A state appellate court has ruled that Mayor Eric Adams must implement a City Council-approved legislative package expanding New York City’s rental assistance program. The decision arrives amid a worsening housing crisis, overturning a lower court ruling that had sided with Adams’s attempt to block the reforms.
Read: Governor Moore Commits $50M to Tackle Baltimore Vacant Housing Crisis
Council’s Voucher Reform Package
The legislation, passed last year by the City Council, aims to broaden access to the CityFHEPS program, which subsidizes rent for low-income New Yorkers. The package raises income eligibility limits, makes a landlord’s rent demand grounds for eligibility, and abolishes the requirement for applicants to enter the homeless shelter system before qualifying for a voucher.
Also read: Black Tenants in Los Angeles Face Disproportionate Evictions by Corporate Landlords
Mayor’s Cost Objections
Mayor Adams vetoed the package over financial concerns, estimating it would burden the city with an additional $17 billion over five years. City Council Democrats disputed this figure and, after Adams refused to implement the reforms, filed a lawsuit against his administration, triggering a prolonged legal battle.
Also read: Black Tenants in Los Angeles Face Disproportionate Evictions by Corporate Landlords
Court Rejects Adams’ Argument
On Thursday, a six-judge Appellate Division panel reversed a Manhattan Supreme Court ruling that had backed Adams. In a 13-page decision, the judges dismissed the mayor’s claim that only the state could enact such reforms, calling it “an absurd construction” of the law. “Accepting the Mayor’s contention that the State has occupied the entire field of rental assistance would undermine the State policy of allowing for local input into rental assistance policy and intrude upon the City’s home-rule prerogative to have a say in matters pertaining to the health and well-being of its citizens,” the judges wrote.
Also read: Trump Admin Approves Rule to Make Homebuying Easier for Renters
Next Steps and Appeals
The ruling directs Adams’ administration to begin submitting program expansion plans to the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. A mayoral spokesperson, Liz Garcia, confirmed the city is “reviewing our legal options” and reiterated concerns over the housing shortage: “Adding more vouchers will only make it harder for people to leave homeless shelters. The affordable-housing crisis won’t be solved by making people compete for nonexistent housing; it will be solved by building more housing, which the Adams administration has done at record levels.”
Political and Public Response
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ spokesman, Rendy Desamours, hailed the decision, saying, “It is unfortunate that for two years Mayor Adams’ administration stood in the way of removing barriers to housing vouchers that keeps New Yorkers in their homes and moves them from shelters to permanent homes.” Legal Aid Society attorney Robert Desir, who led the lawsuit, called it a win at a “critical moment” for the city’s affordability crisis.
Also read: Oregon Cuts Eviction Funds, Focuses on Shelters as Homelessness Hits Record High
Housing Crisis Shapes Mayoral Race
Soaring rents and housing shortages have dominated the 2025 mayoral race. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner to replace Adams, won the recent primary by focusing his campaign on affordability issues and pledging a rent freeze for stabilized tenants. The voucher dispute has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over how to address the city’s worsening housing emergency.