WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 26, 2021 13
Help for renters hold these funds for 180 days. Renters
BY CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLYN B.
MALONEY
Americans all across the country
are dealing with the economic
crises wrought by coronavirus
pandemic – with too many families
struggling to keep a roof over their
heads.
As a city that is home to millions
of renters, New Yorkers know this
pain far too well.
That is why my colleagues and I
fought to include $46 billion dollars
in rental assistance in the December
2020 Coronavirus Relief Package and
the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Approximately
$2.3 billion of this total is
designated for New York state.
Now that Congress has appropriated
these funds, New York state is
responsible for getting these funds
to New Yorkers through the NY State
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
(ERAP), which opened on June 1, 2021.
As of Aug. 16, New York state has approved
8,200 applications, disbursed
$114 million in rental assistance and
marked another $600 million to be
disbursed. However, the backlog – and
therefore people waiting for help – is
overwhelming. In the fi rst 30 days alone,
the state received 120,000 applications.
I am pleased that the state has committed
to ending the backlog by Aug.
31, which is the expiration date for the
State Eviction Moratorium. However, as
I wrote on July 21 when I urged the state
to process these applications as quickly
as possible, if necessary, we may need to
extend the state’s eviction moratorium.
Given the spread of the delta variant
and rise in COVID-19 cases throughout
the city, it would be dangerous and
shortsighted to resume evictions without
providing the rental assistance that
New Yorkers need and deserve. We
need people to have a safe place to sleep,
eat and social distance. Kicking people
out of their homes is antithetical to that.
If you need rental assistance, please
apply today online (https://nysrenthelp.
otda.ny.gov/). Both the rental
and owner/landlord need to fi ll out
parts of the application and this can
take time. There are also communitybased
organizations available to
help you through this process, you
can fi nd a list of them on the Offi ce
of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s
website (https://otda.ny.gov/programs/
emergency-rental-assistance/
help-applying/).
While both the landlord and the
renter must complete certain parts of
the application and either a renter or
an owner/landlord can start an application,
only the tenant can sign and submit
the application. If your landlord starts
the application, you will receive an
OP-ED
email or text to complete the required
tenant part.
Filling for the Emergency Rental Assistance
Program (ERAP) may also help
you if your landlord does not act in good
faith. If it’s determined that a renter is
eligible for this assistance and the landlord
cannot be contacted to provide the
necessary information, the state will
will receive written notifi cation of the
available rental assistance and should
share this with the landlord. If needed,
this documentation can be provided
to a court as a defense in any proceeding
seeking a monetary judgement or
eviction brought by a landlord for the
non-payment of rent during the time
period which was covered by the available
rental assistance that they did not
collect.
Importantly, individuals’ immigration
status is not a factor in qualifying
SNAPS
for this program.
The coronavirus pandemic has
presented us with unprecedented
widespread economic hardship as
we contend with this public health
emergency. To help our city, state and
country survive this crisis, Congress
has taken action to provide monetary
aid – I encourage everyone who qualifi
es to make use of it.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
represents New York’s 12th congressional
district.
A SUNFLOWER GROWS IN MIDDLE VILLAGE
PHOTO BY EMMA RICHTER
Send us your photos of Queens
and you could see them online or in our paper!
To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram,
visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS
or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
/)
link
