Mamdani Moves to Curb CityFHEPS Expansion, Seeks Court Pause for Settlement Talks

Overview

• Facing a projected $7 billion deficit, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is reversing a campaign pledge to drop the lawsuit and implement the CityFHEPS expansion.
• City lawyers requested an adjournment, and the case is postponed for about a month as negotiations continue over a potential scale-back.
• The Council’s 2023 laws would remove the 90‑day shelter stay rule, raise income eligibility, and allow rent-demand letters to show eviction risk.
• CityFHEPS serves roughly 65,000 households; the expansion would add about 47,000, with the IBO estimating roughly $17 billion in costs over five years as program spending has already surged past $1.2 billion in 2025.
• Advocates and providers, including WIN, urge full implementation, warning of prolonged homelessness and citing a report projecting up to $635 million in shelter savings over five years.