Mayor Adams Is Sued Over Failure to Comply With New Housing Laws

The Legal Aid Society sued Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday for not complying with new laws meant to address rising homelessness and the influx of tens of thousands of migrants.

In the coming days, the City Council is expected to join the society, after voting last week to authorize a lawsuit.

The move comes as a homelessness crisis overwhelms shelters and the city budget and as tensions increase between Mr. Adams and the Council over how to manage it.

The laws at issue are a package of bills the Council passed last year to make more people eligible for a housing voucher program as record numbers of homeless people entered city shelters. Mr. Adams vetoed the legislation, saying it would be too costly.

The Council voted overwhelmingly to override the mayor’s veto in July. But since then, the administration has failed to expand eligibility for the vouchers, according to the lawsuit. While outside groups often sue the city, legal action by the City Council against the administration is more rare.

Legal Aid, a group that represents low-income New Yorkers and others on a variety of legal matters, filed their lawsuit as a class action on behalf of those eligible for the vouchers, known familiarly as CityFHEPs.