NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE VOTER GUIDE: HOMELESSNESS & HOUSING
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NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE VOTER GUIDE: HOMELESSNESS & HOUSING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 Introduction
04 About RxHome
06 How to Use this Voter Guide
10 Summary of Mayoral Candidate Policy Platforms
17 Candidate Responses to RxHome’s Mayoral Questionnaire
70 How to Register and Vote in the 2021 NYC Municipal Election
75 List of Acronyms & Glossary
78 Additional Resources
80 Acknowledgements
i
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
How Your Vote Can End Homelessness
This year’s election will be unlike any other in New York City history. The implementation of ranked choice
voting—in tandem with the impact of the pandemic on our city’s civic fabric, the massive turnover in city
government leadership due to term limits and the uncharacteristically large field of candidates vying for
mayor—creates an unprecedented opportunity for civic engagement to spur long-term change. Voting in
both the primary and general elections can ensure that our next elected leaders commit to ending
homelessness. New York City needs a leader who will create the structures and systems that prioritize
permanent housing over emergency shelter, ultimately making homelessness a rare, brief and
nonrecurring experience for New Yorkers.
Even with more than 8.4 million people in New York City, each voter’s voice matters. In 2013—the last
mayoral election year without an incumbent—only 22% of registered Democratic voters (fewer than
700,000 people) participated in the primary election. De Blasio won that primary election with just over
282,000 votes, meaning that approximately 1% of New Yorkers determined our current city leadership.
COVID-19 has raised the stakes even higher. This past year has revealed just how many New Yorkers are
on the brink of homelessness and the racial disparities among those facing housing instability. The dual
health and economic crises—both of which disproportionately impact Black and Latino families—only
exacerbated the existing homelessness crisis. In the wake of the pandemic, New York is not only continuing
to manage a public health crisis, but also a looming avalanche of evictions, record unemployment and
growing income inequality.
However, the recovery is an opportunity for swift change. The next mayor of New York City will play a
major role in realizing this opportunity to end and prevent homelessness. The New York City mayor has
the power to take sweeping action without approval from other government bodies and can immediately
redesign the city’s homeless service system by putting permanent housing ahead of temporary shelter.
New Yorkers have a real opportunity to help move our neighbors experiencing homelessness off the
streets, out of shelters and into stable homes for good. By voting in the upcoming primary and general
elections, New Yorkers can choose who will make the investments that create a healthier, safer, equitable
and more just city—where everyone has a place to call home.
01
State of the Crisis in New York City
77,943 New Yorkers experienced homelessness on a single night in New York City in January 2020—
nearly double the capacity of Citi Field. While many people think street homelessness drives this crisis,
only about 5% of people in New York City experiencing homelessness live on the street. In fact, 95% of all
New Yorkers experiencing homelessness live in a shelter facility and are effectively invisible to the general
public. In other words, for every one person living on the street, there are twenty people living in shelters,
many of whom are children and their families.
Children and their families bear the brunt of New York City’s homelessness crisis. Families account for
more than 60% of city shelter residents and children themselves account for more than one third. Family
homelessness in New York City has increased 40% in the last decade, and one out of every four American
families experiencing homelessness in the United States live in New York City. The average family spends
495 days in a city shelter before moving into permanent housing.
Homelessness is indisputably both a public health crisis and racial justice issue. Experiencing homelessness
makes it harder to become and remain healthy. Living in shelters during a child’s early years can cause
irreversible damage to their health and development that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
Children who experience homelessness—even prenatally and for short periods—are at increased risk for
asthma, hospitalizations, developmental delays, mental health conditions, food insecurity and educational
barriers. These inequities are much more prevalent in communities of color. As a result of centuries of
discrimination, Black and Latino households disproportionately experience homelessness and housing
instability compared to white households nationwide and in New York City, compounding economic and
health issues for these communities throughout the city.
How Did We Get Here?
Ultimately, the ever-growing number of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness is a policy choice. The
New York City homeless response system is designed to manage homelessness, rather than solve it. New
York City and State are legally mandated to provide emergency shelter accommodations to individuals
experiencing homelessness, as established in Callahan v. Carey (1981) and subsequent lawsuits (1983,
1986, 2020). The right to shelter mandate has led the New York City Department of Homeless Services to
pursue a myopic, shelter-focused strategy that looks to “prevent and address homelessness in New York
City” rather than solve it with permanent housing. But a right to shelter does not preclude addressing
homelessness with housing. Shelter can—and really must—be defined as permanent housing rather than
temporary emergency facilities.
By choosing to focus on shelter instead of housing, the city institutionalizes poverty, denies households
experiencing housing instability— who are disproportionately Black and Latino—the resources that would
allow them to avoid the trauma of homelessness and ultimately hides people experiencing homelessness in
emergency shelter facilities. For example, the system mandates a minimum 90-day shelter stay for most
families to even qualify for rental assistance, which forces nearly 700 families into shelters instead of long-
term housing each month. This policy, and others that prioritize shelter and services over housing, are
steeped in the incorrect belief that not everyone experiencing homelessness is “housing ready” and that
everyone needs “stabilizing services'' before being connected to permanent housing. Without exception,
everyone is housing ready and deserves to have a place they can call their home.
The city also lacks a coordinated, data driven process to address homelessness, resulting in an inefficient
and often ineffective patchwork system across 19 agencies that frequently fails to meet the needs of
people facing homelessness. Fundamentally, these policies undervalue and ignore the input of those
directly impacted by homelessness, who time and again identify needing help paying rent and finding
affordable permanent housing as their primary needs.
