Tune into a virtual conversation Wednesday at 10 a.m., where New Yorkers will share their personal stories of navigating the homeless shelter system, and discuss how the city can better help families secure permanent housing. The panel is hosted by Trinity Church of Wall Street and the Family Homelessness Coalition; City Limits’ Editor Jeanmarie Evelly will moderate.
On Sunday night, more than half of the people sleeping in New York City’s homeless shelter system were families with kids, including nearly 15,000 children. While that number has declined in recent years—there were more than 24,000 kids in city shelters in 2015—it’s remained stubbornly higher than in decades past, and children saw longer stays in the system during the most recent fiscal year.
It’s also an incomplete tally: In addition to the kids staying in shelters run by the Department of Homeless Services, tens of thousands of others lived “doubled up” with friends or family in crowded apartments, or slept in cars or other public spaces during the 2020-2021 school year.
How can the next mayoral administration better support the city’s homeless families, predominately headed by Black and Latina women? How can lawmakers address some of the factors that contribute to family homelessness, such as domestic violence and evictions? What can be done to ensure families find and secure permanent housing?
A panel of experts and advocates will discuss these questions and more during a virtual discussion Wednesday entitled “Home for the Holidays: Ending Family Homelessness in NYC.” The event, hosted by Trinity Church of Wall Street and the Family Homelessness Coalition, will feature three mothers who’ve experienced homelessness directly, who will share their personal stories and offer insights on how the city can address this ongoing crisis. City Limits’ Editor Jeanmarie Evelly will moderate.
The discussion will be streamed online Wednesday, from 10 to 11 a.m. You can RSVP here.
City Limits’ series on family homelessness in New York City is supported by Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and The Family Homelessness Coalition. City Limits is solely responsible for the content and editorial direction.
The post Ending Family Homelessness in NYC: 12/15 Event appeared first on City Limits.
The Office of Temporary and Disability Administration (OTDA) has sent out more than 26,000 notices informing property owners that they will miss out on money they qualify for because they haven’t claimed the cash within 180 days.
Sadef Kully
The scene from a June protest by Housing Justice for All.
New York could soon redistribute more than $250 million in rent relief checks not yet claimed by landlords, state officials said Tuesday.
Barbara Guinn, executive deputy commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Administration (OTDA), said her agency has sent out more than 26,000 notices informing property owners that they will miss out on money they qualify for because they haven’t claimed the cash within 180 days. Under New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) rules, low-income tenants can apply for funding to cover arrears that built up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the money going directly to their landlords. To receive the money, landlords must send in an application of their own.
In some cases, property owners have opted not to make an application, but in many other instances, the state has struggled to match renter and landlord submissions, tenant and property owner groups say.
About 20,000 tenant applications submitted between June and August and approved by OTDA have not yet been connected to a landlord, according to agency data. The payouts for those applications would cover roughly $250 million in arrears.
Regardless, Guinn said the state could redistribute unclaimed checks to a backlog of applicants still awaiting payment if property owners do not claim the money they are approved for.
“The goal is to continue with outreach over that period to resolve those arrears,” Guinn told assemblymembers at a hearing on homelessness Tuesday. “To the extent that doesn’t happen, those funds are certainly available.”
The agency said it will not automatically clawback the approved money after 180 days and will instead consider each application on a case-by-case basis.
“Each rent relief application is unique and the process of getting both the proper landlord and tenant submissions can be time consuming,” said OTDA spokesperson Justin Mason. “OTDA continues its outreach efforts to connect landlords to provisionally approved applications. We do, however, anticipate that a majority of these provisionally approved applications will ultimately result in a payment to a landlord.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered OTDA to close the ERAP portal last month after the amount of money owed to applicants exceeded the program’s $2.4 billion allotment, which mostly came from the federal government. More than 288,000 households applied for ERAP funding before the portal closed, and the state has so far paid $1.13 billion to property owners, according to a Dec. 6 ERAP report from OTDA. The agency has approved another $924 million on behalf of 73,884 tenant households, but has not yet sent that money to their landlords.
