyn subway car and injured 10 people, was sentenced to 10 life terms, the New York Times reports. “Each mass shooting constitutes an act of raw evil,” Judge William Kuntz said.
— NYC has seen a 20 percent spike in tuberculosis this year compared to the same period last year, Politico New York reports. Three employees of the city Department of Health’s Bureau of Tuberculosis Control told the news organization that city-run clinics are struggling to keep up with the rise in cases.
— A status report filed by Federal Monitor Steve Martin describes city jails as posing a “pervasive, imminent risk of harm” to detainees and staff, Gothamist reports. Between Sept. 11 and Sept. 17, there were 74 fights, 34 assaults on staffers, 15 fires and one sexual assault allegation reported in city jails.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential closing Thursday was $53 million for a condo at 111 West 57th Street in Midtown.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $8 million for a house at 154 West Ninth Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, and three neighboring apartment buildings at 159, 161 and 163 West Ninth Street.
New to the Market: The priciest residence to hit the market Thursday was a townhouse at 18 East 73rd Street in Lenox Hill asking $43 million. Brown Harris Stevens has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building filing of the day was for a 28,000-square-foot, eight-story residential building at 42-02 80th Street, Queens. Ameriland Brook LLC filed the permit application. — Jay Young
