My guess is framing it as a $ per person per month came from whoever pointed the report out to the journalist, possibly one of the interviewees (Comptroller, L

My guess is framing it as a $ per person per month came from whoever pointed the report out to the journalist, possibly one of the interviewees (Comptroller, Legal Aid, Councilmember etc). From there the comparison to rent is pretty natural. I don't think this is bad reporting or anything, I was commenting to help people avoid getting into the trap of thinking in the most obvious framing after skimming a headline.