Maritza Rico
Policy & Advocacy Manager
December 3, 2025

Thank you, New York City Council Deputy Speaker Ayala, members of the Committee on General Welfare, and Council Central Staff for the opportunity to submit written testimony on the legislative package on CityFHEPS process improvements.

 

ABOUT NEW DESTINY

New Destiny is the only organization in New York City solely dedicated to the solution of permanent housing for survivors of domestic violence, the number one cause of family homelessness in the five boroughs. We operate the biggest and longest-running rapid rehousing program for survivors in our city. This program, which relies on funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the New York City continuum of Care (CoC), helps survivors with CityFHEPS, and other rental subsidies, find safe housing they can afford, while supportive services to promote long-term housing stability. 

We are a co-convener of the Family Homelessness Coalition (FHC), a group of organizations committed to tackling housing insecurity among families with children and people with lived experience of family homelessness in our city. New Destiny is also a member of the Supportive Housing Network of New York and the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development.

 

CityFHEPS

We deeply appreciate the Council’s efforts, especially from this committee, to address administrative burdens associated with the CityFHEPS program through this legislation package. The CityFHEPS program is critical for the more than 50,000 households, including survivors and children, who rely on it to afford their rent. Especially at a moment when the federal is dismantling housing programs, like the CoC, the city must prioritize the full implementation of the CityFHEPS expansion that was passed into law in 2023 and ensure robust funding and streamlined processing for CityFHEPS.  

As we have testified in the past, we also oppose the proposed elimination of the unit hold fee, an important incentive to ensure participation in the program by property owners. Alongside FHC, we applaud the Council’s leadership in voting to override Mayor Adams’s veto of legislation that will protect CityFHEPS recipients from rent increases. 

New Destiny’s housing navigators work directly with voucher holders every day and understand the dysfunctions of CityFHEPS. We know firsthand how vulnerable many survivors are to return to homelessness or their abuser if they were to lose their voucher. New Destiny has gathered survivors’ experiences, where CityFHEPS administrative issues have led to months’ long waits, re-admittance to shelter, and in the worst cases, returning to unsafe housing.

 

Introductions 1458, 1459, and 1477

New Destiny is grateful to Council Member Brewers for proposing this legislation package. These bills address the inspection process, response times to applications, and data reporting. We strongly support the intent, and we are encouraged by the focus on these issues. Upon careful review, New Destiny proposed a series of recommendations to further strengthen the bills and improve the CityFHEPS program. 

Regarding Intro 1458, requiring DSS to conduct habitability assessments before approving a CityFHEPS units, we are very supportive of improvements to the inspection process. New Destiny is encouraged by the proposed changes that would allow for quick fixes to be made on the spot. We have questions as to how the proposed process interacts with the existing Apartment Review Checklist (ARC), if these reiterate it or replace it. Additional checklists might create confusion, repetition, and inefficiency. 

Regarding Intro 1459, regarding lease-up time reporting, we are grateful for this effort that will greatly assist advocates in tracking CityFHEPS outcomes. New Destiny requests that the bill language specifies that “the issuance of a housing voucher” means issuance of a “shopping letter,” for accurate time accounting. Further, we would like to request that additional data points are reported to make this information actionable, for instance, mandating that the lease-up time counting begins at the first shopping letter in the most recent bout of homelessness – as many times, several shopping letters are issued and expired before lease-up is completed. Additionally, reporting the number of shopping letters issued before lease-up per bout of homelessness would also be a necessary addition to make this reporting accurate and useful for advocates.   

And finally, regarding Intro 1477, which mandates a 15-day response time to CityFHEPS applications from DSS. Speed is critical for survivors of domestic violence attempting to leave an unsafe situation. Yet, New Destiny has encountered issues with the application itself that quicker response times do not address. Minor issues, such as a typo or spelling out an acronym, can trigger a rejection of an application package altogether and require restarting the process. New Destiny is concerned that a mandated 15-day response time may lead to more rejections of applications. Greater flexibility for corrections to be made without requiring a new package submission would help ensure a smoother process. If this bill moves forward as written, we ask that the language specifies that this timeline accounts for both DHS and HRA review to prevent delays in both agencies. 

New Destiny remains committed to working with the Council to ensure that the CityFHEPS program works efficiently. We are happy to answer all of your questions. 

Thank you for your leadership and the opportunity to submit written testimony.