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CONGRESSMAN

JERROLD
NADLER

8th Congressional
District of New York

Nadler
Cheers Resolution of New York City
Section 8 Voucher Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 1, 2010
CONTACT: Ilan Kayatsky, 212-367-7350

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
commended the City of New York, particularly the Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Housing Authority
(NYCHA), for working to restore Section 8 vouchers to 2,600 needy
families.  Nadler, joined by colleagues and community organizations, had expressed
his outrage over the City’s previous errors in regard
to allocation of vouchers and voiced his concern for the 2,600 families who
have since faced entering the shelter system or homelessness.  He has
consistently fought for increased funding of the Section 8 program in Congress
and has successfully passed amendments on the floor of the House to do just
that.

“I want to thank the City for stepping up and answering the calls
of tenants and elected officials to provide for the thousands of New Yorkers
who, through no fault on their own, fell into the cracks of housing
bureaucracy,” said Nadler.  “I am very pleased that the City
was able to put together a creative plan using its already appropriated federal
subsidies to address the needs of the people they are funded to serve. 
NYCHA should never have promised vulnerable tenants vouchers that it could not honor,
but I hope this serves as a lesson in better administration and fiscal
responsibility.  There are unfortunately still over 1,000 families who
will be left waiting for Section 8 vouchers to come available by attrition, and
we must ensure that they are not permanently left to fend for
themselves.”

Today’s proposal by HPD, NYCHA, and the New York State Division
of Housing and Community Renewal will use HPD’s existing federal funds to
pay for the vouchers and create a rental assistance program, which will prevent
the termination of Section 8 subsidies to current voucher holders and restore
vouchers to 1,500 families whose vouchers were rescinded in December. 
This plan will reduce NYCHA’s 2010 budget deficit and prevent voucher
terminations.  Without this plan, NYCHA could be forced to terminate
thousands of families from the program or reduce rental subsidies for
approximately 45,000 families, which would increase their rent burden.

In cooperation with the New York City Department of Homeless Services
(DHS), HPD and NYCHA will prioritize vouchers for the most vulnerable of the
2,600 families, selecting 1,500 to receive immediate assistance.  The
remaining families will be served as NYCHA Section 8 vouchers become available.

In December 2009, NYCHA rescinded 2,600 vouchers from low-income New
Yorkers in search of affordable housing.  Those whose vouchers were
terminated included referrals from DHS, victims of domestic violence,
intimidated witnesses, and children aging out of foster care.  It was
later revealed that, beginning in May 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development had urged NYCHA to stop issuing new Section 8 vouchers
because it had no money left to fund them.  Nevertheless, NYCHA continued
to issue vouchers without any warning to families that they may be worthless.

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Jerrold
Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He represents New
York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.