Courts could decide the rental voucher fight

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Jul 13, 2023 View in browser   By Janaki Chadha and Hajah Bah New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall on July 10, 2023 in New York City. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The fight between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council over a suite of legislation to reform the rental voucher system may be headed to court. The Council is poised to override Adams’ veto of four bills Thursday — setting the stage for a potential lawsuit to block the package, which the mayor has argued is not on sound legal footing. The bills were approved with a veto-proof majority in May. They would expand eligibility for CityFHEPS vouchers — a rental assistance program — and eliminate a longstanding requirement that people be in shelters for 90 days before they can qualify. Adams scrapped the 90-day rule last month but held that the larger package would pose too great a financial burden on the city. He wrote in an op-ed last week the legislation “clearly exceeds the Council’s legal authority.” The argument that might underpin a prospective legal challenge is essentially that the Council has no role in legislating on how the voucher program should be administered, because the issue is regulated by the state. “[The Department of Social Services] implements rent subsidy programs under the auspices of the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance,” Social Services Commissioner Molly Park said at a migrant crisis briefing Wednesday. “There's a long history for that level of oversight and that division of responsibilities that does not traditionally include the Council.” But the Council notes it has approved several pieces of legislation on CityFHEPS recently, including a 2021 law that raised the value of the vouchers and a measure earlier this year to make rental assistance payments available through an electronic funds transfer. The body released an annotated response to the mayor’s op-ed Wednesday that alleged he was citing “alternative facts” and that his arguments amounted to “gaslighting.” “The Council has passed several bills on CityFHEPS that have been enacted into law and implemented, including by this Administration as recently as this year, fundamentally undermining their claim,” Council spokesperson Mandela Jones said in a statement. Jones continued: “If the Administration wants to fight to deny New Yorkers in need with help staying in their homes and leaving shelters, that is their prerogative, but it is a disservice to the City.” IT’S THURSDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? In New Jersey for the National Governors Association Summer meeting. WHERE’S ERIC? Visiting a new NYC health & hospitals/correctional health services center, delivering remarks to mayor’s office summer interns, hosting a roundtable with deaf and disability advocates, meeting with members of the Korean National Assembly, hosting an annual reception celebrating Puerto Rico heritage at Gracie Mansion, and delivering remarks at Drs. Roy and Eda Hastick Family Foundation’s celebration of life. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “What should we have done? Put out the fires?” Adams said on Fox 5 Wednesday morning in response to the criticism he received on New York's air quality alerts, resulting from Canada's wildfires.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     ABOVE THE FOLD Almost $80 Billion Needed for Repairs to New York City’s Public Housing, by The New York Times’ Mihir Zaveri: “ New York City’s public housing agency now needs more than $78 billion to repair or renovate aging kitchens, leaky pipes, faulty elevators and other problems over the next 20 years, officials revealed on Wednesday. "That number has grown more than 70 percent since 2017, when the agency last calculated its needs." WHAT CITY HALL IS READING Mayor’s Response to Wildfire Smoke Was Sluggish, New York Officials Say, by The New York Times’ Michael Gold: “Mayor Eric Adams and other officials ... have repeatedly said that New York had never faced anything like the smoke conditions, and that they did their best to respond to a threat they could never have anticipated.” NYC residents still concerned about crime, Siena poll finds, by Gothamist’s Samantha Max: “A quarter of the approximately 345 people surveyed in New York City said they’ve taken a self-defense class in the last year. More than a third of city residents told pollsters they had bought a personal safety device like a Taser in that timeframe, and 17% said they had bought a gun. "For each of those categories, the city surpassed the statewide average.” Howard Redmond, head of ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s NYPD detail, suspended amid obstruction probe, by New York Daily News’ Graham Rayman and Molly Crane-Newman Hosts rally at City Hall for changes to rental regulation law, by Spectrum News’ Kelly Mena WHAT ALBANY'S READING N.Y. Dems aim to reverse fortunes with coordinated campaign, Spectrum News’ Kevin Frey: “Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is one of those spearheading the initiative, calls it an 'all hands on deck moment.'" Metro-North, Amtrak service restored in flood-stricken Hudson Valley, by Newsday’s Lorena Mongelli: “Crews worked around the clock to repair the damage to the Metro-North’s Hudson and Harlem lines as well Amtrak’s New York-to-Albany route. Torrential downpours dumped 9 inches of rain over 24 hours, stranding 300 passengers on the Hudson Line in Manitou on Sunday.” Hochul: ‘No doubt’ flooding damage cost will be over $35 million, by New York State Politics’ Luke Parsnow Queens pol's hate crime bill signed by gov, by Queens Daily Eagle’s Ryan Scwatch: “The governor on Tuesday also signed legislation penned by a number of lawmakers from the World’s Borough that requires colleges to report hate crime data and establish plans for investigating potential hate crimes that occur on school campuses." FROM THE DELEGATION State Sen. John Mannion enters Central NY’s closely watched race for U.S. House, by syracuse.com’s Mark Weiner: “Mannion, 55, of Geddes, will become the third Democrat and second elected official to enter the race for the party’s nomination in the 22nd Congressional District. "The seat is routinely hotly contested by both parties, with huge amounts of money flowing into the district as part of the parties’ fight for control of the U.S. House." AROUND NEW YORK — NYC could spend $1.6 billion in annual costs for hiring new teachers. (NYDailynews) — Attorney General Tish James  accused a Queens-based pharmacy of stealing millions of dollars from Medicaid. (BrooklynDailyEagle) — New York’s first-ever Latin Night Market is coming this September. (TimeOut)   UNLEASH THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE WITH POLITICO, A 7/20 INTERACTIVE EVENT: Imagine a future where rare genetic diseases are not only treatable, but potentially curable. Where our approach to chronic illness takes a monumental leap forward. That future is already taking shape in the form of next-generation health care treatments such as gene therapy. Join POLITICO on Thursday, July 20 and delve into the burgeoning field of gene therapies, which hold the power to redefine our health care landscape. Are you ready to explore this new frontier in health care? Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation. REGISTER NOW.     SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN HAPPY BIRTHDAY: José Andrés … former Cuomo advisor and Bulldog Strategies founder Rich Azzopardi … WaPo’s Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett … Joe Lockhart … Vice News’ Todd Zwillich … Anne Schroeder … Antoinette Rangel … Nick Newburger … (was Wednesday): Jim Poniewozik ... Dan Botnick ... Rita Hauser MAKING MOVES — Zac Roy is now vice president of Anat Gerstein, Inc. leading the firm’s new education and youth development practice that supports nonprofits, and Matt Sollars has been promoted to vice president. … Jan Barnes has been named director of government affairs at Conduent Incorporated. He most recently was chief regulatory officer at LoginID and is an alum of StubHub, eBay, PayPal and the Transatlantic Business Council. HOT JOB — Eleanor’s Legacy is looking for a new executive director. Real Estate City completes sewer upgrade in Gowanus designed to help reduce flooding, by Gothamist’s Sophia Chang: “The $54 million project has over the last seven years overhauled the storm sewer system along Third Avenue between State and Carroll streets."   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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