Sandy Renters Get More Help

Sandy-impacted families who still need rental assistance will get it as the de Blasio administration announced that the city is immediately expanding the federally funded Temporary Disaster Assistance Program (TDAP). Through the expansion, low-income New Yorkers who were displaced by Hurricane Sandy and face high rent burdens of 40 percent or more of their income will get rental assistance.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently approved the city’s proposed changes to TDAP as part of the city’s amendment to the Action Plan, which details how the city will spend the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds it has been allocated.

TDAP is administered by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). It was established to serve low-income renters – at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), or no more than $41,950 for a family of four per HUD’s 2014 calculations – who were displaced from their homes as a result of Sandy. Eligibility was initially limited to displaced households who were residing in transitional housing such as hotels; facing expiring FEMA rental assistance; or registered through the Build It Back program. However, after hearing from residents during the public comment period on the Action Plan, the city has decided to expand TDAP.

This expansion now makes eligible all families who have already applied to TDAP, who were displaced by Sandy and forced to relocate to long-term housing (signing a lease of a year or longer) and currently pay 40 percent or more of their income toward rent. The city has already started reaching out to those families, who were initially deemed ineligible, to bring them back into the program.

“Expanding rental assistance for low-income New Yorkers displaced by Sandy is a simple change that will go a long way for families who need real financial relief,” Mayor de Blasio said. “After Sandy forced these families to relocate, they were then stuck handing over a huge portion of their income in rent. That’s unacceptable – and, now, they’ll get the support they deserve.”

TDAP or Build It Back applicants with questions regarding their eligibility for expanded TDAP can call Build It Back Customer Service at 212-615-8329 or visit nyc.gov/recovery.