The pivotal moment came when the the Department of Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ended project-based Section 8 program, known as RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) last year. This once unthinkable move followed the rising renter’s movement which has seen sometimes violent demonstrations over the last decade as protestors clashed with private and public police over access to unused luxury units.  Protestors have charged RAD with responsibility for the disastrous effects of the housing crisis, and Save Section 9, an advocacy group representing public housing tenants city-wide, has been fighting against RAD’s privatization for 25 years. Save Section 9 counts ending RAD as a strategic move which redirects public housing away from private partnerships and towards a fully public Section 9 model.

In a highly polarized time, what surprised people most was save Section 9’s willingness to work with Republicans. Ramona Ferreyra, leader of Save Section 9, met with Republican state leaders such as Elise Stefanik years ago, making the case that public housing should be supported state-wide including rural districts. Stefanik, now recognized as one of the earliest proponents of the initiative, lent her unwavering support, emphasizing the importance of housing affordability in addressing the crisis faced by low-income communities. Similarly, Malliotakis, once representing Staten Island, stood firmly behind the initiative, recognizing the profound impact it would have on her constituents.The expansion of Section 9 not only provides much-needed housing but also fosters multigenerational foundations within low-income communities through support such as unionized labor and other resources.

The urgency of the housing affordability crisis has created unique bipartisan spectacles such as the predatory lending hearings, but none is quite as jaw-dropping as the robust bipartisan funding for public housing communities, once derided by Republicans as drug-infested tax-payer parasites. As recently as 2025, Congressional Republicans were still presenting legislation to slash HUD’s affordable housing programs. But even though the fight against public housing continues in some quarters, the pressure in the streets has completely changed the dynamics.

And now, with the winds in the sails of public housing, as well as the Social Housing Authority’s Ten Billion Dollar shopping spree to buy all kinds of private units for the city, it’s no longer just about preservation—we’re now in expansion. The initial allocation of 20,000 section 9 units in New York State was only a fraction of what was required. Coalitions on the left are uniting to raise the Faircloth limit, which is the HUD-imposed limit on allowable public housing units, thus signaling a bold shift towards a much more ambitious public housing vision.

“Housing doesn’t have anything to do with political camps,” says Ferreyra. “It’s a human need and right, and when politicians hear that from their constituents, boom! Everyone can very quickly get on the same page. And that’s what happened here.”