The overuse of shelter facilities and the siloing of the homeless response systems creates the dangerous
appearance that homelessness is a problem only for people living on the streets. This undermines and
diminishes the daily lived experiences of tens of thousands of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness
who deserve solutions, and not to be relegated to the shadows.
02
Solving Homelessness in New York City
Historically, New York City’s “right to shelter” mandate has led officials to believe that the city is required
to focus only on shelters for its residents in need. However, this simply isn’t true. The next administration
shouldn’t remain beholden to the rigid consent decree’s stipulation of providing emergency shelter. Shelter
must be defined as permanent housing. A housing first approach can coexist with a right to shelter, and it
can do so while providing a pathway to permanent housing for those who need it and help keep people out
of shelters in the first place.
The majority of New Yorkers staying in the city’s shelter system just need help paying their rent. By
redesigning the homeless service system to proactively help New Yorkers pay their rent and remain stably
housed, the city can better use its resources to focus on rehousing individuals who need the most
assistance due to mental health needs, physical disabilities or other issues where a case manager can
provide guidance or care.
For New Yorkers experiencing street homelessness, the solution to homelessness is housing—not services
or shelters. People who live on the street know this better than anyone, and many do not want to move
into emergency shelter facilities when they are asking for a place to live with dignity and call home. Ending
homelessness requires an intersectional approach that is anti-racist and proactively addresses the root
causes of homelessness and housing vulnerability—specifically, structural and systemic racism—by
creating policies and systems that lead with what people with lived experience say they want and need:
permanent housing.
The next mayor can solve the dynamic challenge of homelessness by moving beyond today’s band-aid, ad
hoc and short-term strategies and instead invest in accountable leadership, comprehensive prevention
and rapid rehousing. The next mayor must focus their policies on providing actual homes—not just shelter
—to those in need. Homelessness must be approached collectively and collaboratively across city agencies,
nonprofit entities and partner organizations with a housing first strategy. By prioritizing prevention
instead of warehousing people in shelters, the city can create a true housing first system. Read about
RxHome's vision for a New York City where homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring on page 5.
03
ABOUT RXHOME
ABOUT RXHOME
ABOUT RXHOME
About RxHome
We can end homelessness in New York City. RxHome (pronounced prescription home) is a nonprofit
organization born out of the experiences of former public servants who understand the importance of
home and that housing stability and the health of our communities are inextricably linked. By seizing the
unique moment created by the unprecedented number of open seat municipal elections this year, RxHome
is educating candidates and voters about proven policy, mayoral executive and budgetary power and the
systemic inequity exacerbated by COVID. In doing so, RxHome will build accountability and provide the
next mayor with the tools to immediately redesign the city’s homeless service system by putting
permanent housing ahead of temporary shelter. For more information on proven policy, opportunities for
collaboration and to join the movement, visit: rxhome.nyc.
Commitment to Public Education
RxHome is committed to acting as a resource for our fellow New Yorkers. In this voter guide, we include
background information to help voters in New York City gain a better understanding of the city’s existing
broken homeless service system. We also provide policy analysis and highlight the proven policies that
other jurisdictions are using to reduce, prevent and end homelessness in their communities. Please join
one of RxHome’s weekly public workshops to learn more about homelessness in New York City and
discuss solutions to our city’s homelessness crisis.
The upcoming New York City election will determine our city’s and its residents' future. New Yorkers have
the rare opportunity to demonstrate to our newly elected leaders—and more importantly, to our
neighbors experiencing homelessness—that this is an issue we care about deeply and will prioritize on
Election Day.
Our city has the ability to end homelessness and your vote can make it happen.
RxHome workshop participants holding up key
figures about homelessness in NYC. April 29, 2021 04
Vision for the Future
Homelessness is a big and complex problem—but it is not too big or complex to be solved. New York City
can build systems that continually eliminate it, and ensure everyone has a place to call home and can live
with dignity. A system that ends homelessness should be rooted in housing justice and make tangible
progress towards providing and maintaining stable, affordable housing for all New Yorkers. This begins
with a thoughtful redesign of government structures and responsibilities, as well as a more targeted and
efficient intake system that streamlines prevention resources and rehousing services.
First and foremost, this reimagined system centers around a streamlined process that connects all New
Yorkers experiencing housing instability—including families, single adults, youth, immigrants, people
fleeing intimate partner violence and LGBTQIA+ individuals—to services that promote housing stability
and proactively prevent homelessness. Using a racial justice and equity lens, this streamlined process
starts with a coordinated entry assessment, which will not only give people an opportunity to share what
they need, but also more effectively match them with the necessary services to promote long-term,
forward-looking housing stability. These services could include helping people pay rent, find new housing,
legally keep their homes, navigate family and personal relationships and make a home healthy enough to
live in.
After completing the assessment, families and individuals ideally receive the help they need to stay in their
homes with few preconditions or barriers to accessing this help, and if necessary, are connected to new
housing. This system is purposely designed to not only keep people in their homes and rapidly rehouse
those who need it, but also to use emergency shelter as a last resort, with the goal of limiting emergency
shelter stays to fewer than 60 days. The housing stability services are easily accessed in each
neighborhood at a standalone “housing stability center,” within existing community and nonprofit
institutions, or on the street for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Families connected to
new housing and services to maintain their existing housing are offered ongoing support through the
“housing stability center.” By taking steps to meet the needs of New Yorkers facing housing instability and
at risk of experiencing homelessness, the city can make real progress towards actually preventing and
ending homelessness, rather than just managing it.
