New York City Mayor Eric Adams was sued Wednesday by the Legal Aid Society after he failed to comply with new housing laws aimed at reducing homelessness.
Legal Aid Society, a group that represents low-income New Yorkers on a variety of legal matters, filed the class-action lawsuit at the Manhattan Supreme Court on behalf of people who were refused city rental assistance despite recent changes in housing reforms.
"These are some of our most vulnerable neighbors, low-income New Yorkers on the verge of homelessness or languishing in shelters," Adriene Holder, who serves as Legal Aid's chief attorney of civil practice, said.
"All of these plaintiffs have one thing in common: if Mayor Adams would implement the laws duly enacted by the city council, their housing needs would be met. No more sleepless nights and shelter, no more back and forth housing court, and no more harassing calls from landlords and management companies demanding rent and threatening eviction," Holder added.
In response to the suit, Kayla Mamelak, a spokeswoman for Mayor Adams, said city officials are currently reviewing the case and argued that the new housing laws "violate state law as they seek to legislate in an area where authority is reserved to the state."
Which Housing Laws Are at Issue?
The laws at issue are a package of bills the City Council passed in 2023 in a bid to expand the eligibility of a housing voucher program CityFHEPS.
Under the current program, housing vouchers would be given to people facing eviction even if they do not enter the shelter system and stay there for at least 90 days. The package expands on this by making tenants eligible for a housing voucher if they receive a demand for unpaid rent from their landlord.
In addition, the package would increase the income-level cutoffs for eligibility and would bar landlords from deducting the cost of utility bills from a voucher.
The package, which would cost about $17 billion, was vetoed by Mayor Adams in June, arguing that it would "saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars in cost each year" if implemented. However, the Council in July voted overwhelmingly to override the mayor's veto. Since then, Adams' administration has failed to expand the eligibility for the vouchers.
