Implementation of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

On August 10, 2021, CHPC delivered testimony to the New York State Assembly Committees on Housing, Social Services, & Ways and Means.

Read the an excerpt of the testimony below:

Often, testimony is an opportunity to illuminate a problem that is not widely recognized. The problem before the committees assembled today is well-known and can be described simply. By the end of July, less than 1% of the $2.7 billion allocated to ERAP was paid out on behalf of New Yorks low-income renters. Tenants and property owners are falling deeper into debt while they compile evidence of the financial damage that COVID-19 has wrought. Every billing cycle that ticks by makes housing circumstances more tenuous. The administrative hurdles to access relief cause additional pain. When a New Yorker is suffering from a heart attack, we dont ask them to verify their insurance before performing CPR. The administrative burden does not have to be borne by those who are suffering, and it does it have to occur before we render help.