Many landlords in the Hudson Valley say they are skeptical of the rent
relief application process regardless of a new face as the head of state.
Months ago, he hoped the state’s new rental assistance program would help make
up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent he’s owed, but
it did not.
"There are many of us that are eagerly
waiting for the money to come down to us,” says Ravikoff. "Now we are hearing
from our new governor that this is going to be it, this is going to be the
speed process I don't have much faith that it will happen that way."
On Wednesday, new Gov. Kathy Hochul
announced expanded eligibility and accelerated rent relief payments.
Gov. Hochul says it’s one of her priorities after pledging to review the program’s workflow
and reassign 100 staff to help landlords
resolve incomplete applications. She's also allocated an additional $1 million
for advertising to boost applications.
Jennifer Hernandez, of Make the Road New York, says, “People are desperate to get some aid to get some help to cover their
rent.”
Hernandez helps
undocumented immigrants fill out applications through Make the Road New York.
Anyone with up to 12 months of past due rent, regardless of immigration status,
can apply.
"It's more that people are overwhelmed and not secure enough in their
technical abilities to be able to get through the application,” says Hernandez.
Some $2.7 billion in emergency rental assistance funding is available to low-
and moderate-income New Yorkers, but the state has only distributed $680
million.
"I hope whatever the new governor has in mind will be successful in
getting that money into our pockets quickly,” says Ravikoff.
News 12 is told the state will begin publicly releasing county by county data
on rent relief payments sometime this week.