NYC Families Seeking Shelter Have to Prove They’re Homeless. A New Bill Would Simplify That Process.  - City Limits A new bill takes aim at the city's shelter intake process that requires homeless families to prove they are indeed homeless.

In NYC, homeless families have to go through a screening process to confirm they are indeed homeless in order to be eligible for housing services. A new @council.nyc.gov bill looks to make that process faster and easier, @patrickspauster.com reports: citylimits.org/nyc-families...

Should families have to prove they are homeless in order to access services? A new Council bill would make DHS take them at their word.

In @citylimitsnews.bsky.social I dive into why city "fraud investigators" assess a family's eligibility for shelter-and whether it's necessary. buff.ly/RiL7QJq

We are sooooo back

And here's what the admin themselves counts as their accomplishments on housing, from a press release today:

100 Days In, Mamdani’s Housing Chief Says City Hall Will Stand Up for Tenants—And Work With Real Estate "I reject the premise that us going after bad landlords is the same thing as not working with the real estate industry. They are two different things," said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning…

The Mamdani admin says it's 'both, and': they are standing w/ tenants against "bad landlords" and working with real estate to build more housing.

I asked DM for housing and planning Bozorg about the first 100 days of housing policy @citylimitsnews.bsky.social
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Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on State Budget Negotiations & Top Priorities Max Politics · Episode

"I didn't know about it,"-Sen. maj. leader in response to
@citylimitsnews.bsky.social & @hellgatenyc.com reporting on Sepulveda's law practice no shows & judge spat. "I would hope that he takes everything seriously but I have no complaints as it relates to his role on the judiciary"

NY State Senator & Judiciary Chair Sepúlveda Was No-Show for Housing Court Clients On at least four occasions, New York State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, who also has a private law practice, failed to appear in court for tenants he was defending from eviction. Housing court judges…

“I’d like to know why you are not here,” the judge said over the phone. “It is not appropriate to not appear on multiple occasions.”

Sepúlveda replied that he was “not in New York State right now.”

citylimits.org/ny-state-sen...

State Senator Repeatedly Failed Clients in Court One expert called Senator Luis Sepúlveda's record of missed deadlines, incorrect paperwork, and no-shows "professional negligence.”

More good details about Sen. Sepúlvedas legal failings from @sammellins.bsky.social @nysfocus.com—which extend beyond the no-shows in housing court I covered—plus he made at least $345,000 on his (sometimes shoddy) legal services since 2017

“I reject the premise that us going after bad landlords is the same thing as not working with the real estate industry. They are two different things,” Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg told @patrickspauster.com, as the Mamdani administration marks its first 100 days. citylimits.org/100-days-in-...

It was a scene in housing court Monday. Attorneys told me it was sloppy work that--if they did it--might get them fired

After one judge ruled against the frustrated senator last month, the judge abruptly resigned, only to appear back on the bench earlier this week.
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State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda-who chairs the NY Sen. judiciary committee-has no-showed court appearances in 4/5 recent eviction defense cases he's argued, frustrating judges and risking his client's eviction.

My scoop in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social buff.ly/m4dgx37

The mayor is doing a Reddit AMA for tenants this afternoon at 1:45. Comments and questions are already pouring in.

www.reddit.com/r/nyc/s/nYmg...

March 2026 by Patrick Spauster on Apple Music Playlist · 28 Songs

March 2026 w
Jordan ward
Snail mail
Baby keem
DERBY
RAYE
Damien Dempsey
open.spotify.com/playlist/5Dn...
🍏 music.apple.com/us/playlist/...

Ever called 311 because you didn't have heat? Did your complaint go nowhere?

I traced what actually happens to 311 complaints about heat and hot water issues, which are at all time high in NYC.

Only a small fraction get an inspection or result in a violation.

During the winter cold spell, when the city's housing agency received a record number of complaints of no heat or hot water, over half of them were tagged as duplicates and were closed out without direct follow up.

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For lack of heat, it doesn’t just feel like tenants’ complaints are going unanswered; in some cases, they actually are.

