The City Council came up with its own solution to address the city’s growing homelessness crisis.

It overwhelmingly approved a package of bills Thursday, expanding eligibility requirements for the city’s housing voucher program.

As part of changes, the council’s proposal does away with a rule that requires people to stay in a homeless shelter for 90 days before they are eligible for a city housing voucher.

What You Need To Know

  • The council overwhelmingly passed several bills Thursday to expand access to the city's housing voucher

  • It eliminated the 90-day rule, which requires a three-month shelter stay to be found eligible for the voucher

  • The mayor opposes the changes

Under the changes, someone can get a housing voucher if they are at risk of eviction.

Shelter providers say the bills will help get people out of shelter and into housing faster.

“Now they will be able to look for housing the first day they go to shelter,” said Christine Quinn, the president and CEO of Win.

Mayor Eric Adams opposes the measures.

His press secretary issued a statement following the vote that reads in part: “Nearly 20,000 existing voucher holders who cannot currently find housing because of the extremely low vacancy rate in our city would be lumped in with thousands more, including anyone who stops paying rent, for any reason, if they are below 50 percent of area median income. Put simply, these bills will keep New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, the ones who need permanent housing right now, in shelter for longer.”

He said the mayor’s team is exploring its options about a possible veto.

“We are confident in our support, and it would really be unfortunate if the mayor chose to veto the bills that help New Yorkers leave the shelter system,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get there.”

The bills were approved with a veto-proof majority.

And it sets up the first legislative battle between the mayor and the City Council — one where the council did not back down.

The council projects under these changes in five years, the number of households receiving a voucher will increase sevenfold.

Meanwhile, the Adams administration claims the bills will cost the city $17 billion over five years.

The mayor’s press secretary suggested the council may want to raise taxes in order to pay for it.