Court of Appeals Releases Final Advantage Decision

Yesterday, after a 15-month battle, the New York Court of Appeals ruled against Advantage tenants in Zheng v. City of New York, officially ending the chance that any more rental payments will be made for remaining tenants. Read the final decision here. The original lawsuit was brought by Legal Aid in March 2011 and resulted in rental payments being made for 10 additional months after the City announced the end of the program.

Amid the finality of this news, however, there is one glimmer of hope. The State’s Medicaid Redesign Team added $2.6 million to its Supportive Housing Plan, specifically to fund 300 ongoing rental subsidies to formerly homeless individuals with disabilities, specifically those on Fixed Income Advantage. The proposal is still very new, so we do not yet know how individuals and families will be able to access this money. Please check back for updates.

We’d like to thank the Legal Aid Society for their hard work and persistence and all of the Advantage tenants who have shared their personal struggles.

Current Advantage Tenants: Please see important fact sheets from Legal Aid here. And in Spanish here.

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