A Manhattan State Supreme Court judge ruled last week that the city was no longer required to provide rental subsidies in a widely-used but controversial affordable housing program, putting thousands at risk of homelessness as soon as next month, some advocates say.

The court decision was the result of a class-action lawsuit by the nonprofit Legal Aid Society, challenging the city’s decision to end the Advantage program, which provides housing subsidies to the formerly homeless for up to two years. The city contends that it can no longer afford to keep the program running after the State withdrew funding for it last year (it was originally scheduled to end in April). Advantage participants were given a temporary reprieve over the last few months after the Legal Aid Society filed its suit.

Last week’s decision means the city can now legally cut the program; starting next month, some 12,000 Advantage participants will no longer receive their housing vouchers.

“It’s going to wreak havoc on this part of the Bronx,” said Sally Dunford, of the West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center. “It’s going to be like pulling the rug out from under a lot of people.”

The 12,000 people across the city who rely on Advantage vouchers to pay their rent could be pushed back into the city’s shelters, Dunford predicted. Landlords who have many Advantage participants in their buildings — common here in the northwest Bronx — will lose out on that portion of the rent rolls starting next week, she added.

“There are a lot of landlords who [relied] on that money in order to pay the bills,” Dunford said. That loss could mean deteriorating conditions at buildings where owners have to cut back to get by, she said.

The Advantage program was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in 2007. Originally intended to transition homeless shelter residents into permanent housing, it was quickly criticized as ineffective after many participants ended up homeless again once their subsidies ran out — two years maximum, by the program’s rules.

“It wasn’t necessarily realistic, in terms of people getting their feet on the ground and getting their heads above water,” Dunford said. “But it was at least better than nothing.”

Editor’s Note: The city’s Department of Homeless Services advises that any tenants or landlords affected by the end of the Advantage program can call 311 any time for assistance, or contact the DHS Prevention Helpline during business hours at (212) 607-6200.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.