City says Cuomo budget cuts will harm homeless and burden taxpayers in five boroughs

March 27-- Mar. 27--The head of the City Department of Social Services and advocates want Gov. Cuomo to rethink a piece of his budget that they say will ultimately cost the Big Apple about $125 million more a year in homeless housing and health care costs.

In a letter Tuesday, DSS head Steven Banks and a group of service providers and community groups called on Cuomo to drop a proposal requiring the city to pay 10% of the cost for the family assistance program, which provides cash to needy families -- fearing it'll place a higher burden on the city.

"This cut will affect funding for cash benefits for vulnerable New Yorkers, as well as homeless shelter services and emergency programs for survivors of domestic violence," the group writes. "While we know we have more work to do, we have finally broken the trajectory of growth in homelessness and with our new programs, reforms, and investments we are headed in the right direction."

The federal Family Assistance program is a public assistance program currently paid in full from a federal block grant. The money is used as a cash assistance for needy families as well as funding homeless shelters. The city uses the housing allowance awarded as part of an eligible family's Family Assistance grant to cover the cost of their homeless shelter stay.

However, Cuomo's budget proposal would divert the funds and require the city to pay $59 million in additional shelter costs per year -- and reduce the federal contribution by the same amount. The state would then be free to redirect the federal funds to child care subsidies, after school programs and other programs that have previously been state-funded, the City Independent Budget Office noted.

A similar measure was included in the 2016 budget, requiring the city to pay a 10% share of another federally-funded cash assistance program.

Freeman Klopott, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of the Budget, noted that no service cuts are being floated by the governor, and touted the fact that the state will be increasing the overall amount of funds it's giving the city.

"Let's be clear: New York City is receiving $600 million from New York State with no cuts or service reductions proposed," Klopott said. "That's on top of continued support for the Governor's unprecedented $20 billion investment to combat homelessness by creating more than 100,000 affordable homes."

Banks and the others who signed the letter also want Cuomo to get behind a measure to help keep families struggling to make ends meet in their homes. The group expressed their support for the Home Stability Support bill, proposed by Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens), which would offer rental assistance to families facing eviction.

"This counter-productive cost shift will have devastating impacts on New York's most vulnerable children and adults," the group writes. "Instead of cutting critical funding for assistance for the lowest income New Yorkers, we should support innovative approaches to address their needs like the Krueger-Hevesi Home Stability Support legislation to bridge the gap between rents and income."

It's unclear if the HSS bill will make it into the budget, but Freeman noted the governor's office is "reviewing and the budget process is ongoing."

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