Weeks of mounting tension between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council came to a head Thursday, as the Council voted 42-8 to override his recent veto of bills aimed at expanding eligibility for city-issued rental vouchers. The mayor has argued that the bills will be too costly and that an expanded pool will make it harder for existing voucher holders in a city with too few low-cost apartments. A legal challenge to today’s veto override could be imminent.

But the Council has pushed back consistently, disputing the mayor’s cost estimate and accusing him of short-sightedness.

“We are trying to relieve pressure on our shelter system,” Bronx Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, a primary sponsor of the package, said at a rally outside City Hall Thursday. While more housing supply is needed, she said, “You can walk and chew gum.”

The override comes as a record number of people are sleeping in city shelters—nearly 82,000 as of Tuesday, with tens of thousands more in emergency facilities set up to house asylum seekers.