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Q&A
Council Member Ayala questions Commissioner Park about CityFHEPS voucher program changes
2:28:15
·
8 min
Council Member Diana I. Ayala engages in a detailed discussion with DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park about proposed changes to the CityFHEPS voucher program, particularly the increase in tenant rent contribution from 30% to 40% after 5 years. Ayala expresses strong concerns about the impact on low-income families, while Park explains the rationale behind the changes and the need for program sustainability.
- The discussion covers the definition of "good cause" for renewal, communication of changes to voucher holders, and the number of current participants in different stages of the program.
- Commissioner Park reveals that the change is expected to save about $11 million annually when fully implemented.
- Ayala shares personal experiences to illustrate the challenges faced by low-income families and argues that the potential savings do not justify the increased burden on vulnerable New Yorkers.
Diana I. Ayala
2:28:15
Regarding the city febs increase the baseline household contribution, another part of the rule changes to increase the baseline household contribution in the sixth year of participation in the city febs program from 30% of the household monthly income to 40% for the households who have earned income and are granted additional renewals for good cause.
2:28:35
Can you detail what constitutes good cause and how will HRA ensure what city thefts voucher holders are aware that they're aware of this change?
Molly Wasow Park
2:28:44
Thank you, councilmember.
2:28:45
So at this point about 90% of city FEPS voucher holders renew at year six.
2:28:52
So although the regulations have this good cause language in there, we have been taking a very, and at the moment plan to continue, taking a very expansive definition of what good cause means.
2:29:09
So the majority of people, as I say, are renewing at year six.
2:29:15
The communication, we will make sure that this is widely communicated.
2:29:21
We obviously are in contact with all CitiFeb's voucher holders because they're receiving a subsidy from us so we will make sure that that is adequately communicated.
Diana I. Ayala
2:29:33
Currently how many CityFeb voucher holders are in year four and five of the program and how many are in year six and beyond?
Molly Wasow Park
2:29:45
We can circle back with exact data.
2:29:47
What I can say is a fairly small minority are in the out years simply because the program has grown so rapidly over the last few years.
2:29:58
We've added, the program was much smaller a few years ago so there haven't been that many people who have aged into the later years.
2:30:09
And so as a result it is weighted towards those early years.
Diana I. Ayala
2:30:16
Do you know what the projected cost savings on an annual basis from this change will be?
Molly Wasow Park
2:30:21
Once it's fully rolled out, this will obviously because it's one year at a time it will take some time, but as it is fully rolled out it's around $11,000,000 a year.
2:30:34
And let me just take a step back and reiterate what I said in my testimony.
2:30:38
This was not a change that we undertook lightly.
2:30:43
I am deeply committed to the CitiFepps program and I want to make sure that it continues to be a lifeline for people who need it.
2:30:51
The fivefold increase in spending that we've had over four years is really challenging and frankly not entirely sustainable.
2:31:00
So we are looking at a number of different ways that we can bend the cost curve.
2:31:06
This is one of them, but we're implementing rent reasonableness to make sure that landlords aren't overcharging for units.
2:31:16
I think an important one that we did in conjunction with HPD earlier this year is making some really significant changes to the augmented city feps program where people were using city feps in middle income units.
2:31:31
It was an idea that I really supported at the time, but I think landlords actually took advantage of it in ways that we didn't anticipate and were leasing up entire buildings with augmented city faps in ways that actually was pushing market rents.
2:31:47
So pulling that back is going to I think be good on multiple levels including changing the cost.
2:31:53
So the goal really is absolutely not to put this all on tenants, but I have to make sure that we have a CityFepps program that we can sustain and growing at the rate that we're growing is not viable.
Diana I. Ayala
2:32:05
Do we know what the average income is for individuals that have work requirement that are eligible but are working?
Molly Wasow Park
2:32:11
I don't have that off the top of my head.
2:32:13
We can circle back.
Diana I. Ayala
2:32:14
I mean I have serious concerns with this program.
2:32:16
I don't think $11,000,000 is enough to make it you know it's not as cost effective as damaging to families.
2:32:28
I say that because you know, my family grew up in public housing and we paid 30% of, you know, our income on rent.
2:32:36
And and later on, you know, on I had section eight and I was I had to pay 30% of my income on rent.
2:32:42
And it was always the gross income, not even the net income.
2:32:46
If you have, you know, if you have no children or if you have children, like depending on how many you have, right, that really affects what that net income is.
2:32:56
And 30% for me was very difficult because it meant that my second check of the month went, you know, 95% of that went towards the rent for the following month.
2:33:10
And you factor in the cost of, you know, inflation, food cost, childcare.
2:33:16
I just you know utilities are ridiculously high.
2:33:20
I don't understand how and I'm trying to be fair here because I don't believe that the city should have the sole burden of financing these type of programs.
2:33:33
I think that we need to be creating more section what was known as section two zero two housing for older adults where we have you know project based section eight opportunities.
2:33:42
We need to be fixing and really investing in our public housing stock so that we can bring back online you know all of the units that have been sitting there warehouse for years.
2:33:53
The federal government has a responsibility to expand on the section eight program because this is a reflection right of the amount of people in New York City that cannot afford affordable housing.
2:34:03
They need subsidized housing and that's a very big distinction between the two.
2:34:08
But in the interim while we are responsible and while we're trying to figure out what those alternatives are, I think that we would be imposing a bigger financial burden on families that are already struggling to make ends meet.
2:34:23
And that I just cannot in good faith you know support.
2:34:29
It really really keeps me up at night because I've been on the receiving end of that and I know what it's like to you know even you know people just assume because the family is receiving food stamps that you know they're lazy and they you know it's it's not it's not a party to have to survive off of those benefits.
2:34:48
I'll tell you that you know the amount of food stamps that you know that most families get maybe takes them to week three if lucky and that's only because you know most families have children and they go to school and they have breakfast you know and lunch in school.
2:35:04
So you're able to stretch those food stamps you know to maybe the third week of the month.
2:35:08
And that means the fourth week of the month you have to get creative and sometimes that means you may have to go to the food pantry like my mother did and get you know those cans of you know whatever creative meat it's in there.
2:35:20
I have no idea what we were eating.
2:35:22
My mother made it taste really really good, but you know we have to do those things in order to subsidize the needs in the household.
2:35:31
And I so I just would ask and I you know again will make this ask also of RMB 11 million dollars doesn't seem like you know enough money.
2:35:41
I'm sure that we could find 11,000,000 someplace else without having to you know take it off the backs of some of our neediest New Yorkers.
Molly Wasow Park
2:35:50
I appreciate the perspective.
2:35:51
I certainly understand that it is very hard work to be low income and that there are a lot of challenges.
2:35:58
Again, my goal is really to think about how we can ensure that we have a strong and sustainable city FEPPS program going forward, that I can continue to issue new vouchers to those in the shelter system in need.
2:36:13
I echo your sentiment that hopefully other levels of government will get involved.
2:36:18
We're very happy that the Housing Access Voucher Program passed for the first time at the state.
2:36:24
Great start, but that's a $50,000,000 program statewide and we're spending $1,200,000,000 on SAFEPS.
2:36:31
Thank