Pushed by Council, Mayor Adams agrees to help shelter residents apply for housing

Mayor Eric Adams announced on Friday that his administration would eliminate a rule requiring people to stay in shelters for at least 90 days before they can apply to a city rental subsidy program.

While housing affordability has been at crisis levels for years, New York City faces increasing pressure to move people out of its shelter system amid the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants over the past year. More than 97,000 people currently live in city-run shelters; roughly half of them are migrants.

The mayor’s executive order, which takes effect immediately, comes after the City Council overwhelmingly passed a package of bills last month that would not only lift the so-called 90-day rule but also expand the pool of people eligible for rental subsidies and protect them from eviction.

But Adams said he only supports ending the 90-day rule, and has argued that the other measures would cost the city billions to implement.

“It's just not going to add up for taxpayers unless people are talking about raising taxes,” he told reporters on Friday after signing the order.

The mayor and the Council disagree over the full cost of implementing all of the Council’s legislation. The Council’s estimates come out to $11 billion over five years, while the mayor’s budget officials say the total cost is closer to $17 billion.

City officials estimate that removing the 90-day rule would cost around $123 million annually.

The Council responded to Friday’s executive order by taking Adams to task for waiting so long to do away with a key obstacle for shelter residents. The mayor’s own housing chief, Jessica Katz, said last June that the administration would pursue suspending the rule.

Katz, who was among those present at Friday’s signing, is expected to leave this summer in one of several high-profile departures from the Adams administration.

“The 90-day rule is just one of several counterproductive barriers that the administration failed to take action to eliminate, leaving too many New Yorkers stuck in shelters far longer than necessary,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who called the city’s efforts to move people out of shelters “inadequate.”

The speaker defended the Council’s housing package, saying it “importantly codifies the change and provides a more comprehensive approach to remove other obstacles to housing vouchers that can help protect New Yorkers.”

The mayor has considered vetoing the bills he opposes, a decision that would set up a battle with the Council. The entire suite of bills passed with a veto-proof majority, meaning that the administration must convince eight members to change their votes.

The mayor can veto the bills until 30 days after their passage. Otherwise, they would lapse into law.

Asked at the news conference whether he would veto the package, the mayor said his team is still deciding what to do.

The Legal Aid Society is among the advocacy groups urging the mayor to sign the Council’s legislation given the lack of progress by state lawmakers to address the city’s affordable housing crisis.

“Following Albany's failure to advance any significant policy this session to address the state’s unprecedented housing crisis, it’s now incumbent on Mayor Adams to sign these crucial bills into law immediately,” the group said in a statement.