This system will only work if government agencies tasked with providing these services are better aligned
and coordinated. To begin with, the next mayor should appoint a single deputy mayor in charge of all
agencies that work with people experiencing and at risk of homelessness. All of these city agencies must
play a part in the coordinated effort to end homelessness and contribute their resources towards making
measurable progress—by reducing the number of New Yorkers living in New York City shelters—to help
realize this citywide goal.
Finally, in order to move more people out of city emergency shelters and into permanent homes, the city
must maximize affordable housing resources available to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness.
This includes: independent housing, supportive housing, public housing, set aside units (income-restricted
subsidized units) and nursing homes. The information collected in coordinated entry assessments will
specify the volume of each type of housing needed, and can then inform affordable housing development
and planning efforts. Together, these steps will create the foundation for a city where all New Yorkers have
a place to call home and homelessness is a rare and brief experience.
05
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
How to Use this Voter Guide
This voter guide is designed to give New Yorkers
the tools and information they need to:
Register and vote in the 2021 primary and general municipal elections in
New York City
Determine a mayoral candidate’s commitment to ending homelessness and how they
plan on achieving meaningful change
Have informed conversations about homelessness policy when interacting with
other voters and mayoral candidates themselves
Vote with a more informed understanding of the current state of homelessness in
New York City
The voter guide contains an introduction to homelessness and housing policy in New York City; a summary
of mayoral candidate’s policy positions; and the full responses from candidates to RxHome’s mayoral
candidate questionnaire.
In this section, the RxHome team has provided a brief explanation of the process and methodology used to
create the voter guide. We also define and give an overview of the eight visual badges that we created to
distill the candidate’s policy positions.
06
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Process for Creating This Guide:
RxHome reached out to all of the mayoral candidates who filed with the Campaign Finance Board to offer
educational briefings about the current state of homelessness in New York City, leading to meetings with
20 campaigns. In these meetings, we detailed the proven solutions used by other municipalities to reduce
and end homelessness in their communities. The presentation that guided RxHome’s candidate education
meetings can be found on our website.
After our initial candidate education meetings, RxHome sent a questionnaire to all of the mayoral
campaigns. The questions were designed to learn about the candidate’s policy positions on preventing and
ending homelessness, addressing the availability of affordable housing and structuring the leadership of
city agencies that deal with homelessness and housing instability.
This voter guide contains the full, unedited responses we received, as well as brief summaries of each of
the candidate's position around homelessness, health and housing.
Of the 18 mayoral candidates who will appear on the primary ballot or are running as independents:
9 responded with written 4 candidates did not 5 candidates did not
answers to the respond to our respond to our
questionnaire. questionnaire, but questionnaire or our
attended our educational request for an educational
briefing. briefing.
The responses from those 9 Since we previously We included only a
campaigns are included in interacted with these summary of their positions
full and do not contain any campaigns, used their using publicly available
edits. We also included a campaign websites and information from their
summary of their positions. public statements to websites and statements in
provide responses where the press and at public
Art Chang possible to the events. For candidates who
Shaun Donovan questionnaire. We also have not shared plans on
Kathryn Garcia included a summary of their websites or made
Chris Krietchman their positions. public statements
Ray McGuire regarding their platform at
Dianne Morales Eric Adams the time of publication, we
Bill Pepitone Quanda Francis noted that we were unable
Scott Stringer Paperboy Prince to draft a summary and
Andrew Yang Maya Wiley included a link to those
candidates' websites.
Aaron Foldenauer
Fernando Mateo
Curtis Sliwa
Joycelyn Taylor
Isaac Wright
07
Candidate Questionnaire:
Preventing and Ending Homelessness
1. What is your plan for ending and preventing homelessness in New York City?
2. As Mayor, would you commit to ending homelessness and implementing a Housing First approach? In
your response, please explain how you define Housing First.
3. As Mayor, would you support setting measurable goals for reducing and ending homelessness in New
York City? If so, what metrics will you commit to tracking and publicly sharing as part of your plan to
prevent and end homelessness? If not, why?
4. What is the role of emergency shelter in helping New Yorkers at risk of or experiencing homelessness?
5. Right now, most households and individuals experiencing homelessness in New York City have to
spend 90 days in a city shelter before becoming eligible for City rental assistance. In your
administration, who would be eligible for City rental assistance, and how would these New Yorkers
access City rental assistance?
6. The City operates separate emergency shelter systems for different populations, like youth, domestic
violence survivors and families having trouble paying rent. These systems have separate processes and
do not provide equal access to services, like rental subsidies. As Mayor, how would you ensure that all
New Yorkers, such as families, young adults/youth, individuals leaving institutional settings, and people
fleeing domestic violence, are able to access City services that can help them maintain or gain access
to permanent housing?
Healthy Homes
7. Beyond the housing and social service landscape, which sectors would your administration engage to
help prevent and end homelessness? What role can those other sectors play in your administration’s
work to prevent and end homelessness?
Affordable Housing for Low-Income New Yorkers
8. How would you expand access to affordable housing in New York City for low-income New Yorkers?
Government Operations and Leadership
9. With respect to housing, homelessness and health, how would you structure your senior leadership at
City Hall and their agency portfolios? How do you propose to structure cross-agency collaboration and
partnership between the agencies serving New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and agencies that
develop and operate housing?
10. As Mayor, how would you use our City’s administrative tools, such as contracts with service providers,
to promote long-term housing stability, prevent homelessness and reduce the number of New Yorkers
living in our city’s shelter system?
08HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Badges Explained
RxHome created eight badges to highlight the specific policies or issue priorities held by multiple (at least
two) candidates throughout their responses to our questionnaire and in public statements. The badges each
represent a distilled concept around housing and homelessness policy. The presence of a badge does not
represent an endorsement of a candidate or imply positive or negative connotations. We use the badges to
simply highlight places of alignment across candidates’ platforms.
Strategies & Values
Housing Housing is Measurable goals
first health care using shared data
Housing First Housing is Measurable Goals Using
Health Care Shared Data
A candidate commits to a true housing A candidate identifies explicit,
first model across the homeless response A candidate recognizes quantifiable goals around ending
system. We include this badge only if a that homelessness is a and preventing homelessness and
candidate defines housing first and public health crisis and commits to transparent data-
applies the principles across responses. commits to including sharing so that the general public
We do not include this badge if the the health sector in —along with city agencies and
candidate only said the words “housing solving homelessness. nonprofit organizations— can
first” at some point in their response. hold the city accountable.
Leadership Structure
Centralized Include people
leadership managing with lived
experience with
homelessness in
leadership
housing &
homelessness
Centralized Leadership Managing Include People with Lived
Housing & Homelessness Experience in Leadership
A candidate commits to centralized A candidate commits to including
leadership within City Hall across all people with lived experiences with
agencies that touch housing and homelessness in its leadership and
homelessness. decision-making around homelessness
and housing policy.
Policies & Procedures
Increase
flexibility Expand capacity of Increase housing
safe havens
(low-barrier shelters)
of city housing for extremely low
vouchers income New Yorkers
Increase Flexibility of City Expand Capacity of Safe Havens Increase Housing for Extremely
Housing Vouchers (Low-Barrier Shelters) Low-Income Households
A candidate commits to increasing A candidate commits to the A candidate plans to expand
the flexibility of the CityFHEPS expansion of safe havens, a type of the supply of deeply affordable
program (the city’s rental assistance low-barrier shelter that has fewer housing for extremely low-
voucher) by raising the maximum rent traditional barriers, such as sobriety income New Yorkers
levels and/or expanding eligibility to and curfew restrictions.
the program (i.e. availability in the
community, elimination of 90-day
stay minimum, available to all shelter
systems).
09SUMMARY
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Summary of Mayoral
Candidate Policy Platforms
Below is a summary of each 2021 NYC mayoral candidate’s plan to address housing instability and
homelessness. This includes all 18 candidates in the race as of April 2021, including those that will appear
on the Democratic (13) and Republican (2) primary ballots in June 2021, as well as those running as third
parties (3) that will appear only in the November 2021 general election. These summaries were created
using responses to the questionnaire RxHome sent to all campaigns as well as candidates’ public plans and
statements for those who did not respond to the questionnaire, noted below. A list of candidates by their
response status is below.
The questionnaire was sent to all of the candidates running for mayor in February 2021 and all were
returned in March 2021. The summaries for each candidate provide a snapshot of candidates’ long-term
plans to address homelessness (question 1), how they will improve access to affordable housing (question
8) and generally do not include short-term COVID-specifc proposals. RxHome believes that homelessness
is a public health crisis, so our summaries also include when candidates note coordination with the health
sector (question 7). Please refer to the full responses for each candidate for more details about their plans
and policy priorities. Since candidates’ platforms can change over time, RxHome includes the website for
each candidate so that voters can view their most up-to-date plans.
In addition to the summaries, we also created eight “badges” indicating key policies candidates included in
their platforms (described in more detail on page 9).
Candidates are listed alphabetically by last name.
Eric Adams*
Art Chang
Shaun Donovan
Aaron Foldenauer**
Quanda Francis*
Kathryn Garcia
Chris Krietchman
Fernando Mateo***
Ray McGuire
Dianne Morales
Bill Pepitone
Paperboy Prince*
Curtis Sliwa***
Scott Stringer
Joycelyn Taylor**
Maya Wiley*
Isaac Wright**
Andrew Yang
* Candidate did not respond to the candidate questionnaire, but attended RxHome’s educational briefing sessions.
RxHome included a summary of their policy position based on publicly available information from the candidate's
website and public statements.
**Candidate did not respond to the candidate questionnaire or RxHome’s request to hold an educational briefing.
RxHome included a summary of their policy position based on publicly available information from the candidate's
website and public statements.
***Candidate had not published a housing plan or a plan to address homelessness on their website at time of
publication. Please check the candidate’s websites for the most up-to-date policy platform information.
10Housing Measurable goals Housing is Increase
Increase housing
Centralized Include people Expand capacity flexibility
leadership managing w. lived experience of safe havens
w. homelessness in (low-barrier
leadership shelters)
housing + for extremely low
First Health care homelessness of city housing
using shared data vouchers income New
Yorkers
Badge Key; definitions on page 9
ERIC ADAMS*
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: ericadams2021.com
Eric Adams focuses primarily on addressing the city’s housing crisis by creating more affordable housing.
His plan includes legalizing micro-units, accessory dwelling units and basement apartments, as well as
converting hotels and city-owned office buildings into affordable housing. He also proposes partnering
with community land trusts, faith-based institutions and community development corporations to develop
more affordable housing. Adams plans to increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance
subsidies, which he believes do not meet the needs of New Yorkers in the shelter system or those on the
brink of homelessness. Adams also makes the connection between homelessness and physical/mental
health, and suggests utilizing the extra capacity in public hospitals (Health + Hospitals) to co-locate social
services and “offer direct housing help at hospitals through community-based organizations.”
