The City Council filed a motion on Wednesday to intervene in a lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams' administration over the city's housing voucher program, known as CityFHEPS.

The Council aims to become a petitioner in an existing lawsuit initially brought by several low-income New Yorkers and The Legal Aid Society alleging that the Adams administration failed to implement new changes to the program that went into effect in January to expand assistance to those facing eviction.

What You Need To Know

  • Among the reforms passed last year included the elimination of a requirement for residency in a city Department of Homeless Services shelter to be eligible for assistance

  • The Council aims to become a petitioner in an existing lawsuit initially brought by several low-income New Yorkers and The Legal Aid Society

  • The Adams administration has been against implementing the new rules as officials believe “the law goes beyond the City Council's authority, and that it's actually preempted by existing state law”

The reforms passed last year eliminated the requirement for residency in a city Department of Homeless Services shelter to be eligible for assistance, updated voucher values to include utilities, removed work requirements, updated income levels and reformed eligibility criteria to assist more New Yorkers at risk of eviction.

The plaintiffs claim they would be eligible for housing vouchers were it not for the city's refusal to enact the changes passed by the City Council in July 2023. The mayor initially attempted to block the changes with a veto when the laws were passed, but the Council overrode it.

The Adams administration has been against implementing the new rules as officials believe “the law goes beyond the City Council's authority, and that it's actually preempted by existing state law,” said Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel to the mayor and City Hall.

The suit was praised by the Legal Aid Society Wednesday saying it will hold Adams and his administration "accountable for illegally refusing to implement the reforms needed to improve and expand CityFHEPS."

Earlier this year, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams warned the city's Department of Social Services that legal action would be pursued if concrete steps were not taken to implement the laws by Feb. 7.

An excerpt from the Council's legal petition outlines their demands, including compelling the Adams administration to immediately implement the CityFHEPS Reform Laws, asserting that the laws are not preempted and do not infringe upon budgetary powers, and seeking other appropriate relief as deemed fit by the court.

In a statement provided to NY1 Wednesday, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said the legislation "threatens to add $17 billion onto the backs of our taxpayers."

"We always seek to work collaboratively with our colleagues at the City Council and look forward to identifying more areas of common ground to support New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, including an aggressive, citywide effort to build more housing in every neighborhood," Mamelak said. "We will review the filing.”