Mayor Eric Adams ends 90-day shelter stay rule to apply for housing vouchers
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams signed an emergency order Friday ending the "90-day rule" that delayed people living in New York City shelters from qualifying for housing vouchers.
Until now, people living in shelters had to stay there for three months before starting the process of applying for a housing voucher to help cover rent.
"Eliminating the 90-day rule, what that does is just allow for you to be able to begin the process towards getting your voucher faster, much faster," said Shams Dabaron, who has been advocating for people who are homeless since we met him three years ago, when he was living at a shelter on the Upper West Side.
The mayor's order came weeks after the City Council passed a package of four bills, including one expanding the housing voucher program to those in shelters and New Yorkers struggling to pay rent.
But Adams did not agree with the larger package. He said it would cost taxpayers too much and create more competition for the small amount of affordable housing units in the city.
"We're not trying to raise tax dollars," said Adams.
Adams hopes ending the rule will get people into permanent housing sooner.
"Our goal is to get people into permanent housing. That's our goal. We can't accomplish that goal if our inventory is not there," said Adams. "People often look at the city and say build more, without realizing the beginning process of building more starts upstate."
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Some City Council members said the mayor's order doesn't go far enough.
The mayor's housing blueprint estimates it costs nearly $9,000 per month to house a family of two in the shelter system. A housing voucher for the same family would be around $2,400, according to the City Council.
"We know that housing families in shelter costs a lot of money," said Chris Mann. "It's far more expensive than housing a family with CityFHEPS in an apartment of their own."
The cancelation of the 90-day rule comes as the city continues to struggle to find housing for asylum seekers.
"Freeing up beds for people who may need those beds outside of the shelter environment," said Dr. Carla Smith, deputy CEO of the Urban Resource Institute.
The remaining bills in the package will become law in 30 days, unless Adams signs or vetoes them sooner.