*This summary of Eric Adams’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
ART CHANG
Party Affiliation: Democrat
chang.nyc
Art Chang’s plan focuses first on addressing the urgent housing crisis caused by COVID and treating
factors that contribute to homelessness, such as domestic and gender-based violence, “as the public
health crises they are.” He aims to do this by extending the eviction/foreclosure moratoriums and
canceling the accrued debt for tenants and landlords. Chang also plans to invest in the development of
new affordable and supportive housing for low-income New Yorkers on city-owned land. He notes that he
would “creatively think about temporary emergency housing, and consider all possible resources to bring
people to safe shelter swiftly, including ensuring that all shelters are equipped with broadband access for
kids in remote learning.” Chang also states that he would prevent homelessness by improving the city’s
technology infrastructure that would better connect New Yokers to municipal services, including housing.
SHAUN DONOVAN
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: shaunfornyc.com
Shaun Donovan believes that homelessness in NYC is solvable and that the city needs to move “from a
right to shelter towards a right to housing.” He plans to use a coordinated, cross-agency approach to
reduce the size of the emergency shelter system and provide rental assistance and other services to help
New Yorkers remain in or regain permanent, affordable housing. He notes that in order to solve
homelessness, his administration will invest in data, accountability and citywide coordination to maximize
government resources to place New Yorkers in permanent housing and connect them to resources to help
them remain stably housed. Donovan plans to expand the eligibility criteria for and increase the voucher
value of city-funded rental assistance subsidies. His administration will “create 2,000 supportive housing
units annually for individuals and families living with a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or
other disability, and young adults.” He would also expand affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers
by increasing the capital funding available for affordable housing projects and supporting the conversion
of distressed properties into affordable housing.
11Housing Measurable goals Housing is Increase
Increase housing
Centralized Include people Expand capacity flexibility
leadership managing w. lived experience of safe havens
w. homelessness in (low-barrier
leadership shelters)
housing + for extremely low
First Health care homelessness of city housing
using shared data vouchers income New
Yorkers
Badge Key; definitions on page 9
AARON FOLDENAUER**
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: aaronfornyc.com
Aaron Foldenauer supports a preventative approach to “keep people in their homes wherever and
whenever possible.” He supports building new affordable housing for residents in lower-income brackets,
and he would advocate for “rehabilitative homeless shelters or halfway houses that provide mental health,
medical, education, and job training services that will strive to get people on their feet and back to leading
productive lives.”
**This summary of Aaron Foldenauer’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
QUANDA FRANCIS*
Party Affiliation: Independent
Website: quandafrancis.com
Quanda Francis plans to reduce the population of individuals experiencing homelessness and make
housing more affordable in New York City. She notes that she would reduce the number of city agencies
(currently 19) that work with the homeless population, as it creates for “wasteful spending, and is the least
efficient way to adequately service this vulnerable portion of the New York City population.”
*This summary of Quanda Francis’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
KATHRYN GARCIA
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: kgfornyc.com
Kathryn Garcia’s plan for preventing and ending homelessness emphasizes that “housing heals,” and
focuses on placing and keeping people in permanent housing. She intends to track “metrics that matter,”
and implement cross-agency coordination to better leverage city assets to prevent and end
homelessness, regardless of which city agency’s shelter system New Yorkers are sheltered in. Garcia plans
to expand the eligibility criteria for city-funded rental assistance subsidies as a key way to keep people in
their homes, although she notes the need for federal and state investment to make the criteria “as broad
as needed.” Garcia proposes a “deliberate strategy to provide [affordable] housing for the most severely
rent-burdened New Yorkers.” She believes in focusing the city’s financial support for housing development
“on supportive housing and deeply affordable housing and mak[ing] it easier for the market to build all
types of housing - from basement apartments to accessory dwelling units to SROs.”
CHRIS S. KRIETCHMAN
Party Affiliation: Independent
Website: csk4mayor.nyc
Christopher S. Krietchman wants to remove institutional corruption and inefficiencies to prevent
homelessness in the first place and help New Yorkers experiencing homelessness gain access to
permanent, affordable housing. He believes housing is a basic human right, and he plans to expand
affordable housing through private-sector partnerships. Krietchman supports increasing access to mental
health services for people experiencing homelessness. He also proposes expanding the eligibility criteria
for and increasing the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance subsidies as a tool to reduce
homelessness across the city.
12Housing Measurable goals Housing is Increase
Increase housing
Centralized Include people Expand capacity flexibility
leadership managing w. lived experience of safe havens
w. homelessness in (low-barrier
leadership shelters)
housing + for extremely low
First Health care homelessness of city housing
using shared data vouchers income New
Yorkers
Badge Key; definitions on page 9
FERNANDO MATEO***
Party Affiliation: Republican
Website: mateothemayor.com
***Fernando Mateo has not yet published a plan to address homelessness or affordable housing in New York City.
RAY MCGUIRE
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: rayformayor.com
Ray McGuire’s plan “focuses first and foremost on preventing people from losing their housing in the first
place,” by providing city-funded rental assistance, providing access to free legal counsel and obtaining
additional Section 8 vouchers from the federal government. McGuire plans to expand the eligibility
criteria for and increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance subsidies. He also wants to
“ensure people experiencing homelessness have tailored support services,” like job training, mental health
treatment, childcare and wifi access, as well as transitional services for those leaving prison. McGuire
believes he can use his management experience to “simplify the bureaucracy and streamline services
across agencies,” in order to determine what works and scale up. Using these tools, he wants to shorten
the amount of time New Yorkers spend in the shelter system by holding service providers responsible for
outcomes. McGuire also plans to expand the city’s affordable housing stock through the development of
senior and low-income housing, the legalization of basement units, SROs and accessory dwelling units.
