NYC Mayor Adams’ administration settles court case regarding delays in SNAP processing for residents.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration reached a significant court settlement on Friday, mandating the city to implement crucial safeguards aimed at ensuring the timely processing of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications. This development follows heightened scrutiny of low-income food benefit programs amid a recent federal government shutdown.
The settlement concludes a class-action lawsuit filed in 2023 against Mayor Adams’ administration, which alleged systemic delays in the processing of SNAP and cash assistance applications. The court’s ruling stipulates that the city must reform its application systems to guarantee that legitimate claims for food benefits are processed within a maximum of 30 days.
In addition to SNAP, the settlement applies the same processing guarantees to cash assistance applications, which have also experienced historically slow processing times under the current administration. Advocates for low-income New Yorkers have expressed that for too long, residents have faced long delays—sometimes extending to months—before receiving essential benefits that are mandated by federal and state law.
As part of the settlement, the city is required to impose strict limits on wait times for phone interviews that are conducted to determine eligibility for SNAP and cash assistance programs. It also ensures that applicants who request in-person interviews are provided with that opportunity and offers same-day callbacks for those unable to respond to eligibility screenings immediately.
Further reforms outlined in the agreement include the necessity for the city to modernize its online application platforms to facilitate easier document uploads. Additionally, staff members at the Human Resources Administration, which handles benefits processing, will undergo updated training focusing on new protocols, effective client communication, and improved technology usage to enhance service quality and minimize errors.
The case leading to this settlement was collaboratively brought forth by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Legal Assistance Group, and the Manhattan-based law firm Dechert. While requests for comments from the mayor’s office regarding the settlement were not immediately addressed, the administration has previously attributed processing delays to an unprecedented surge in applications that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This settlement emerges at a time when the stability of SNAP benefits has been jeopardized, particularly following attempts by the Trump administration to eliminate such benefits during the recent federal government shutdown. Though these benefits are funded by federal dollars, their processing and distribution lie in the hands of local governments, making the need for accountability and efficiency in their management even more critical.
