New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has backpedaled on a major promise of his election campaign by indefinitely delaying the expansion of the city’s housing voucher program.
The Gothamist reports Mamdani ran for mayor in 2025 with the pledge to expand eligibility for the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement program (CityFHEPS), which currently serves roughly 60,000 households. The Democratic Socialist also voted to end the city’s legal challenge to a 2023 City Council law that broadened voucher access for people at risk of eviction and households with slightly higher incomes.
The CityFHEPS program is projected to cost $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, up from just $176 million in pre-pandemic 2019.
However, Mamdani used a press conference Wednesday to announce an indefinite delay on his promise. He cited the city’s budget deficit for his decision and blamed the administration of his predecessor, Eric Adams, for his change in direction.
“The prior administration mismanaged not only the budget, but also, frankly, housing and assistance programs,” he said. “Looking forward, we want to make sure that we balance New Yorkers’ access to medium- and long-term housing, while also crafting a sustained and balanced budget.”
Adams responded to Mamdani’s statement on X, stating, “I didn’t leave a ‘budget hole.’ I left over $8 BILLION in reserves. Only someone who can’t read a balance sheet would call that a crisis.” He added that all of the budgets passed during his administration had City Council approval, including support from “Mayor Mamdani’s City Council comrades.”
