Chair Sanchez questions on homelessness, voucher programs, and right to counsel expansion

Okay, thank you.

So lastly, homelessness, and specific to HPD's role in this work,

but picking up from where Councilmember Ressler left off, so 3,400 expiring vouchers at NYCHA, where NYCHA is helping folks to apply for different apartments.

I think what's frustrating about that response and recognizing that NYCHA is not here, but what's frustrating about that response is that we know there aren't 3,400 available units within PACT and

Section 9 and other parts of the portfolio.

And I think for me, what this touches on is one of the gaps that I saw in the block-by-block report, which is there was no comprehensive discussion around the use of vouchers in the administration.

There are so many that are administered throughout the city, right?

There's within HPD, just home TBRA.

There's HAVP.

There's going to be CHAP, and I'm going to do the arm thing every time I say CHAP.

There's, of course, the project-based.

vouchers, there's so many.

And there wasn't a discussion about what is the role of vouchers or is there a direction in which the administration wants to take vouchers in, in terms of fighting that fight to reduce homelessness and focus

On permanent housing solutions.

So just a space for you to respond to that.

Yeah.

So speaking for the Section 8 programs that HPD runs, which, as you mentioned, there are now sort of kind of a growing number between our federal housing choice voucher program, the state HAVP program,

sort of federal TBRA, which we're using because of the loss of EHV.

So it is true that there are like, you know, sort of a proliferation going on of our subsidy sources.

I would say one of the challenges of sort of creating a unified theory there is depending on the funding source and the direction, including with CHAP, right, we are often sort of told what the priorities are.

I think we generally agree, mostly we are trying to get to the most vulnerable renters who are having the most difficult time.

We're making right below 30% AMI or even lower, just dealing with any type of rent.

in New York City.

So I would say, you know, again, we are at very high utilization rate in all of our programs.

We are very glad to have the new resources that are coming from HAVP and ultimately from CHAP.

So, you know, we are just going to continue to try to target either populations that we are directed to target or populations where we see the greatest need.

Got it.

Thank you.

With respect to home TBRA, how long will this assistance last?

Yeah.

So under federal rules, the home program allows for each award, basically, of a voucher for two years, and then they are renewable at the end of the two years.

I don't believe there's an end point to that renewal as long as there continues to be home funding equal.

So right now the intention is to move very quickly to do the transfer for roughly the 3,700 families on EHV over to TBRA.

And then work long before the expiration of the two years on renewal.

Thank you.

With respect to the expansion of right to counsel, maybe Director Weaver, you can address this question.

How many additional households does the administration believe will be served by the $55 million expansion?

I do have an answer to that question, not by memory, so just give me one second while I find where we wrote it down.

If you want to also ask your next question, I'll look at the slide.

While Director Weaver is looking, I'll just share.

I don't, because right to counsel is overseen by the Office of Civil Justice, I think we should probably confer with them before confirming a number.

But we do know that there was the increase of 14 million in 2027 and 40 million in 2028.

Yeah, HR is anticipating this will allow providers to increase the number of covered cases to 26.

K annually up from 20 K.

But it also assumes reducing the caseload that providers currently have to handle.

So it's a little bit of both there, both increasing how many people are covered, but also reducing the number of cases that any given provider has to serve.