The ongoing power struggle between Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Council ramped up on Thursday as Hizzoner’s veto of housing voucher legislation was overruled.
The vote came three weeks after Adams vetoed the bills, complaining that lawmakers had overstepped their authority and cost the cash-strapped city billions of dollars.
Approved by an overwhelming vote of 42-8, it was the first override since the Bloomberg administration.
As Speaker Adrienne Adams called on lawmakers from the floor of the Council chamber, she shook her head and said: “The fact that we have to override a veto is incomprehensible to me.”
City Hall estimates the four bills combined carry a price tag that could reach $7 billion more than the council’s projected $10 billion.
“Unlike the City Council, we do not… believe that New Yorkers should spend $17 billion on a package of bills that would put New Yorkers in shelter at the back of the line for a CityFHEPS voucher and make it harder for them to find permanent housing,” Adams said after the vote.
Mayor Eric Adams broke out his veto stamp in June, stating that lawmakers had overstepped their authority. Paul MartinkaThe Council bills ends a rule that requires people to stay in a shelter for 90 days before becoming eligible for a housing voucher, expands eligibility and removes work requirements.
The council and housing advocates have argued that ending the 90-day rule would make it easier for people to move from shelters to permanent homes – a key factor as NYC continues to reel from the ongoing migrant crisis. To date, more than 54,000 migrants are being housed in over 180 shelters.
The New York City Council overrode a mayoral veto that will nix the waiting period of the Big Apple’s housing voucher program. Gabriella BassBeyond nixing the shelter-stay requirements, the measures would allow New Yorkers at risk for eviction to apply for a housing voucher, known as the Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Support (FHEPS), bar landlords from deducting the cost of utility bills from a voucher check, and slightly increase the income-level cutoffs to qualify for the assistance.
The legislation is scheduled to go into effect 180 days after the council overrides the veto – approximately six months from now. At that time, City Hall could file a lawsuit to overturn the law.
“We are reviewing our options and next steps,” Hizzoner commented, alluding to prior comments about taking the matter to court.