Hochul has asked the federal government to replenish the ERAP fund with nearly $1 billion to at least cover applicants who got their submissions in before she closed the portal. Guinn said Tuesday that the unclaimed money will go to applicants stuck on what amounts to a waiting list for unpaid property owners.
“We have a number of applications in house that cannot be covered by the funds available,” she said.
Guinn also told lawmakers that if the state does receive substantial funding from the federal government, it would only take “a few days” to reopen the portal. That pledge may encounter skepticism from New Yorkers who recall the program’s slow start as well as persistent failures by the politically-connected firm contracted to stand up and operate the web portal.
Tenant advocates and state lawmakers have urged Hochul and OTDA to reopen the portal immediately even without a federal infusion, in part because an ERAP application serves as a defense against eviction in Housing Court.
The Legal Aid Society sued OTDA in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday to force the agency to resume accepting ERAP applications.
The class action lawsuit earned the support of Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, chair of the Social Services Committee that held the hearing Tuesday.
“The state’s closure of the program, particularly in light of the fact that it has requested and is likely to receive billions in additional ERAP funds from the federal government, is baffling as it unfairly denies tenants this protection,” Rosenthal said in a statement.
Legal Aid Housing Attorney Ellen Davidson said she fears tenants blocked from applying for ERAP may end up getting evicted before the program reopens at a later date. The state’s eviction protections expire Jan. 15.
“I think we’re going to see people who are eligible for the program get evicted and then the program will reopen,” Davidson said. “And people who would have been eligible for rental arrears payments will be homeless.”
An OTDA spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The vast majority of tenant applicants in New York City are among the most vulnerable to homelessness, OTDA reports show.
Across the five boroughs, 90 percent of ERAP applicants earn less than 50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), or no more than $53,700 for a family of three. About 71 percent of all ERAP applicants reported earning less than 30 percent of AMI—or $32,200 for a family of three.
Still, an untold number of eligible renters did not apply before the portal closed, BronxWorks Assistant Executive Director Scott Auwarter told City Limits last month.
“I am very concerned that some of the most needy tenants have not yet applied and won’t until the eviction moratorium is lifted,” said Auwarter, whose organization received a $5 million city contract to help Bronx tenants apply for rent relief.
Landlord groups have also asked the state to reopen the application portal to ensure their members can recoup money lost during the pandemic, and to get a clearer picture of just how many tenants owe rent statewide.
“That’s the only way that the government will know the extent of the need, and then we can have a bigger conversation about permanent solutions,” said Jay Martin, president of the rent-stabilized landlord group Community Housing and Improvement Program.
Martin said few of his members have elected to forego money available to them. Instead, he said, ERAP has failed to match many tenant applicants with their landlords, leaving them unable to collect the cash. Those owners could miss out on funds they may never be able to replace, he said.
“There may be a handful of owners who aren’t trying to get this money, but there are tons of tenants and tons of owners who are trying to get it,” he said.
Under ERAP rules, property owners who accept the state payment must renew their tenant’s lease for at least another year—a provision that has made some property owners think twice about the program. But a housing court backlog and the pace of proceedings mean tenants can likely stay in place another year with or without the ERAP money, which makes rejecting the cash a bad business strategy, Martin added.
“If you’re getting an eviction, you’re not getting that money,” he said.
The post New York May Redistribute 20,000 Unclaimed Rent Relief Checks, Top Official Says appeared first on City Limits.
In statements Tuesday afternoon, both Moya and Adams, who are Queens Democrats, projected victory in the coming contest for speaker. The body will officially vote on one speaker—who essentially sets the legislative agenda and liaises with the mayoral administration—after its members are sworn in at the beginning of the year.
Flickr/NYC Council
Moya and Adams, who are Queens Democrats, projected victory in the coming contest for speaker.
