A letter signed by leaders of home builder, real estate, and property owner associations calls for New York State to put $2 billion towards rental assistance programs.
Governor Kathy Hochul included $2 billion in her executive budget for pandemic recovery initiatives decided by the state Legislature, according to Albany Times-Union. The letter is asking Hochul and the Legislature to put all $2 billion towards the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) as many tenants across New York are behind on rent payments.
The letter points out that ERAP only covers 12 months of unpaid rent, which isn’t ideal for those who haven’t paid rent since 2020. There are more than 185,000 pending applications for the program currently at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. They have made 108,242 payment worth $2 billion as of January 18, 2022.
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