REMARKS
Council Member Diana Ayala's opening remarks on CityFHEPS voucher program oversight hearing
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Council Member Diana Ayala, deputy speaker of the New York City Council and chair of the General Welfare Committee, opens the oversight hearing on the administration of the CityFHEPS voucher program. She provides context on the program's history, purpose, and importance in addressing homelessness and affordability in New York City.
- Ayala highlights that CityFHEPS supported over 13,000 households in fiscal year 2024
- She acknowledges potential administrative issues and complications with voucher programs
- The hearing aims to understand the program's implementation, successes, and obstacles, separate from ongoing litigation
Diana Ayala
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Thank you.
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Good morning, everyone.
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My name is Diana Ayala, and I am the deputy speaker of the New York City Council and the chair of the General Welfare Committee.
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We are here today to hold an important oversight hearing on the administration of the city the city's city program.
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The city has a long history of developing housing voucher programs to support New Yorkers in stable permanent housing.
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In 2018, then mayor de Blasio consolidated a number of such voucher programs to create what is now known as the city FEPS program.
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City FEPS assists households in the community who are at risk of homelessness or are referred by by specific city agencies to avert the need to enter the shelter system.
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City FEPs also helps households who are already in the city's shelter system to obtain permanent housing.
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This program not only provides individuals with vital resources to secure housing, but also provides individuals the opportunity to work with specialists after securing housing to ensure that that housing is the opportunity to work with specialists after securing housing to ensure that that housing is maintained.
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We know that housing vouchers are an effective solution to address homelessness and affordability.
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And in New York City, the city FEVS program supported over 13,000 households in fiscal year 2024 alone.
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However, we are all we also know voucher programs can be plagued with administrative issues, delay, and complications that make them difficult to access and use.
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The general welfare committee hopes that this hearing can provide a forum to understand the operationalization of the city FEPs voucher program, including successes, obstacles, and lessons learned.
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We look forward to hearing from representatives of the administration about the operation of the city program, including current data on how the program is benefiting New Yorkers and where the potential pitfalls lie in ensuring that it is effectively and efficiently implemented.
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The committee understands that the city program is currently the subject of ongoing litigation, but we are here today not to discuss the litigation, but to rather understand the way the program is being implemented and has been implemented since before this council passed the legislation that is subject to the ongoing litigation.
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We thank the administration for speaking to these, components.
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And I also thank advocates and individuals who are here today that can speak to their direct experience with the CityFevs Voucher Program.
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I would also like to thank the General Welfare Committee staff who worked hard to prepare this hearing, including Sahar Mozami, legislative counsel Nina Rosenberg, policy analyst, Julia Harrim as unit head, Faria Ramon, finance analyst, Elizabeth Childress Garcia, finance analyst, Andrew Skoll, data analyst, and finally my staff, Elsie Encarnacion, chief of staff.
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I would now like to turn it over to our committee council to sworn members of the administration.