Seniors and disabled tenants press state to expand SCRE/DRIE: raise income cap, set tenant share at 30%

Senators heard appeals from advocates, city and state officials, and community leaders pressing for reforms to the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRE) and Disabled Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE). Witnesses asked the legislature to raise income thresholds, index them for inflation and consider capping household rent contributions to one third of income.

Context from the hearing: Senator Cordell Cleare framed the problem in human terms: “Some people taking 1 pill and they’re supposed to take 2, cutting pills in half because they are trying to make sure they can pay rent,” he said, urging action for aging New Yorkers. Committee members and witnesses documented that the existing SCRE/DRIE rules have not kept pace with cost of living increases and that many enrolled households remain severely rent‑burdened despite benefit enrollment.

Program scale and costs: The Department of Finance provided participation and fiscal figures for the city program. For the most recent fiscal year DOF said SCRE served about 53,611 households and DRIE about 10,547. DOF also reported combined program costs of roughly $155 million last fiscal year (SCRE ~$127,207,000; DRIE ~$27,600,000). DOF officials cautioned that changing the program from a rent‑freeze to a subsidy that sets rent at 30% of income would increase costs “to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Advocates’ proposals: Tenant advocates, community groups and city council representatives urged three main changes: raise the household income eligibility cap (advocates proposed indexing the cap to inflation to protect purchasing power), change program mechanics so household rent is limited to a share (many advocates proposed 30% of household income) rather than simply freezing year‑to‑year increases, and expand outreach and automatic enrollment for seniors and people with disabilities.

Operational concerns and outreach: DOF and HPD officials described outreach mailings that increased enrollment but said program declines since the pandemic require renewed outreach and process improvements. DOF said targeted mailings to likely‑eligible households had led to substantial new enrollments: the agency mailed 19,000 households in one year and added several thousand beneficiaries in response. Officials also noted operational constraints and potential budget tradeoffs if the benefit were made more generous.

Local examples: Council members and local mayors described casework where small expansions would have helped prevent displacement of long‑term residents. Councilmember Gail Brewer said her office hosts a volunteer to help constituents with applications and supported raising the cap and indexing it to CPI.

Budget tradeoffs and next steps: DOF officials said any expansion must be considered in the context of the city and state budgets, and they flagged potential fiscal impacts — especially if the program were to guarantee that household rent not exceed 30% of income. Senators signaled interest in indexing the income limit to inflation and continuing technical work to estimate costs and possible offsets.

Ending: Advocates called the reforms a way to protect New Yorkers who have contributed decades to the city and state from displacement and further hardship as housing costs climb.