City Council members Adrienne Adams and Francisco Moya both claimed to have secured enough votes from their colleagues to win the speaker seat on Tuesday, sending the once-crowded race to lead the lawmaking body in a puzzling direction.
Read more elections coverage here.
In twin tweets Tuesday afternoon, both Moya and Adams, who are Queens Democrats, projected victory in the coming contest. The body will officially vote to choose one speaker—who essentially sets the legislative agenda and liaises with the mayoral administration—after its members are sworn in at the beginning of the year.
“After much discussion and collaboration with my colleagues, I am honored to have received the necessary votes to become the next speaker of the New York City Council,” Adams announced in a Tuesday afternoon tweet. “As speaker, I look forward to being a partner with every member to help advance the needs of our communities. As a member of the Council, I will always prioritize my colleagues, labor, and the people of New York and have an open door for every voice.”
Today is a historic day for New York City. After much discussion and collaboration with my colleagues, I am honored to have received the necessary votes to become the next Speaker of the New York City Council.
— Adrienne Adams (@AdrienneEAdams1) December 14, 2021
“I am humbled to announce that our diverse coalition of Council Members and leaders from across New York City has collected a majority of votes to elect the next speaker of the Council,” Moya, the reported favorite of Mayor-elect Eric Adams, said in a tweet. “I look forward to leading this body into a brighter future for our great city.”
I am humbled to announce that our diverse coalition of Council Members and leaders from across New York City has collected a majority of votes to elect the next speaker of the Council. I look forward to leading this body into a brighter future for our great city.
— Francisco Moya (@FranciscoMoyaNY) December 14, 2021
Neither official immediately addressed the differing statements in responses to City Limits Tuesday.
READ MORE: The NYC Council Speaker Candidates on Their Legislative Priorities
Days before the close of the year, speaker aspirants—which included Council members Adams, Moya, Diana Ayala, Justin Brannan, Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera, and incoming Council member Gale Brewer—have worked to lobby their colleagues for the post.
On Monday, the New York Daily News reported that Ayala, Brannan, Brewer and Powers had dropped out of the race and opted to support Adams. The move was aimed at weakening Moya’s bid for the seat, the Daily News reported, following reports that the Mayor-elect, Eric Adams, was lobbying for him to be speaker.
The post A Tale of Two Speakers? Adrienne Adams And Francisco Moya Both Declare Victory in Race to Lead Council appeared first on City Limits.
The news sets up a competitive primary for Assembly District 37, which includes Astoria, Sunnyside, Ridgewood, and Queensbridge, and iterates an increasingly familiar dynamic in Queens politics: a seasoned incumbent facing off against a relative political newcomer.
A Chiu
Lifelong Astoria resident and software developer Huge Ma, best known for developing “TurboVax,” has announced he will challenge longtime Assemblymember Catherine Nolan in the June 2022 Democratic primary.
Read more elections coverage here.
Lifelong Astoria resident and software developer Huge Ma, best known for developing “TurboVax”—the platform launched last year that aimed to connect New Yorkers with available COVID-19 vaccines—has announced he will challenge longtime Assemblymember Catherine Nolan in the June 2022 Democratic primary.
The news sets up a competitive race for Queens Assembly District 37, and iterates an increasingly familiar dynamic in Queens politics:a seasoned incumbent facing off against a relative political newcomer. Nolan, the current deputy speaker of the Assembly, was first elected in 1984, five years before Ma—who turned 32 on Tuesday—was born.
This time, however, the underdog is already a fairly well-known figure in the district. Ma’s website TurboVax, which is no longer active, streamlined a tangle of sometimes-clunky city and state resources for booking vaccine appointments. Splashy profiles (and a cheeky nickname, “Vax Daddy”) accompanied the spring 2021 launch of the tool. The experience prompted the decision to run for office, Ma said.
