By Hank Russell
Long Island recently received $2.3 million from a $51 million statewide housing grant program that the governor’s office says will help low- and moderate-income families make repairs, modifications to make homes more handicap accessible, replace manufactured homes and provide down payment assistance for first-time home buyers.
Of the $2.3 million, Suffolk will receive $1.25 million from the NYS HOME Program to provide financial assistance to renters. NYS HOME Program funds can be used to purchase and/or rehabilitate single-family homes, provide down payment assistance, replace dilapidated mobile and manufactured homes as well as provide rental assistance to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income.
Community Development Corporation of Long Island, Inc. received three $300,000 grants: one from Access to Home, another from Access to Homes for Heroes and the third from Access to Homes for Medicaid. The grants will be used to make accessibility modifications in the homes for low- and moderate-income individuals, veterans and Medicaid-eligible persons with disabilities.
Lastly, United Way of LI received a $150,000 grant from Access to Homes for Heroes which will be used to provide accessibility modifications for disabled veterans.
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,” Governor Kathy 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.”