Suffolk County is transferring up to $2 million to the towns of Babylon and Brookhaven for rental assistance.
The money from the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program is aimed at replenishing rental-assistance funds that the two towns have exhausted. Both Babylon and Brookhaven still have applications from residents seeking help with their rent, according to a county statement.
Suffolk was allocated $14.5 million in ERAP funding to assist renters facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the towns of Smithtown, Riverhead, Southold, East Hampton, Southampton. and Shelter Island. So far, the county says it has provided about $10 million in assistance.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone made the announcement of the county transfer of funds Thursday at the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk County office on Carleton Avenue in Central Islip. The EOC of Suffolk County, represented at the event by its COO Simone Holder-Daniel, is one of the agencies that has been distributing emergency rental assistance funds in the Town of Brookhaven.
Also attending the announcement was Sondra Cochran, executive director of the Wyandanch Community Development Corporation, which distributes the ERAP funds in the Town of Babylon.
The actual amount that the county will provide to the towns will be determined once the state approves all of the applications for assistance that remain outstanding. In New York State, the rental assistance program was primarily aimed to help renters who’s household earns less than 80 percent of the area median income and are at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
The money to fund the rental assistance program originated from the federal government, which allocated up to $46.55 billion through the 2021 Consolidate Appropriations Act enacted in Dec. 2020, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that was enacted in March 2021, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The funds have been provided directly to states and local governments.
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