“After I shut down TurboVax, I thought deeply about my place in the world,” he said Tuesday. “TurboVax was a deeply intense experience for me, but I think I realized that I was so fortunate to have the right skills and the right opportunity to build the tool and serve my neighbors. And now, when I’m thinking about the seat in the State Assembly, I do believe that we have an opportunity to use my platform and advocate on behalf of the needs of my neighbors.”
The district includes Sunnyside, Queensbridge (including NYCHA’s Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in North America), Ridgewood, Long Island City, Ravenswood, and Woodside.
Nolan, who withstood previous primary challengers last year, did not immediately return City Limits’ requests for comment, but told news site THE CITY she is “ready for anything.” Mary Jobaida, a Long Island City resident who ran against Nolan in 2020, has said she intends to run again for the District 37 seat next year.
If elected, Ma told City Limits that he would focus on developing and implementing unique solutions for some of the city’s biggest problems, including a changing climate, unreliable transit, and increasingly unaffordable housing, health care, and higher education.
“Until more housing can be built, we must strengthen renter protections to prevent further displacement,” Ma said in plans posted to his website. “We should streamline fully-affordable developments and experiment with new models of social housing. We must buttress NYCHA with iron-clad guarantees that public housing stays public. And we should support creative new initiatives such as the Western Queens Community Land Trust that aim to protect public space.”
Ma supports expanding Right-To-Counsel eviction protections statewide and overturning New York City’s ban on single room occupancy apartments, and is calling for an audit of the state 421-a tax program, which he said offers “questionable public benefit.”
Additionally, he wants to ban the installation of gas stoves and heating systems in new construction and renovations, and has pledged to reject “fossil fuel infrastructure” like National Grid’s proposed natural gas pipeline in Brooklyn and NRG’s controversial proposed Astoria power plant, which was rejected by the state in October. . He also wants to fund resiliency infrastructure throughout the district, including upgrades to drainage systems.
“I truly want to go to Albany to attack those top-line issues that I mentioned with urgency and creativity,” Ma said Tuesday. “And I want to build a New York that lets any New Yorker live with dignity. I believe that housing is a human right, I believe that healthcare is a human right. And that we really need to take an urgent look at climate. I am focused on that, and I think those are the biggest needs for my constituents.”
The post Huge Ma, ‘TurboVax’ Creator, On Why He’s Running for Office in Queens appeared first on City Limits.
Temperatures matched the previous record high of 68 degrees on Dec. 11 just before a strong wave of rain and wind swept through overnight.
The National Weather Service expected a strong cold front carried by the high winds from the southwest through the northeast of the D.C. region. That same front developed storms that devastated several states across 200 miles of the midwest.
Northern Virginia residents between Tysons and Reston also saw some power outages caused by the storm system. Dominion energy confirmed outages for roughly 4,000 in areas west of Dulles and east of D.C.
Some power outages are estimated to end some time between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. while others outages have no estimated restoration time.
Add in a wind advisory that averaged 30 mph gusts, with up to 40 mph in some places, as well as some showers and potentially thunderstorms in spots, and you’ve got a bona fide spring day.
It’s go time for the damaging wind gusts. That squall line that is now moving through the northwest suburbs will have the potential to take down a bunch of tree limbs. @WTOP #DCwx #VAwx #MDwx pic.twitter.com/SDvYQkIatA
— Matt Ritter, WTOP Multimedia Meteorologist (@MetMattRitter) December 12, 2021
The National Weather Service warned that these conditions could produce damaging winds.
Strong winds are expected today and tonight. A line of showers (perhaps an isolated thunderstorm) may cause damaging winds, especially this evening. See map for more details. pic.twitter.com/dRMqVm2OBA
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) December 11, 2021
Mild temperatures will grace the area through the first half of the work week until topping out at around 60 on Thursday, per Ricketts, which will be followed by some rain and another cold front at the start of the weekend.
Forecast
Saturday night: Windy, with a cold front coming in once the storms end in the evening.
Sunday: Breezy, seasonably cool. Highs in the low 50s.
Monday: Mostly sunny, slightly milder. Highs in mid to upper 50s.
