| Photo by Max Sandelin on Unsplash
NEW YORK—Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that 1,060 households will benefit from $51 million in grants. The grants will help low—and moderate-income families make repairs, accessibility modifications, or safety upgrades to their homes, replace manufactured homes, and provide down payment assistance for first-time buyers.
The grants — administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal — were awarded to nonprofit organizations and localities to help preserve affordable housing, support veterans and older New Yorkers, increase access to homeownership, and strengthen local economies.
“This investment will make the dream of homeownership attainable and manageable for more than 1,000 households, allowing families and individuals across New York to live safely and affordably in homes of their own,” Hochul said. “My administration is committed to increasing affordability for families and putting every tool at our disposal to work to address our housing crisis.”
Of the $51 million grants awarded, New York City received $600,000 to assist 44 housing units, and Long Island received $2,300,000 for 64 housing units. The Capital Region was awarded the lion’s share, at $9,205,500 for 217 housing units, followed by the Southern Tier Region, at $7,597,480 for 144 housing units. Five other regions were awarded a total of 31,297,020.
The awards are made through state and federally funded programs, including NYS HOME, NYS Community Development Block Grant, Access to Home, Home for Heroes, Access to Home for Medicaid, Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement, and RESTORE.
Each program accepts applications in an annual competitive funding round.
NYS HOME Program funds can acquire and/or rehabilitate single-family housing, provide down payment assistance, replace dilapidated mobile and manufactured homes, and provide tenant-based rental assistance to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
The NYS Community Development Block Grant Program provides federal funds to help localities with projects that improve communities and benefit their residents. Housing grants can rehabilitate owner-occupied or renter-occupied homes, provide down payment assistance for low—and moderate-income first-time homebuyers, and provide private water/wastewater system assistance for low—and moderate-income homeowners.
The Access to Home program provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low—and moderate-income persons with disabilities so that they can continue living safely and comfortably in their residences or return to living in their residences instead of in an institutional setting.
Access to Home for Heroes provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income veterans with disabilities.
Access to Home for Medicaid provides financial assistance to make residential units accessible for Medicaid-eligible persons with disabilities.
The Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement program assists low—and moderate-income homeowners in replacing dilapidated mobile or manufactured homes on their land with new manufactured, modular, or site-built homes.
RESTORE provides financial resources to assist senior citizens with the cost of making emergency repairs and addressing code violations that threaten their health and safety or affect the home’s livability. Assistance for the cost of these critical repairs enables seniors to continue to live independently in their homes.
“The $51 million we announced today through a variety of programs will provide resources people need…” said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnaskas.”
