"The blast radius of this terrible decision is virtually limitless," Schumer said. "It's American families who are going to suffer most."

Housing experts say they worry what the funding freeze could mean for the federal Section 8 program, with which more than 100,000 New York City households pay the rent.

Even a short suspension could have a chilling effect on the program because it relies on landlords who accept the rental assistance based on the premise they will be paid on time each month without interruption.

"Anything that undermines the public-private partnership at the core of the program is really harmful in the long run," said Sarah Saadian, senior vice president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "They rely on private landlords who are willing to participate and provide housing and if the federal government continues to freeze funding or have government shutdowns or makes it unreliable to participate, [landlords] are not going to do it."

The federal government also provides billions of dollars in funding to the New York City Housing Authority and millions that the city uses to pay housing inspectors.

A spokesperson for NYCHA said it's still trying to determine the potential impact of the funding freeze.

Rachel Fee, executive director of the New York Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, said even a suspension of a few days would be a "destabilizing maneuver" harming low-income tenants. She said any long-term cuts to rental assistance programs could lead to evictions and hurt landlords who need the money to pay their own bills and maintain their buildings.

"This is an irresponsible action," Fee said. "New Yorkers rely on these programs and expect the government to function on a basic level and this chaotic disruption only hurts the people who need it the most."

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees rental assistance, home loans and public housing nationwide, did not respond to questions on the breadth of the pending funding freeze.

Nonprofits, too, have been scrambling to learn how the directive could affect their programs.

Kristin Miller, whose organization Homeless Services United represents nonprofit providers, said organizations are receiving notices from federal agencies, like the Department of Housing and Urban Development, notifying them their funding will be suspended.

She said the organizations have tried contacting local HUD field offices to find out more information but aren't receiving clear guidance.

"We're on a fact-finding mission but you can't even make a decision because we don't even know what the facts are," Miller said. "Keep calm and plan but know this is going to be changing moment by moment."

The online Medicaid payment portal was also down Tuesday, though White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that "no payments have been affected" and they expected to reopen the portal "shortly."

The Trump administration's directive, along with executive orders issued during his first week in office, could also affect researchers at top universities in and around New York City who rely on federal funding.

In an email Monday addressed to "all recipients of federally funded sponsored projects," NYU Provost Georgina Dopico and Chief Research Officer and Vice Provost for Global Research and Innovation Stacie Bloom warned of "concerning recent developments regarding federal awards" including two grants "terminated" by the Department of State.

"The only reason given in each instance is that 'the award does not meet the agency's priorities,'" the administrators wrote in the email obtained by Gothamist. "These are perplexing and unsettling circumstances."

Rutgers University Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer J. Michael Gower sent an email to all students and faculty that the school is "committed to ensuring your uninterrupted academic journey" even if there is a pause in financial aid payments.

Gower advised researchers that they "should not stop working on any sponsored awards" until they have spoken with a university grant specialist and share any communications from federal agencies with Rutgers.

"The university has contingency plans in place to deal with the pause in payment," he wrote in an email shared with Gothamist.