On September 22, 2026, the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare, chaired by Crystal Hudson, held a hearing on five legislative proposals aimed at improving the City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFEPS) rental assistance program. The hearing began at 1:00 PM at 250 Broadway. Roll call showed members Hudson, Morano, Nurse, Ung, and Wilson present; Avilés and Mealy absent. Councilmember Brewer also attended. The committee heard testimony from Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Aaron Dalton and his team, followed by over a dozen panels of public testimony from advocates, service providers, and individuals with lived experience. All five bills received hearings and were laid over without a vote.
Chair Hudson opened by stating that New York City faces intertwined crises of an acute affordable housing shortage and widespread homelessness. She cited data from the Coalition for the Homeless showing that 96,528 people slept in NYC shelters each night in July 2026, including 30,824 children, with the total unhoused population likely in the hundreds of thousands. She noted that CityFEPS, established in 2018, had helped 123,762 individuals secure permanent housing through March 2025, with the city budgeting $1.78 billion for FY2026 and $1.97 billion for FY2027. She described the five bills as attempts to remove roadblocks at key stages of the CityFEPS process.
Intro 98-2026 (Sponsor: Councilmember Brewer) – Would require the Commissioner of Social Services to deem a dwelling unit habitable before approving CityFEPS assistance for that unit. DSS Commissioner Aaron Dalton testified that while the agency supports the goal, the bill as drafted would limit flexibility and increase processing time. He highlighted a nine-month pilot program that distinguishes between minor and major repairs and uses virtual reinspections for minor fixes. The pilot results are expected to roll out systemwide in early 2027. Committee members questioned the average wait time for inspections (2–3 weeks), failure rates (44% for HRA-conducted inspections on harder units), and specific failure reasons (e.g., water temperature failures 41%, electrical outlet deficiencies 33%). DSS noted they only conduct about a third of inspections; providers handle the rest.
Intro 100-2026 (Sponsor: Councilmember Brewer) – Would require DSS to annually report the average time from shopping letter issuance to lease-up. Dalton stated the agency can report this metric but questioned whether it is the best measure, as many factors (low vacancy, geographic preferences) affect timelines. He provided average lease-up times: 244 days in 2024, 221 in 2025, and 236 year-to-date in 2026. The difference between community applicants (21 days from application to approval) and shelter applicants (31 days) was noted.
Intro 101-2026 (Sponsor: Councilmember Brewer) – Would require DSS to respond to CityFEPS applications within 15 days (approved, denied, or needing correction). Dalton reported current average processing time of 28 days, improved to 24.8 days in recent months due to reorganization and streamlined review. DSS plans to launch a client-facing portal by end of October 2026 to show real-time status. Several testifiers urged that the 15-day limit should apply to the entire process, including pre-submission steps (e.g., through Home Base).
Intro 641-2026 (Sponsor: Councilmember Wrestler) – Would require DSS to issue rental assistance payments no later than seven days before the first of the month. Dalton stated that DSS currently pays on the 26th of the prior month, with electronic transfers arriving within 24 hours and paper checks around the 1st. He noted that the state’s shelter allowance is paid in two installments (beginning and middle of month), which can result in partial payments. DSS provides landlords a payment breakdown but not a full calendar.
Preconsidered Intro T2026-1424 (Sponsor: Councilmember Morano) – Would require DSS to create a landlord portal for rental subsidy programs. Dalton supported the goal but said the January 2027 deadline is not feasible given ongoing IT work; enhancements are expected to roll out in phases starting first quarter 2027. Councilmember Morano pressed for a specific commitment date, but Dalton could not provide one. Testifiers from Spony (small property owners) strongly supported the portal as a way to reduce administrative burdens.
The committee heard from multiple panels, all expressing strong support for the five bills while often urging stronger timelines and broader scope.
First Panel (Lived Experience): Judita Francis, a shelter resident with a child, testified that she secured an apartment in April 2026 but still cannot move in due to inspection and approval delays. Akira Morris shared her experience of nearly losing her apartment due to communication breakdowns between Home Base and HRA. Elizabeth Mackey reported that her landlord has not been paid for five months, despite her voucher being active, putting her at risk of eviction. Diana Ramos described a unit with pests, non-working outlets, and plumbing issues; she also had to act as a middleman to ensure payments were correct.
