Understand how New York City is investing in shelter, social services, and housing development
On June 30th, Mayor Mamdani and the City Council agreed on a $125.8 billion FY27 budget for New York City. This includes the CityFHEPS expansion, an expansion of Fair Fares, and funding for new affordable housing. There are many wins to celebrate within this budget, but HSU will continue to keep its eye on the rollout of the new CityFHEPS program and the future of programs like NYCBenefits. Read on to see our breakdown of the City’s budget regarding homelessness, housing, and benefits.
CityFHEPS
After months of continued advocacy, the Mamdani Administration has finally agreed to drop the lawsuit challenging the 2023 expansion and move forward with a new deal that will provide $175 million this year (FY27) and $125 million in FY28 for a new rental assistance program that will be administered by HPD, expected to start in six months.
The existing CityFHEPS program will remain unchanged, including its current eligibility requirements. The new rental assistance program will provide support for two new populations: (1) assistance for tenants in rent-regulated housing who are facing eviction and need help remaining in their apartments, as well as domestic violence survivors and individuals facing other qualifying circumstances who need to relocate; and (2) assistance for people staying in DYCD, MOCJ, HPD vacate order, DHS, or HRA shelters who are ineligible for CityFHEPS because they do not meet the work requirement or have incomes above 200% of the federal poverty level but below 50% of the area median income (AMI).
Other Rental Assistance
There was also $1.4 million dedicated to Housing Stability Microgrants for Domestic Violence Survivors, including $366,000 Increased funding for Domestic Violence and Cybercrimes on Staten Island.
DHS Budget Overview
You can read the entire Budget Function Analysis for DHS here. This budget also includes $820,000 for the Citywide Homeless Prevention Fund and funding for 1,937 full-time positions throughout DHS. In total, the department will receive $4.2 billion, which breaks down into the following functions:
| Budget Function | Adopted FY26 Plan | Difference | Adopted FY27 Plan | % of Total DHS Budget |
| Adult Shelter Administration and Support | $8,575,000 | -$376,000 | $8,199,000 | 0.2 |
| Adult Shelter Intake and Placement | $23,657,000 | +$8,575,000 | $24,832,000 | 0.6 |
| Adult Shelter Operations | $979,492,000 | +$395,082,000 | $1,374,574,000 | 32.6 |
| Family Shelter Administration and Support | $14,744,000 | -$595,000 | $14,149,000 | 0.3 |
| Family Shelter Intake and Placement | $31,037,000 | -$13,000 | $31,024,000 | 0.7 |
| Family Shelter Operations | $1,069,184,000 | +$134,718,000 | $1,203,902,000 | 28.5 |
| General Administration | $1,004,845,000 | +$123,384,000 | $1,128,229,000 | 26.7 |
| Outreach, Drop-in, and Reception Services | $422,853,000 | +$32,000,000 | $455,166,000 | 10.8 |
| Prevention and Aftercare | $0 | $0 | $0 (since 2023) | 0 |
| Rental Assistance and Housing Placement | $39,000 | $0 | $39,000 | 0.001 |
Housing
Capital Budget
HPD has dedicated $847.5 million to NYCHA out of their almost $5 billion total capital budget. This includes $1.5 billion for new construction, $800 million for Special Needs Housing, $1 billion for NYCHA preservation, and $840 million for NYCHA capital. This year’s budget also added $5 billion for new affordable housing capital funds for FY26 to FY31. Additionally, funding for new construction for the next two years is $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion, and funding for HPD preservation is $1.3 billion and $1.3 billion. While the Mayor’s Block by Block housing plan was enacted in May, with the goal of preserving 200,00 affordable housing units and building 200,00 affordable housing units, it will require funding through FY28 to be effective.
Expense Budget
- $5.1 million dedicated to Homeowner Stabilization Services
- Including Estate Planning Assistance, Foreclosure Prevention, and Deed Theft and Pre-Purchase Counseling
- $3.7 million dedicated to Stabilizing NYC
- $3.6 million dedicated to Community Housing Preservation Strategies
- $2 million dedicated to Tax Lien Sale Outreach and Assistance
- $1.8 million dedicated to Home Loan Program
- $1.5 million dedicated to Community Land Trust
- $650,000 for Housing Court Answers
- $450,000 dedicated to Financial Empowerment for NYC’s Renters
- $300,000 for Housing Information Project
Social Services & Benefit Programs
The new budget preserves the NYCBenefits program and allocates $11.7 million in funding. Unfortunately, this year’s budget does not make the long-term commitment to keep the program running beyond FY27.
In addition to the already allocated $126 for Fair Fares, this budget includes an additional $54 million to expand eligibility up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Regarding mental health, this year’s budget also included $4.5 million for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Expansion, $11 million for Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) Expansion, $2.5 million for Crisis Respite Centers, and $4.5 million for Mobile Treatment Step Down Program.