By The Diary
Thousands of New Yorkers could be homeless by the end of this year as funds from a federal housing voucher program run out (EHV) much earlier than expected.
“It’s exhausting, it’s traumatizing, it’s a shame,” he told ABC News Lashonne Smith, who lives in Brooklyn and since 2022 has benefited from that help to pay a portion of her rent, known as Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV), from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
She is one of the most 5,200 people in the New York City area who will lose their housing vouchers. There are 70,000 people affected throughout the country. Smith, a mother of two, said she was very shocked when she received the notification. “I got an email and when I saw the NYCHA logo, I almost fell to the ground,” he said. “I felt like a bomb had fallen on me.”
It was an email from the NYC Public Housing Authoritywhich administers federal funds at the local level, which reported that The funding “will run out by the end of 2026 and NYCHA will no longer be able to make EHV subsidy payments for your apartment.” The notice also indicated that the municipal agency is “working to find alternative subsidized housing options.”
In New York, EHVs help find housing for people who are homeless, at risk of being homeless, or victims of domestic violence. Works an identical to Section 8where participants pay approximately only 30% of their income in rent and the subsidy covers the rest.
Congress created these coupons through the American Rescue Act of 2021, at the end of the pandemic. Federal funds were intended to provide housing to the most vulnerable sectors of the country, but funding is being discontinued four years ahead of schedule (September 30, 2030)due to the rapid depletion of funds caused by high increases in rental prices.
The notice NYCHA is sending also states that EHV voucher holders must complete an application for their public housing program; However, there is no guarantee that they will be assigned a place to live. At the moment The waiting list has more than 150,000 people registered and some apartments have been illegally invaded.
In a statement sent to the investigation team of ABC NewsNYCHA stated: “Last year the federal government announced that it would end the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) Program early, as funds would run out at the end of 2026. In order to receive an offer of alternative subsidized housing from NYCHA, EHV program participants must complete an application for the public housing program. NYCHA encourages residents to submit their application before May 1 and will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis throughout the summer. NYCHA will begin offering alternative options to EHV program participants on a phased basis, beginning in the spring.”
In a follow-up email, NYCHA asked prospective tenants on the waiting list to “…please stay tuned for any future correspondence,” and informed them that “…you will be contacted, both by mail and email, with next steps.”
To consider:
-New York City Public Housing Authority (NYCHA) has more inhabitants than the entire population of cities like Boston or Denver.
-Affordable housing is a constant concern in NYC: according to a recent study, more than 16,300 apartments will go on the market in New York after office conversion due to financial and demographic pressures and incentives supported by the local government. But their rents are not cheap.
-In August 2025, the New York City Council approved a rezoning map that would allow the construction of some 9,500 new homes on Midtown Lengthy Island, where decades-old zoning regulations had blocked new residential buildings.
–To report a case of housing discrimination or ask questions about this issue, you can visit this page of the NYC Public Defender’s Office.
- Increasingly expensive rentals in New York: record prices in Lengthy island and Brooklyn
- Controlled Income vs. Stabilized Income