Housing Authority tenants could get $389M in rent relief

BY EDDIE SMALL

LEGISLATORS HOPE to include $389 million in rent relief for public housing tenants in the state’s upcoming budget.

The proposal, spearheaded by state Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assemblywoman Grace Lee, would add this money to the emergency rental assistance program, providing a boost for New York City Housing Authority tenants and others who have been essentially excluded from the program so far.

The $389 million would be enough to cover the estimated cost of helping all of New York’s eligible tenants who have already applied for rent relief but have been rejected only because they live in public or subsidized housing, according to Kavanagh’s office.

“It is long past time for the state to meet the emergency needs of residents of public and subsidized housing who have been relegated to last-in-line status for ERAP funding due to an unjust provision deprioritizing these New Yorkers’ applications,” Kavanagh said in a statement.

The office of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted on putting language into the law establishing the program that gave public housing residents and other federally subsidized tenants last priority for receiving the funds, Kavanagh previously told Crain’s. Given that the demand for relief funding has consistently outweighed the supply, this has effectively excluded those tenants from the program.

The state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance runs the program, which had paid out about $2.9 billion as of March 1. The state closed its application portal on Jan. 20 after exhausting its funds. Although the U.S. Treasury Department allocated an additional $63 million for New York’s program in January, this was not enough to merit reopening the portal.

“An investment in public housing will ensure residents are secure in their homes, allow for the continuation of vital services and help housing authorities across the state balance their budgets,” NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt said in a statement. ■

HEALTH CARE