The Trump administration’s move to re-examine federal funding for hundreds of programs for evidence of what it calls “Marxist equity” would potentially have a devastating effect on New York City — notably the nation’s biggest public housing authority’s ability to provide homes for its 520,000 residents.
On Monday, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a list of programs for which it was pausing funding as it determines whether the programs support President Donald Trump’s so-called “anti-woke” agenda.
Confusion and pushback quickly ensued. On Tuesday, a judge stayed the pause until early next week. The following day, OMB rescinded the memo calling for the funding freeze.
That same day, in a separate case brought by state attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, another federal judge signaled he is likely to temporarily block the administration’s funding freeze.
Trump officials have made clear the reexamination of these programs — with the possibility that they could be terminated — would continue unabated.
The freeze jeopardizes about $3 trillion in federal grants to states. Programs at risk include funding for roads, transportation, public housing, anti-gun violence initiatives, disaster relief and assistance for rent, childcare, and food.
Included on that list was the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development funding that pays for operating expenses of the New York City Housing Authority and its counterparts across the country, as well as HUD funds that pay for building upgrades under its capital spending program.
NYCHA relies heavily on this funding, with 70% of its 2025 operational budget coming from federal dollars and 40% of its budget for capital repair projects coming from HUD. Last year, federal support amounted to $1.5 billion in operational funds and $731 million in capital funds.
NYCHA has struggled for years to confront deteriorating conditions of its portfolio as federal funding has dwindled. It’s currently overseen by a monitor appointed by HUD and City Hall, and has turned to the private sector to manage hundreds of its buildings as a way to cover the cost of repairs. That includes an ongoing controversial project to demolish and replace 2,056 existing low-income apartments in the Fulton Houses in Manhattan’s upscale Chelsea neighborhood, allowing a private developer to add market-rate units at the site to fund the upgrade.
Also on the OMB list targeted for re-examination is a rental subsidy for lower-income tenants, known as Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers. NYCHA received $2.1 billion in Section 8 funds for landlord payments and program administration last year.
So far, NYCHA officials haven’t publicly addressed this potential disaster. During the authority’s monthly board meeting Wednesday, Chairman Jamie Rubin and CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt made no mention of the OMB’s memo and its potential effect on NYCHA’s tenants.
A tile mosaic outside of a building at Chelsea-Elliott Houses. Credit: Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY
Responding to THE CITY’s questions about what NYCHA is doing to analyze and address the memo, Michael Horgan, a spokesperson for the authority, said on Wednesday that it “is working with its city, state, and federal partners to understand the potential impact of the Federal OMB directive. Resident safety, security, and continuity of services remain NYCHA’s priority.”
The immediate threat of a funding cutoff bore out on Tuesday, when all states were locked out of the federal Medicaid reimbursement systems. The following day, the New York State Department of Health said it was no longer having access issues.
But meanwhile, local environmental groups that had been awarded federal grant funding have been caught in the lurch. One of Trump’s executive orders directs agencies to “immediately pause disbursement of funds appropriated” through the IRA.
Four community-based groups — RISE Rockaway, Bronx River Alliance, El Puente and WE ACT for Environmental Justice — recently won a collective $18 million in Community Change grants, issued through the Environmental Protection Agency with Inflation Reduction Act funding.
“None have cash in hand, but are hopeful that they get that money,” said Wendy Fleischer, a donor representative with Change Capital Fund, which supported local environmental justice groups in their pursuit of federal funds.
These groups work primarily in largely non-white communities that have been disproportionately burdened by pollution — an arena that is under special scrutiny by the Trump administration and allies. A 2024 report by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, then led by a Republican chair, raised alarms about the EPA’s environmental justice programs and called out some recipients for alleged political bias.
The EPA has awarded $3 million to El Puente, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to stand up boards to advise city leaders on how to address climate change locally. But that work has stalled.
“We haven’t gotten funding for the first year, which means we’ve had to pause on hiring and decisions we were thinking would be funded through the grant,” said Fernando Carriel, El Puente’s communications director. “We can do nothing but hope that this administration, number one, rescinds the plan, and if that’s not the case, that our legal system releases the funds that were already allocated to us.”
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