My @citylimitsnews.bsky.social investigation on how a duplicate-tagging system shortchanges some tenants to maximize efficiency + what the mayor might do about it
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“their toddler daughter lost weight during their first month’s stay at a shelter hotel in Queens. “Our main concern was her nutrition—that she would grow and be strong,””

Important investigation into food at NYC shelters that isn’t nutritious enough for many shelter residents.

First look at this years income and expense data from the Rent Guidelines Board, which will shape debate on the “rent freeze” the mayor has called for

My intuition is this is really about buying more time for negotiations on the expensive expansion on a deadline, not the substance of the appeal.

Compounding the awkwardness, Mamdani has to rely on arguments made by his predecessor in a case he said he'd drop.

The Mamdani admin was forced to appeal in the CityFHEPS case after they were unable to strike a deal on an expensive program expansion, the latest development in a long fight. in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social both sides say they expect negotiations on a compromise to continue. buff.ly/ut7mylq

It’s not great yall

"Even before the recent cold spell, more than a million households across New York were two months or more behind on their energy bills, totaling $1.84 billion in debt, more than double what was owed before the pandemic, state lawmakers said in December. "

In @citylimitsnews.bsky.social: Joseph Jones says his landlord is retaliating against tenants with vouchers who spoke up about the prohibitively high cost of amenities in his building. After he did, they removed all the furniture from the lobby-the one place they could hang for free buff.ly/PBrdPGs

Crazy graph in today's piece on wild gas bills in NYC this winter in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social

$340 average gas bill in February!

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While Affordable Housing Tenants Pay Extra for Amenities, Some Market Rate Renters Get Them For Free - City Limits While high prices lock some New York City affordable housing tenants out of their luxury building’s amenities—like game rooms, gyms, co-working spaces, and lounges—some of their market-rate neighbors ...

While high prices lock some New York City affordable housing tenants out of their luxury building’s amenities—like game rooms, gyms, co-working spaces, and lounges—some of their market-rate neighbors are getting the perks for free, @patrickspauster.com found: citylimits.org/while-afford...

Some market tenants in mixed-income buildings are getting amenity fees waived while lottery & voucher tenants say they are priced prohibitively high. My follow up on how amenity fees create income-segregated spaces, a new sort of "poor door" in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social buff.ly/PBrdPGs

Hit the streets & talked to homeless NYrs & advocates about the Mamdani admin's approach to homeless encampments, which it says centers outreach. Much skepticism remains--it's not outreach but having the right housing placement that makes a difference. w/@jeanmarieevelly.bsky.social buff.ly/4rMR3KI

Mamdani Sits Down With Tenants at Bronx ‘Rental Ripoff’ Hearing, And What Else Happened This Week in Housing “These are conversations that will deliver dignity to New Yorkers by getting those leaks fixed, by restoring that heat, by putting an end to the kinds of unaffordable fees that we have come to accept…

The mayor spoke to tenants in the Bronx this week at the latest rental ripoff hearing. He made sure to strike a different tone w/ NYCHA residents who had been critical of the hearings' focus on private landlords. That and more housing news from the week @citylimitsnews.bsky.social buff.ly/TMXSXcJ

Mamdani wants to build Mitchell-Lama style aff hsg at Sunnyside. But the city's existing Mitchell-Lamas are in tough shape, a new report finds. Exactly how its governed is fraught, and tenants often pay the price of poor conditions. In @citylimitsnews.bsky.social
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Housing leaders are previewing city housing plan @thenyhc.bsky.social. It has 4 pillars: preservation, production, NYCHA, and tenant protection.

On the last, HPD boss Dina Levy says small group of bad LL has been torturing tenants “it’s time we put professional slumlords out of business.”

New State Housing Vouchers Will Serve About 1,000 NYC Households. Lawmakers Say It’s Not Enough A new rental assistance program launching this week will help some low income households afford rent. But its reach is far smaller than advocates hoped, and isn’t keeping up with the need, they

NEW: the state Housing Access Voucher Program launched in NYC this week. But NYC housing is so expensive that the $32.5M from the pilot program will fund just ~1,000 vouchers. Housers want far more. Here's how you can apply if you're in shelter @citylimits.news.bsky.social ->
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