A judge says New York City can stop paying rent for more than 16,000 formerly homeless families after losing state backing for the initiative.
A Manhattan judge ruled Tuesday the city was within its rights to cancel what's known as the Advantage program.
Read the decision.
The city told the families in March the subsidies were stopping because of state budget cuts.
The Legal Aid Society represented tenants and argued the program amounted to a contract. The judge said it was a benefit, not a contract.
An appeals court ordered the city to keep paying the subsidies during the legal fight. Legal Aid's chief attorney notes that that order stands, at least for now.
The city homeless services commissioner says officials will keep trying to move homeless families into housing.
