What's happening
This bill requires that public housing and Section 8 priority or preference given to homeless shelter residents must also be equally offered to domestic violence shelter residents.
Why it matters
Expands access to stabilized housing for survivors of domestic violence. , recognizing that they often face housing insecurity and barriers similar to those in homeless shelters, but have historically been excluded from such housing preferences.
May help reduce repeat cycles of abuse and homelessness. , as stable housing is a critical factor in enabling survivors to safely leave abusive situations and rebuild their lives.
Promotes greater fairness and equity in public housing policy. , ensuring that victims of domestic violence are not inadvertently disadvantaged in the allocation of scarce housing resources compared to other vulnerable populations.
Could increase demand on public housing and Section 8 waitlists. , potentially impacting overall wait times but reflecting a broader definition of urgent need that includes both homelessness and domestic violence.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Equal Housing for Abuse Survivors
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.353
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to housing
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–1
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
Show 2 earlier actions
- 1st report cal.208
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3767
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 26, 2017
Introduced by Sens. KLEIN, ALCANTARA, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the public housing law, in relation to preferences and priorities for prospective public housing and section 8 tenants in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 402-b of the public housing law, as added by chapter 3 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
(e) All prospective public housing and Section 8 tenants shall be selected from a waiting list which shall be maintained by the New York city housing authority in compliance with the federal public housing and Section 8 laws and all applicable rules and regulations. The New York city housing authority and each respective project owner shall screen tenants and jointly have final approval over tenant selection all in accordance with aforementioned laws, rules and regulations. All prospective public housing tenants shall be taken from the waiting list in the order in which they applied for the size appropriate unit, subject however to preferences and priorities provided for in [the public housing law] this chapter and all applicable rules and regulations; provided, however that, any priority or preference offered to applicants based on their residence in a city owned, operated or contracted homeless shelter must also be offered equitably and evenly to applicants residing in a city owned, operated or contracted domestic violence shelter or in a domestic violence shelter licensed by the office of children and family services.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08073-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public housing law, in relation to preferences and priorities for prospective public housing and section 8 tenants in the city of New York
Purpose or general idea of bill
Requires the New York City Housing Authority, in reviewing applicants, to grant homeless domestic violence victims the same preference as granted the homeless
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Amends paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 402-b of the public housing law to provide that residency in a city owned, operated or contracted domestic violence shelter shall be treated the same a residency in a city owned, operated or contracted homeless shelter, for purposes of calculating an applicant's priority status for public housing
Justification
The New York City Housing Authority currently has a significant backlog of qualified applicants for its available units, meaning that individuals and families often wait years to obtain public housing. Adding to this delay is the fact that preference categories have been created to move specific categories of applicants with particularly pressing housing needs to the top of the list. NYCHA has recently reinstated a top N-0 priority for applicants who have spent more than a year in a New York City homeless shelter. Domestic violence survivors are allowed to count time spent in a city-owned domestic violence shelter toward the one-year requirement, but not time spent in shelters operated by outside non-profits. Because the city-owned domestic violence shelter has a six month maximum length of stay, a resident or family would have to transfer to a city homeless shelter for six months instead of a privately-operated domestic violence shelter in order to qualify for N-0 status and maximize their chance of obtaining public housing. No family should be forced to choose between the security and vital services offered in a domestic violence shelter and the chance to obtain permanent housing.
Prior legislative history
2016 - This bill was S.4558/A. 7268 - Passed the Senate.
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.