STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Residents living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartments in need of rental assistance will soon receive part of $95 million in state money, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.
The Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds are part of the more than $350 million investment in public housing and Section 8 that passed as part of the state budget this year, and Adams said Monday that his administration had already helped 33,000 households submit applications for up to a year’s worth of relief.
“I grew up on the verge of homelessness, so I know how important affordable housing is to New Yorkers. When COVID first put our economy in free fall, and businesses were shutting down and laying people off, NYCHA residents were effectively excluded from emergency rental assistance available to other New Yorkers,” Adams said. “For months, our administration partnered with residents and elected officials to advocate for the support they needed, and I’m proud that we are delivering for them today.”
At the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, New York renters in public and private housing were beneficiaries of an eviction moratorium that expired in January 2022, and leaders in the State Legislature and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo set up guidelines for the federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Part of those guidelines put people living in public housing and other renters receiving public assistance at the back of the line as state officials focused relief on private renters not already receiving public assistance.
The eviction moratorium coupled with the lack of rental assistance led to a total 73,000 NYCHA households that are behind on rent by a total of $533 million, according to Adams’ office.
Rental assistance announced Monday worth $95 million will leave NYCHA residents’ back-rent at about $438 million, and the housing authority has renewed eviction proceedings against tenants not paying…
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