Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council speaker who is running for mayor, will release a plan to provide guaranteed income for homeless families.
Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council speaker who is running for mayor, will release a plan to provide guaranteed income for homeless families.
Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council speaker who is running for mayor, will release a plan to provide guaranteed income for homeless families.
Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council speaker who is running for mayor, will propose on Monday a guaranteed basic income program that would be the largest of its kind in the United States.
It would aim to help more than 21,000 homeless children and young adults.
The idea of giving families monthly checks — with no strings attached — took off across the nation during the pandemic after many people lost their jobs. Ms. Adams’s plan is her top campaign proposal as she tries to stand out from a crowded field of Democrats running in the June primary as the best alternative to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who leads in polls.
As Council speaker, Ms. Adams helped fund a guaranteed income program for 161 pregnant women.
“Ideology doesn’t solve problems: proven solutions do,” Ms. Adams said in a statement, adding that she wants to make sure that “we can end homelessness for the next generation by leading with what works.”
The program would help 15,000 homeless children who are 5 years old and younger, 6,000 unaccompanied homeless youth who are ages 18 to 24 and about 500 young adults who exit the foster system care on their own each year. It would provide an initial one-time stipend of $2,500, followed by monthly payments over three years that start at $1,000 per month and then fall to $500 per month.
Many of the other mayoral candidates have released ambitious policy plans. Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker from Queens, wants to make buses free; Brad Lander, the city comptroller, has pledged to end street homelessness for people with severe mental illness.
Guaranteed income programs have been popular among liberal Democrats as a way to offer a lifeline to vulnerable people and to help put them on a more stable path. Dozens of cities have started such programs, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Conservatives have argued that the programs are wasteful and have pushed for work requirements.