DIANNE MORALES
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: dianne.nyc
Dianne Morales believes that “homelessness is a human rights crisis, but it is one that can be solved.” In
order to prevent homelessness, Morales would direct her administration to use data to “review, assess,
and address disparities throughout the city and to begin tackling these systemic issues through a strong
equity & response lens.” Using this approach, she would shift the $3 billion annual homeless services
budget to fund more programs aimed at preventing homelessness and invest in social-public partnerships
to more effectively develop affordable housing. She highlights that her administration would use a
coordinated approach across city agencies and that she would partner with community groups, like health
care organizations, to best serve people experiencing homelessness. Morales also commits to advocating
for rent burdened New Yorkers by rolling back rent to pre-pandemic rates. Her administration would
expand the eligibility criteria for and increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance subsidies
so that more New Yorkers in need could qualify.
BILL PEPITONE
Party Affiliation: Conservative
Website: billpepitonefornycmayor.com
Bill Pepitone’s plan to end and prevent homelessness in New York City would address “drug and alcohol
abuse, mental illness, the inability to afford rent, out of work and displaced veterans, and other issues,”
which he identifies as the root causes of homelessness. He believes the city needs more funding for
counselors and service providers to help prevent New Yorkers from experiencing homelessness. He
highlights the need to focus on permanent housing, and notes that “emergency shelters are essential as
the first line of assistance for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness,” in order to provide counseling
services initially to New Yorkers in need.
13Housing Measurable goals Housing is Increase
Increase housing
Centralized Include people Expand capacity flexibility
leadership managing w. lived experience of safe havens
w. homelessness in (low-barrier
leadership shelters)
housing + for extremely low
First Health care homelessness of city housing
using shared data vouchers income New
Yorkers
Badge Key; definitions on page 9
PAPERBOY PRINCE*
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: paperboyprince.com
Paperboy Prince asserts that as mayor, they would end homelessness. They would cancel rent and
mortgages and provide every New Yorker above the age of 18 with “The Freedom Dividend” - an
unconditional payment of $1,000 each month that would not disqualify anyone from existing benefits.
*This summary of Paperboy Prince’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website and public comments that the candidate has shared with the media.
CURTIS SLIWA***
Party Affiliation: Republican
Website: sliwaforny.com
***Curtis Sliwa has not yet published a plan to address homelessness or affordable housing in New York City.
SCOTT STRINGER
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: stringerformayor.com
Scott Stringer proposes using a coordinated, citywide approach to “address our homelessness and housing
crisis.” He plans to create more safe haven shelter facilities, improve shelter conditions, invest in programs
to prevent housing instability due to domestic/interpersonal violence and increase funding for New
Yorkers at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. Stringer’s plan includes increasing access to
mental health support for people experiencing homelessness—specifically for youth/young adults, the
LGBTQIA+ community and people who have been involved in the criminal justice system. Stringer also
plans to expand the eligibility criteria for and increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance
subsidies. He proposes expanding permanent affordable housing by subsidizing the development of
30,000 supportive housing beds over the next ten years, redeveloping vacant buildings—such as hotels—
into housing, and creating a “Universal Affordable Housing” program. His proposed program would use a
needs-based model to allocate subsidies to develop new construction housing that prioritizes funding to
support deeply affordable housing for extremely low-income New Yorkers.
JOYCELYN TAYLOR**
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: taylorfor2021.com
Joycelyn Taylor supports a housing first model, which she defines as “find[ing] individuals and families
permanent housing as the first option before putting them into a shelter system.” Taylor plans to provide
all New Yorkers experiencing homelessness with stable housing that includes supportive resources such
as employment help and mental health services. She supports expanding affordable housing by converting
empty office buildings and vacant real estate into permanent housing, and she plans to make housing
affordable by “basing rentals on neighborhood median income and not on greater metro area median
income, and mov[ing] away from a lottery system and towards a more needs-based system for housing.”
Taylor is also committed to increasing the monetary value of city-funded rental assistance subsidies.
**This summary of Joycelyn Taylor’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
14Housing Measurable goals Housing is Increase
Increase housing
Centralized Include people Expand capacity flexibility
leadership managing w. lived experience of safe havens
w. homelessness in (low-barrier
leadership shelters)
housing + for extremely low
First Health care homelessness of city housing
using shared data vouchers income New
Yorkers
Badge Key; definitions on page 9
MAYA WILEY*
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: mayawileyformayor.com
Maya Wiley sees homelessness as an “eviction and affordability crisis” and her housing-related plans focus
on protecting New Yorkers from eviction, supporting small and nonprofit landlords who are struggling
with nonpayments of rent and rapidly rehousing families experiencing homelessness. Wiley states that she
“support[s] a Housing First model, and believe[s] we should build on its success by moving homeless
individuals to subsidized housing and then linking them to support services.” Her strategy includes
investing in permanent supportive housing and SROs, and she recommends converting about one hundred
hotels into permanent supportive housing. She proposes further expanding the city’s affordable housing
stock by using vacant and underused property and stimulating nonprofit housing development. Wiley also
plans to expand the eligibility criteria for and increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance
subsidies.
*This summary of Maya Wiley’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website and answers to the UWS Open Hearts questionnaire.
