The House of Representatives passed a spending package Thursday that would bump federal funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—backing off from drastic cuts previously proposed by the White House, which advocates say would have devastated city housing and homelessness programs.
Homes in Brooklyn. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)
The House of Representatives passed a spending package Thursday that would bump federal funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—backing off from drastic cuts previously proposed by the White House which advocates say would have devastated New York housing and homelessness programs.
The appropriations bill, which the Senate is expected to vote on next week and which would fund HUD until the end of the current fiscal year through September, is a sharp departure from President Donald Trump’s budget request released last spring, which sought to slash HUD spending by a whopping 44 percent.
That would have had serious implications for New York City, where funds from Washington make up a significant share of local housing agencies’ operating budgets and where more than 350,000 low-income households participate in federal rental assistance programs like Section 8 and Section 9.
But the latest package, which Trump’s budget office said it supports, earmarks $77.3 billion for HUD, a a $7.3 billion increase from the previous fiscal year, according to an analysis from the New York Housing Conference. Funds for Section 8 vouchers—both project-based and tenant-based rental assistance—and Continuum of Care homelessness assistance grants would all get a boost, though money for public housing would decrease by almost $687 million.
That’s not welcome news for NYCHA, the largest public housing system in the country and home to 1 in 16 New Yorkers. The housing authority has $78 billion in repair needs over the coming years, to address persistent problems like mold, leaks, and broken elevators.
“NYHC is deeply disappointed to see funding cuts proposed to public housing. Increased funding for public housing operations and capital needs is desperately needed,” the advocacy organization said in statement earlier this week.
Lawmakers in D.C. have until Jan. 30 to pass a final budget and avoid another government shutdown.
Here’s what else happened in housing this week—
ICYMI, from City Limits:
The city is facing a significant budget gap, according to the city comptroller, in part due to the previous administration under-budgeting for CityFHEPS rental vouchers, the costs of which have ballooned in recent years. New Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously said he would expand eligibility for the program, a key tool for moving people out of homeless shelters and into housing.
Students from the Pratt Institute are teaming up with longtime South Bronx group Mothers on the Move to explore how hemp—a building material rarely used in housing—could help retrofit and improve air quality at apartment buildings in the neighborhood, where residents suffer from some of highest adult asthma rates in the city.
ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:
Summit Properties, the new buyer for a troubled portfolio of more than 5,000 rent stabilized apartments that fell into bankruptcy, landed on the Public Advocate’s “worst landlord” watch list, Gothamist reports.
The city is testing out a guaranteed income program which provides monthly cash payments of $1,200 to participating homeless youth, according to The City.
New Mayor Mamdani wants to build 200,000 “union built” homes in the coming years. That’ll be hard—”if not impossible”—sources tell Politico.
The New York City Council passed a bill last month requiring landlords to provide air conditioning to any tenant who asks for it by 2030. But it doesn’t address rising utility costs that keep many New Yorkers from using their ACs even when they want to, City and State reports.
To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org
Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.
The post HUD Poised for Likely Budget Boost, And What Else Happened This Week in Housing appeared first on City Limits.
Leave a Reply