Jack Newton, director of the public benefits unit at Bronx Legal Services, said COVID had swept thousands of his clients into sudden poverty, with many owing more than 12 months of rent, in the range of $25,000. “This program … will help my family a lot,” she said. Last fall, Rojas went back to working in a laundromat and her husband started working again as a day laborer, but said she feels relieved that she can apply for the emergency rental assistance program to cover her arrears and has put together most of the documents she needs to apply. “I was worried that I would be evicted for living so many months without being able to pay the rent,” she said, even though she knew a statewide moratorium was in place for tenants affected by the pandemic, and was extended until the end of August. She said they accumulated nearly $14,000 in missed payments.
Nohemi Rojas, 36, said she and her husband lost their jobs in March of 2020 and couldn’t pay rent for their apartment in Elmhurst, Queens, for six months. Lower-income households earning 50% of AMI that have at least one member who’s unemployed, a veteran, or a domestic violence victim will be prioritized during the first 30 days of the program, after which the money will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s a formula for distributing the payments. Households with income at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI)-$95,450 for a family of four in the city-can get up to 12 months of rental and utility arrears payments.
Officials say they’ve allocated $2.7 billion for the program statewide. New Yorkers who fell back on their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic can start applying for emergency rental assistance program Tuesday.
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