A new effort by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park will create 1,500 permanent affordable homes for New Yorkers in the shelter system.
The Affordable Housing Services (AHS) initiative will use City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers. Through an emergency declaration issued Thursday, DSS will fast-track 1,000 of those units.
With 10,600 households with CityFHEPS vouchers currently in the city’s shelter system unable to find housing due to the city’s severe housing shortage, the program will create a new pathway out of shelter. Through the Affordable Housing Services program, the city will help nonprofits purchase or enter long-term, building-wide leases on affordable housing sites — locking in long-term affordability with strong tenant protections for CityFHEPS voucher holders.
“DSS administers rental subsidies for more than 70,000 households, effectively making us one of the largest housing authorities in the country,” said DSS Commissioner Wasow Park. “After taking significant steps to expand access to city-funded rental assistance for households in shelter, we are pursuing bold housing solutions and leveraging social service dollars to create critical permanent housing opportunities for them."
The emergency declaration will allow DSS to fast-track the creation of 1,000 units of affordable housing by cutting down time required to register contracts with non-profit providers, ultimately allowing providers to quickly move voucher holders into affordable units that are ready for immediate occupancy.
In total, the city’s pipeline for the program will create 1,500 units of subsidized housing for households with CityFHEPS vouchers. DSS has already finalized contracts with various nonprofit providers to create subsidized housing for nearly 700 households in shelter that are eligible for CityFHEPS vouchers.
“With more people in shelter and housing more expensive than ever, we need new, creative solutions to help people move into housing they can afford,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “Props to DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park and the Adams administration for coming up with this innovative and urgently-needed program — and for working with us to ensure it makes wise use of public dollars, addresses the short-term crisis but also builds toward longer-term solutions, and helps homeless New Yorkers find their way home.”