ISAAC WRIGHT**
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: wrightfornyc2021.com
Isaac Wright believes housing is a human right, and that New York City needs a comprehensive system of
housing for those experiencing homelessness. He proposes rezoning for the purpose of building new
affordable housing and increasing mandates for affordable housing integration in all new residential
construction. He plans to convert empty lots and abandoned buildings into subsidized communities for
rehabilitation and job placement. Wright also supports the continuation of the current mayor’s plan of
“opening 1,000 new ‘safe haven’ beds [and] converting 1,000 privately-owned housing units into new
permanent housing.”
**This summary of Isaac Wright’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
ANDREW YANG
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Website: yangforny.com
Andrew Yang wants to achieve “meaningful gains in reducing our shelter population and street
homelessness,” specifically reducing street homelessness by 50 percent and reducing the shelter
population by 20 percent. In his first year in office, Yang’s goal is to reduce the average length of stay in the
shelter system by a third. Yang also plans to increase the number of drop-in shelter sites by 20 percent. He
plans to address homelessness as part of his anti-poverty agenda, including providing universal basic
income payments to increase the household income of the 500,000 poorest New Yorkers. Yang also
proposes expanding the supply of deeply affordable housing through capital funding and density bonuses
for private development. Finally, Yang wants to invest in “diversion” programming to prevent
homelessness, including expanding the right to counsel program so more New Yorkers threatened with
eviction can obtain legal representation.
15Summary of Candidates by Badge Allocation
The presence of a badge does not represent an endorsement of a candidate or imply positive or negative connotations. The badges
highlight places of alignment across candidates’ platforms. More detail on the badge definitions are on page 9.
HOUSING HOUSING MEASURABLE CENTRAL INCLUSIVE EXPAND MORE MORE
FIRST = HEALTH GOALS LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP VOUCHERS SHELTERS HOUSING
ADAMS
CHANG
DONOVAN
FOLDENAUER
FRANCIS
GARCIA
KRIETCHMAN
MATTEO
MCGUIRE
MORALES
PEPITONE
PRINCE
SLIWA
STRINGER
TAYLOR
WILEY
WRIGHT
YANG
16CANDIDATE RESPONSES
CANDIDATE RESPONSES
CANDIDATE RESPONSES
Candidate Responses to
RxHome’s Mayoral
Questionnaire
Eric Adams* - p. 18 Dianne Morales - p. 45
Art Chang - p. 21 Bill Pepitone - p. 49
Shaun Donovan - p. 25 Paperboy Prince* - p. 52
Aaron Foldenauer** - p. 30 Curtis Sliwa*** - p. 53
Quanda Francis* - p. 31 Scott Stringer - p. 54
Kathryn Garcia - p. 32 Joycelyn Taylor** - p. 61
Chris Krietchman - p. 36 Maya Wiley* - p. 62
Fernando Mateo*** - p. 40 Isaac Wright** - p. 65
Ray McGuire - p. 41 Andrew Yang - p. 66
The following section contains the full, unedited answers that RxHome received in response to our
candidate questionnaire from 9 candidates running for mayor of New York City. For each of these
candidates, RxHome has included a brief summary of each of the candidate's positions pertaining to
homelessness, health and housing, based on their response to the candidate questionnaire.
In this section, we also provide information regarding the policy platforms for the other 9 candidates
running for mayor who did not respond to RxHome’s candidate questionnaire:
For candidates who did not respond to the candidate questionnaire, but attended RxHome’s
educational briefing sessions, we used campaign websites and public statements to provide responses,
where appropriate and possible, to the questionnaire. We also included a summary of their policy
position based on publicly available information. In the profile for each of these candidates (*), RxHome
noted that the responses were compiled using publicly available information and cited the sources used
for each questionnaire response.
For candidates who did not respond to the candidate questionnaire or RxHome’s request to hold an
educational briefing, we included a summary of their policy positions using publicly available
information from their websites and statements in the press and at public events. In the profile for each
of these candidates(**), RxHome noted that the summary was drafted using publicly available
information and cited the sources used.
For two candidates, there was insufficient information to be able to draft a summary. In the profile for
each of these candidates (***), RxHome noted that there was insufficient information at time of
publication to create a summary of these candidates' policy positions.
17ADAMS
ERIC
ADAMS*
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate website:
ericadams2021.com
Housing is Increase Increase housing
flexibility
Health care of City housing for extremely low
vouchers income New Yorkers
Summary
Eric Adams focuses primarily on addressing the city’s housing crisis by creating more affordable housing.
His plan includes legalizing micro-units, accessory dwelling units and basement apartments, as well as
converting hotels and city-owned office buildings into affordable housing. He also proposes partnering
with community land trusts, faith-based institutions and community development corporations to develop
more affordable housing. Adams plans to increase the voucher value of city-funded rental assistance
subsidies, which he believes do not meet the needs of New Yorkers in the shelter system or those on the
brink of homelessness. Adams also makes the connection between homelessness and physical/mental
health, and suggests utilizing the extra capacity in public hospitals (Health + Hospitals) to co-locate social
services and “offer direct housing help at hospitals through community-based organizations.”
*This summary of Eric Adams’s plan to end and prevent homelessness was drafted using publicly available
information from the candidate’s website.
RxHome has used the candidate’s website and public remarks to provide responses, where appropriate and accurate, to the questions
listed in our candidate questionnaire. We have only listed below the questions where we could find corresponding public statements.
All sources for the quoted text response are listed at the end of each section.
1. What is your plan for ending and preventing homelessness in New York City?
“We are in a homelessness crisis, and the driving factor is lack of affordable housing...Adams proposed the
city provide subsidies to help homeless people move into vacant affordable units. Subsidies would have the
benefit of “saving our city money and expediting the process of getting the working homeless out of the
shelter system and into permanent housing,” he said.
