NYC Rental Assistance Program Suit Moves Ahead Despite Talks (1)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office is going forward with an appeal of a case that could block implementation of an expanded rental assistance program using city funds.

The mayor’s office is so far unable to reach an agreement with the New York City Council and individual plaintiffs in the case over a tranche of laws passed in 2023 expanding rental assistance to New Yorkers facing eviction or homelessness, the mayor’s office said in a statement.

“This is not the end of negotiations. As the budget process advances, we will continue working toward a resolution while advancing a comprehensive, whole-of-government response to the city’s housing and homelessness crisis,” said Mamdani (D) press secretary Joe Calvello in the statement.

The city, in a Tuesday brief, asked the state Court of Appeals to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the city council and individual New Yorkers who hope to use rental assistance benefits under the expanded City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement program. Former Mayor Eric Adams (D) refused to enforce the reform laws.

The Mamdani administration echoed Adams, saying the New York Supreme Court First Appellate Department’s July decision ordering Adams to implement the program allowed the city council “to commandeer the authority that the State has delegated” to the city’s social services department.

“We have no doubt about the Council’s good motives, but the local laws are invalid,” the city said in its brief.

The brief was filed by the city’s law department, led by Corporation Counsel Steven Banks. During his confirmation hearing in February, Banks reassured city council members that he hoped to work out any issues with the council during settlement negotiations.

“We came to the table in good faith. But in the absence of an agreement so far, we are proceeding in accordance with the court’s timeline,” Calvello said.

The city council has repeatedly urged the administration to “drop this endless litigation, which only serves to delay an agreement,” council speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. “From the beginning, we have asked for a settlement that protects vulnerable New Yorkers and ensures the financial stability of this program.”

The Legal Aid Society, which represents individual plaintiffs in the case, said in a statement that “the arguments raised by the City in its appeal are unsound and were already rejected unanimously by the lower appellate court.” The group added that “it is regrettable that the Mamdani Administration has chosen to continue this litigation rather than focus on ensuring that vulnerable New Yorkers can access the housing support they urgently need.”

Win, an organization that runs 16 shelters and 450 supportive housing units across the city, “will not back down until the City has reversed course, dropped the suit, and pledged money to the CityFHEPs voucher program,” said Christine C. Quinn, the organization’s president and CEO. Win filed an amicus brief in the lower court in favor of the city council.

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP represents the city council. The city’s law department represents Mamdani.

The case is In the Matter of Vincent v. Adams, N.Y., No. APL-2025-00188, brief 3/24/26.