what to know
- Eric Adams vetoed a package of four bills passed by the Mayor’s legislative body that sought to make it easier for homeless people to pay rent in New York City.
- This is the second time, since he took office in January 2022, that Adams has used his veto power.
- Right now, there are about 81,000 people in shelters — including immigrants and homeless New Yorkers — according to city data.
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, on Friday vetoed a package of four bills passed by the City’s legislative body that sought to make it easier for homeless people to pay rent in the city. , a measure that has sparked criticism from the progressive wing of his party.
The law, which had been approved last May by the Municipal Council with 41 votes in favor and 7 against, included a series of measures, including financial assistance for rent for people with few resources.
Adams, who before the vote pressured several councilors to try to get them to vote against, already warned that he was thinking of rejecting the law because, he said, the city could not afford to bear the new expenses that its application would entail.
This is the second time, since he took office in January 2022, that Adams has used his veto power.
The only point of the new norm that has been accepted by the councilor of the Big Apple has been the suppression of the rule that forced a homeless person to be registered 90 days in a shelter to later be entitled to a voucher from the city for the payment of a house.
Politicians and activists also saw in this law a way to ease the burden on the city’s shelters to give more space to the tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in New York in recent months.
More than 78,000 immigrants have arrived in New York in the past 10 months and the city is housing some 49,000, leading to overflow of public shelters and the Adams Administration having to opt to rent out all the rooms in some 155 hotels to accommodate them.
Right now, there are about 81,000 people in shelters — including immigrants and homeless New Yorkers — according to city data.
New York ombudsman Jumaane Williams has spoken out against the city veto, saying it hurts low- and middle-income families.
“It is incomprehensible and indefensible that the Mayor is using his veto power to make housing less affordable and accessible to New Yorkers,” Williams wrote in a statement.
The Mayor’s Legislative Council also reacted to the mayor’s veto, calling it “a damaging act of futile political theater, delaying solutions to homelessness and fueling a deepening eviction crisis.”
“The policies and systems that we have right now to address homelessness in our city are not working,” said Councilwoman Diana Ayala, one of the sponsors of the reforms.
According to the statement, “these four pieces of legislation would expand eligibility, remove requirements that currently hinder efficient access to aid, and ensure that the full value of the voucher can be used” for housing rental.
