Governor Hochul is also launching a new initiative to automatically enroll more low-income households in utility discount programs helping them save hundreds of dollars per year on utility costs. This is in addition to an estimated $100 million to be paid through ERAP to reduce utility debt. Helping with utilities to the tune of $250 millionįor those who have struggled to pay for utilities because of the pandemic, $250 million will be set aside to help New Yorkers make payments. According to government figures, $2.1 billion in federal funding has so far supported more than 160,000 low and moderate-income New Yorkers who have struggled to make rental payments because of the pandemic.
Since the end of last year there's been no money to distribute, making this injection of aid well overdue.Īn additional $150 million will be used to help with the distribution of federal funds. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) has supported New Yorkers who are at risk of being evicted or experiencing housing instability as a result of Covid. Emergency Rental Assistance Program gets $800 million Here's where some of the $25 billion will be spent. In a statement on the budget, Housing Justice for All vowed to "ensure that 421-a is killed once and for all when it sunsets in June, and critically, to pass the urgent eviction protections that New Yorkers desperately need." That's a reference to the good cause eviction bill which would increase protections for market-rate tenants and ensure everyone has a right to a lease renewal unless there is good cause. This was welcomed by the tenant movement, Housing Justice for All. The 421-a program was designed to incentivize developers but critics say it's a giveaway to the rich and costs the city millions in lost tax revenue. One contentious issue-the reauthorization of the 421-a tax abatement for developers-was excluded from the budget. The Legal Aid Society, a non-profit helping low-income tenants, welcomed the additional funding for public housing and those who have struggled during the pandemic but in a statement said they were "disappointed that the Hochul Administration scuttled efforts to fund and create the Housing Access Voucher Program, legislation that would thwart evictions and combat New York’s burgeoning homelessness crisis."
State spending on housing will total $25 billion over five years, and the plan puts $5.7 towards capital resources, $8.8 billion towards tax credits, and $11 billion to help shelters, supportive housing, and the provision of rental subsidies. Governor Kathy Hochul says safe and affordable housing is the "cornerstone" of both her administration and the new budget includes funds for renters who have struggled with payments during the pandemic, landlords who are owed rent, and as well as preserving and upgrading affordable housing across New York. There's a big emphasis on housing in New York's State budget, which was passed this weekend.
0 kommentar(er)