Providers and Advocates: Kathy Batista (Anthos Home), Jade Vasquez (WIN), Maritza Rico (New Destiny Housing), Graham Horn (NYLAG), Helen Strom (Urban Justice Center), Jean Stevens (VOLS), Lauren Price (Brooklyn Defender Services), Yvonne Pena (CSS), Brandon Lloyd (URI), Jerry Hippolyte (HSNY), and Pepper (Homeless Services United) all testified in favor of the bills. Common themes included: the need for rapid response times (15 days should cover pre-application steps), transparency in reporting (including reasons for package rejections and data on lease-up times), and concerns about rent reasonableness reviews causing months-long delays. Testifiers also flagged discrimination by landlords and brokers against voucher holders and called for stronger enforcement of source-of-income laws.
Virtual Testimony: Ann Korchak (Spony) praised the landlord portal bill. Miranda Denovo and Calvin Michael shared personal experiences—Denovo described a friend waiting months for a shopping letter due to case manager turnover; Michael stated CityFEPS works but is underfunded and has payment discrepancies.
Hello, good afternoon. Welcome to today's New York City Council hearing, photo committee on general welfare. At this time, please silence all phones. If you wish to speak in today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with one of the sergeants. Moving forward, no one is to approach the day's. Chair, you may begin. Thank you so much. And good afternoon. Welcome to today's hearing on legislation concerning the city family homelessness and eviction prevention supplement, more commonly known as City FEPS. I'm Crystal Hudson, General Warefair Welfare Committee Chair, and my pronouns are she her. New York City is facing two intertwined crises, an acute affordable housing shortage, and a staggering number of New Yorkers who are unhoused. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, in July 2026, 96,528 people slept in New York City shelters each night, including 30,824 children. The total number of people without homes is far higher. Between folks sleeping unsheltered and people living doubled or tripled up with family or friends, the number is more likely in the hundreds of thousands. Let that sink in. Hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, school kids, people fleeing domestic violence, people who just can't make the rent because it's too damn high, have to question whether they will have a roof over their heads tonight. What a wholly unacceptable state of affairs. In New York City, everyone has a right to shelter, but frankly, shelter isn't enough. As a city, it is imperative that we do everything we can to get people into permanent stable housing. CitifEps, I'm sorry, Sergeants, do you mind? Thank you. City FEPS is one of the city's tools to do just that. As the city's main rental assistance program, City FEPS supports New Yorkers who are in shelters or at risk of losing their homes to move into and maintain housing. According to DSS, between the inception of CitifEps in 2018 and March 2025, the program helped 123,600 set excuse me, 123,762 individuals secure permanent housing. Understanding the dire need for this kind of assistance, the budget for CitifEps has continually grown. In fiscal year 2026, the city budgeted 1.78 billion dollars for the program. In fiscal year 2027, that amount will rise to 1.97 billion dollars, with even more projected for 2028 and 2029. In short, this is an important program and one that the city invests heavily in. But the program is only valuable if people can actually access it. To do so, New Yorkers applying for City FEPS need to be able to understand where their applications for assistance stand. They need to be able to find eligible apartments, move into safe and habitable homes, and receive their rental assistance payments reliably and on time. Landlords participating in rental assistance programs also need to be able to navigate the City FEPS landscape. Unfortunately, there are pain points at each of these stages that block New Yorkers who really need the assistance from benefiting from it. The five pieces of legislation we're hearing today attempt to remove these roadblocks. Intro numbers 98, 100, and 101 are sponsored by my colleague, Councilmember Gail Brewer. Intro number 98 is about ensuring apartments are safe before City FEPS assistance is used towards rent, while also balancing the need for move-ins to happen as efficiently as possible. Intro number 100 would require the Department of Social Services or DSS to report the average time it takes for an individual to secure housing after receiving a shopping letter, a document issued by DSS that applicants use while searching for an eligible apartment. Intro number 101 focuses on the time it takes DSS to respond to an application for a City FEPS voucher. Councilmember Brewer may give a statement later about her legislation. Intro number 641, sponsored by Councilmember Wrestler, addresses the timing of rental assistance payments. This bill would require that DSS make City FEPS rental assistance payments no later later than seven days before the first day of the month to which the payment applies. Timely payments are important not only for tenants but also for landlords who participate in the program. Payment delays can create uncertainty for both sides and can undermine the stability Citif is intended to provide. Finally, preconsidered intro number T26. T 2026 1424, sponsored by Councilmember Morano, seeks to make the City FEPS process smoother for landlords by requiring DSS to administer an online portal for landlords who participate in rental subsidy programs. He also may make a statement later. I look forward to hearing from the administration and the public about these proposals. I want to conclude by thanking the committee staff for their work on this hearing. Hannah Kohn, Panina Rosenberg, Justin Campos, Farija Ramon, and Elizabeth Childers Garcia. I'd also like to thank my staff, Andrew Wright, Elika Ruentan, and Demi Brown.