Christine Quinn’s nonprofit released an analysis showing CityFHEPS rental voucher expansion would save $635 million, contrary to a finding by the Citizens Budget Commission.
But consider the source: Quinn’s mission is to help the homeless, so it’s no surprise that her study concluded that giving them vouchers saves the city money.
The budget group’s agenda is fiscal prudence. If vouchers saved money, the CBC would have every incentive to endorse issuing more of them.
Instead it found that “short-term savings are fleeting and vouchers cost more than shelter over time.”
“Rental housing vouchers require substantial subsidy and have not reduced the demand for shelter,” the commission wrote. “The city cannot voucher its way out of the housing affordability crisis.”
A CityFHEPS voucher costs $54.80 per day. Shelters cost $144 for an individual and $270 for a family. But voucher payments run for five years or more. The average shelter stay is 15 months.
Also, the state and federal governments contribute to shelter costs, while the city pays for CityFHEPS on its own.
Quinn’s nonprofit, WIN, doesn’t want families to spend 15 months in shelters. That likely influenced its decision to use a methodology that showed vouchers save money.
WIN claims that CBC didn’t account for people returning to shelters, which WIN says vouchers would reduce. CBC says it did account for that.
I didn’t get into the weeds on their math, but shelter population counts suggest that CBC is right: As the city handed out lots more vouchers in the past two years, the shelter head count did not go down. It went up — even with the migrant surge ending.
Over that time, the number of single adults in shelters rose by 22 percent. The small number of adult couples in shelters remained flat.
The families-with-children shelter population has dropped by 10 percent since January 2024, but largely because migrants stopped arriving. The family shelter head count has more than doubled since January 2022, even as voucher funding increased nearly sevenfold.
What we’re thinking about: When the House passed the Housing in the 21st Century Act 390-9 on Feb. 9, one of the “nay” votes came from California, the state with the most acute housing shortage. It was cast by Republican Tom McClintock. Three Arizona representatives also voted against it. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston was the only Democrat to oppose the bill. Send your thoughts to eengquist@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Compass has rolled out a $225 fee paid by the buyer or seller at every closing, which has upset some of the brokerage’s agents — as have some other upcharges that Compass is testing. Share your comments with residential reporter Jake Indursky: jacob.indursky@therealdeal.com.
Elsewhere…
Is earthquake evacuation a legitimate reason to oppose residential development? Earthquakes are unpredictable and last an average of 12 seconds, which doesn’t provide much opportunity to evacuate. But that didn’t stop a NIMBY group in Los Angeles County from writing in a newsletter to its members, “Wind driven fires, earthquakes and floods happen without warning. Are we prepared to handle evacuation of our neighborhoods as more housing is being built?” Locals are fighting plans to redevelop part of a Woodland Hills golf course.
Closing time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Tuesday was $52.5 million for 432 Park Avenue, 78A/B. The Midtown East condo is 8,300 square feet. Per reports, the seller is an entity run by CIM Group. Serhant’s Glenn Davis has the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $121 million for the Nomo Soho Hotel at 9 Crosby Street. Sapir Organization sold the 264-key property to Dan Hotels, according to reports.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $8.2 million for 45 East 82nd Street, Unit 8. The Upper East Side co-op is 3,600 square feet. Compass’ Cornelia H. Van Amburg and Chris Mutterer have the listing.
— Joseph Jungermann