Source: New York Daily News 3/22/2021: House city homeless in vacant apartments, says Brooklyn BP Eric
Adams
5. Right now, most households and individuals experiencing homelessness in
New York City have to spend 90 days in a city shelter before becoming eligible
for City rental assistance. In your administration, who would be eligible for
City rental assistance, and how would these New Yorkers access City
rental assistance?
"New Yorkers on the brink of homelessness and in shelters need far greater assistance than is available
now to transition into permanent housing. One way we will accomplish this is by increasing the value of the
City FHEPS housing vouchers so they reflect the value of the housing that is actually available in our city.
There was a time when $1,323 for a one bedroom and $1,580 for a two bedroom was sufficient, but that
time is long gone. And when the cost of a person in the shelter system is $124, and the cost of a family is
$196 per day, increasing the value of vouchers is common sense governing."
Source: Candidate website
18ADAMS
ERIC ADAMS Housing is Increase
flexibility Increase housing
Health care of City housing for extremely low
vouchers income New Yorkers
6. The City operates separate emergency shelter systems for different
populations, like youth, domestic violence survivors and families having
trouble paying rent. These systems have separate processes and do not
provide equal access to services, like rental subsidies. As Mayor, how would
you ensure that all New Yorkers, such as families, young adults/youth,
individuals leaving institutional settings, and people fleeing domestic violence,
are able to access City services that can help them maintain or gain access to
permanent housing?
"New Yorkers in local shelters—especially those who lived in the neighborhood beforehand and were
displaced—will be prioritized for supportive housing. So too will young people aging out of foster care, who
should be given every chance at starting off adulthood on the right foot."
Source: Candidate website
7. Beyond the housing and social service landscape, which sectors would your
administration engage to help prevent and end homelessness? What role can
those other sectors play in your administration’s work to prevent and end
homelessness?
"Poverty, homelessness, unemployment and food insecurity all directly lead to poor health—yet hospitals
are largely not equipped to address those issues. By utilizing the extra capacity in H+H hospitals to co-
locate social services, we will address both the social and physical causes of illness, leading to much better
outcomes and cost savings."
"Living in a high-crime community and experiencing gun violence creates trauma that impacts a youth’s
ability to perform in school and achieve in life. Without adequate services that address trauma and allow
for healing, youth are placed at higher risk of incarceration, teenage pregnancy and homelessness.
Prevention and follow up measures that serve to heal and support these youth are best delivered by
trauma-trained credible messengers paired with mental health professionals, social services and violence
interrupters. We will recruit, hire, and train community residents who have real-life experience to provide
an immediate post-crisis healing space for, and to develop a working relationship with, affected youth. This
helps reduce feelings of isolation and mistrust, cultivate shared investment of community-centered
healing, and reduce the fear often associated with living in a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood."
Source: Candidate website
19ADAMS
ERIC ADAMS Housing is Increase
flexibility
Increase housing
Health care of City housing for extremely low
vouchers income New Yorkers
8. How would you expand access to affordable housing in New York City for
low-income New Yorkers?
"To deal with our housing crisis in New York, the city must rapidly build new affordable housing while
protecting existing apartments everywhere. That means bold, aggressive measures that are even more
necessary now as we simultaneously fight a pandemic and an economic crisis. Here’s how:
Up-zone wealthier areas where we can build far more affordable units.
Repurpose city office buildings and hotels for affordable housing.
Think big by thinking small and add basement apartments, SROs and other small units.
Provide homes and help for the homeless and those struggling with rent.
Add housing – for everyone – in wealthier areas.
For years, our re-zonings focused on adding apartments in lower-income areas—which led to higher-
income people moving in, making communities less affordable, and often forcing out longtime residents.
We will build in wealthier areas with a high quality of life, allowing lower- and middle-income New Yorkers
to move in by adding affordable housing. And we will eliminate the community preference rule in those
areas, which keeps many New Yorkers out of desirable neighborhoods.
Repurpose City office buildings for affordable housing. We will convert a number of City office buildings
into 100% affordable housing by taking advantage of more City workers working from home and
consolidating workers that will still be in-person to free up space.
Allow private office buildings and hotels to become housing. The pandemic emptied many of our hotels
and office buildings. In some cases, their owners want to convert the buildings to housing, but City
regulations make that either too expensive or too challenging. With some zoning tweaks and other rule
changes, we can allow appropriate conversions and add desperately needed housing stock—particularly at
hotels in the outer boroughs.
Give City-owned property to non-profit land trusts to create affordable housing. Vacant and underused
City property is a massive waste of our resources and often a blight on neighborhoods. In the midst of this
housing crisis, we will aggressively seek to partner with community land trusts by offering properties to
organizations that commit to building permanently affordable housing.
Think big by building small. Outdated rules prevent New York developers from building the kind of small,
cheaper micro-units common around the world. Homeowners in single family zones are prevented from
legally leasing “accessory units” like “granny flats.” And single room occupancy units, or SROs, and
basement apartments are still illegal, despite their common use elsewhere. By allowing all of these to be
built or legally used, we will quickly add hundreds-of-thousands of affordable apartments.
Prioritize those who need supportive housing the most. New Yorkers in local shelters — especially those
who lived in the neighborhood beforehand and were displaced — will be prioritized for supportive housing.
So too will young people aging out of foster care, who should be given every chance at starting off
adulthood on the right foot."
Source: Candidate website
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