Housing Investments in the NY State Budget Support Poverty Reduction
Testimony & Public Comments
February 27, 2025
On Thursday, February 27, Policy and Advocacy Associate Juan Diaz submitted testimony to the New York State joint legislative hearing on the topic of budget investments and housing. On behalf of CCC, the testimony addresses budget investments that tackle housing insecurity across the state, especially as widespread housing instability persists for hundreds of thousands of households. CCC urges state leaders to fund a well-supported statewide housing voucher (HAVP), protect NY families against any federal budget cuts to HUD, and allocate additional NYCHA funding.
Read the testimony below.
Testimony of Juan Diaz, Policy and Advocacy Associate
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York
Submitted to the New York State FY 2026 Joint Legislative Budget Proposal: Topic Housing
February 27th, 2025
Since 1944, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York has served as an independent, multi-issue child advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring every New York child is healthy, housed, educated, and safe. CCC does not accept or receive public resources, provide direct services, or represent a sector or workforce; our priority is improving outcomes for children and families through civic engagement, research, and advocacy. We document the facts, engage and mobilize New Yorkers, and advocate for solutions to ensure the wellbeing of New York’s children, families, and communities.
Thank you, Chair Pretlow and Chair Krueger, as well as all the members of the Assembly Ways and Means, Senate Finance, Assembly and Senate Children and Families, and Assembly and Senate Social Services Committees for holding today’s Joint Hearing today and allowing us the opportunity to respond to Governor Hochul’s FY26 Executive Budget.
CCC is a co-convener of the Family Homelessness Coalition, made up of organizations representing service and housing providers, children’s advocacy organizations, and people with lived experience in homelessness, united by the goal of preventing family homelessness, improving the well-being of children and families in shelters, and supporting the long-term stability of families with children who leave shelter.
In New York, 2 out of 5 households pay more than 30% of their income towards rent, and 1 in 5 pay over 50% of their income towards rent. The recently released NY State Comptroller’s Office report highlights that the number of homeless children has more than doubled between 2022 (20,299 children) and 2024 (50,773 children). The same report revealed that 32% of New York’s homeless people are under the age of 18, one of the highest shares in the nation.[i] Statewide, more than 100,000 New Yorkers experiencing homelessness sleep in a shelter or on the street on any given night, and thousands more sleep doubled up with friends and family in overcrowded units.[ii]
Housing voucher programs have proven to be incredibly effective in enabling families with children to exit shelter. For instance, in New York City, during FY24, 70% of families with children who exited shelter did so with subsides – mostly the City’s local rental assistance voucher, CityFHEPS. 11.8% of families that exited without assistance returned to shelter within one year, compared to only .6% of those who exited with assistance.[iii]
Although Governor Hochul has proposed significant investments to increase affordable housing stock across the state, more immediate investments are needed to prevent evictions and family homelessness.
We therefore urge the inclusion of a statewide housing voucher in the adopted FY2026 Budget. This proposal would operate much like the federal Section 8 program and would assist populations on the brink of homelessness or in shelter, regardless of their immigration status.
The Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) – established by Governor Hochul under the Child Poverty Reduction Act – has endorsed a statewide housing voucher. According to the Urban Institute, a statewide rental assistance program available to all unsubsidized renting households below 50% AMI would have a significant impact in reducing child poverty by 15.7% over the next decade.[iv]
Legislation by Assembly Member Rosenthal and Senator Kavanaugh (A1704/S72) would result in the creation of a statewide housing voucher that would help 13,000 households find permanent housing or remain stably housed and avoid homelessness altogether. This would be a lifeline for the thousands of New Yorkers currently facing homelessness and over 1 million more who are at risk of eviction.[v]
Additionally, we urge the State Government to allocate an additional $900 million in funding for the FY26 budget for NYCHA to address major capital improvements. Federal divestment and disrepair of NYCHA buildings has led to thousands of vacant apartments being considered too inhabitable to rent. According to a recent study by Community Service Society, it would cost $4.5 billion over the next 5 years (or $900 million annually) to preserve 15,000 NYCHA units and 25,000 units of public housing outside of NYC, as well as build 8,000 new units across the state.[vi]
Finally, we urge state leaders to ensure that the state protects New York families against any federal budget cuts to HUD and other critical federal housing programs. This is a time for New York to stand strong in the face of federal threats, and to recommit addressing the systemic inequities facing children and families in our state long before this federal administration. We look forward to standing with our state leaders as you fight for all New Yorkers and recognize that investing in children and families now results in a better future for all.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony and for your consideration of these recommendations.
