The state housing voucher N.Y. needs

The omicron wave has thankfully now receded across the state — but COVID-19′s continuing stranglehold on daily life here is far from over. High real estate costs and the lifting of the state’s eviction moratorium in January mean that housing insecurity in New York remains persistent. Some 91,271 people were homeless in New York State on any given day in January 2020, the last time such data was collected. In the two years since the pandemic began, it’s become that much harder for many tenants to pay their rent without assistance. But while the public imagination typically equates images of homelessness exclusively with New York City, the lack of affordable housing and rental assistance is not limited to the New York metropolitan area. It’s a major statewide crisis.