Community Development Block Grant

The Office of Community Renewal administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for the State of New York. The NYS CDBG program provides financial assistance to eligible cities, towns, and villages with populations under 50,000 and counties with an area population under 200,000, in order to develop viable communities by providing decent, affordable housing, and suitable living environments, as well as expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.

The state must ensure that no less than 70% of its CDBG funds are used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons. The program objectives are achieved by supporting activities or projects that: benefit low- and moderate-income families; create job opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons; prevent or eliminate blight; or address a community development need that poses a serious and imminent threat to the community's health or welfare. Project selection shall take into consideration the recommendation of the relevant regional economic development council or the Commissioner's determination that the proposed project aligns with the regional strategic priorities of the respective region.

Forms and Documents

Grant Agreement Forms

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
Authorized Signature Form For Request For Funds	1-1 Instructions for Authorized Signature Form
ACH/Direct Deposit Authorization of NYS CDBG Funds	1-2 Instructions for Designation of Depository Form
7-2 Program Schedule Form	7-2 Instructions for Program Schedule
8-1 Project Team	8-1 Project Team Instructions
Certification Under Executive Order No. 16

Application and Schedule A Condition Forms

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
Applicant Certification Form
Applicant Disclosure Form
Application Project Team Form
CDBG Attachment Checklist - CFA
CDBG Program Income Report
Outline for Engineering Report
Preliminary Budget Table	Preliminary Budget Table Instructions
Public Hearing Template	First Public Hearing Template Instructions
Public Hearing Requirements
Public Infrastructure/Public Facilities Activity Detail Form - Updated 7/15/2022	PF-PI-LC Activity Detail Instructions
Smart Growth Compliance Form
Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire (VRQ)
CDOL Application Registration Form
CDOL Security Manager Registration Form

Environmental Review Forms

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
2-1 Designation of Certifying Officer
2-3 Certification of NEPA Classification	2-3 Certification of NEPA Classification
2-3A Certification of SEQRA Classification	2-3A Certification of SEQRA Classification
2-4 NEPA Classification Checklist	2-4 NEPA Classification Checklist
Form 2-5 Statutory Checklist	Form 2-5 Statutory Checklist
Form 2-5A Statutory Checklist	Form 2-5A Statutory Checklist
2-6 Environmental Assessment Checklist	2-6 Environmental Assessment Factors Guidance
1-3 Request for Release of Funds Form	1-3 Instructions for Request for Release of Funds
Tier 2 Template Checklist	Tier 2 Template Checklist Instructions

Disbursement of CDBG Funds

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
1-4 Housing Request for Funds	Request for Funds Instructions
1-4B Housing Assistance Summary Form	1-4B Housing Assistance Summary Instructions
1-5 Public Infrastructure - Facility Request for Funds
1-6 Economic Development Request for Funds
1-6B Microenterprise Business Project Summary

CDBG Reporting

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
Labor Standards Enforcement Report
APR Housing Activities	APR Housing Activities Instructions
APR Public Water-Public Sewer-Public Facilities Activities	APR Public Water-Sewer-Facility Instructions
APR Economic Development-Small Business Activities-Microenterprise Activities	APR Economic Development-Small Business-Microenterprise Instructions
9-1 Federal Assistance Expenditure Form	Form 9-1 Federal Assistance Expenditure Form Instructions
Family Income Form
Economic Development Job Forms
CDBG Program Income Report
CDBG Program Income Fact Sheet
Rental Lease Addendum Form
Rental Owner Certification
Rental Project Compliance Report
VAWA Lease Addendum v.1 JG (ny.gov)

General Grant Administration

Fillable Forms:	Instructions:
5-1 CDBG Lead Based Paint Compliance Certification - Rehab	5-1 and 5-2 CDBG Lead Based Paint Compliance Plan Certification Instructions
5-2 CDBG Lead Based Paint Compliance - Acquisition
5-9 Calculating Federal Rehabilitation Assistance
Budget Modification Form	Budget Modification Form Instructions
Exhibit 1-1 CDBG Local Recipient Administrative Plan	Local Administrative Plan Instructions
HTFC HCR Returned Funds Coversheet
Economic Development Job Forms	Economic Development Instructions
HTFC Model Release Form
HTFC Property Release Form
	Instructions for Completing Grant Closeout
Pre-Monitoring Checklist
	Mortgage Affordability Analysis and Calculation Instructions
Subrecipient Consultant Monitoring Template

File Maintenance Labels

Fillable Forms:
L-1 Label Instructions
L-2 Program Administration Labels
L-3 Public Facility / Water and Sewer Labels
L-3 Public Facility / Water and Sewer Label Instructions
L-4 Homeownership Labels
L-4 Homeownership Label Instructions
L-5 Housing Rehabilitation Labels
L-5 Housing Rehabilitation Label Instructions
L-6 Micro Enterprise Labels
L-7 Economic Development Labels

Program Guidelines

Eligibility

Cities, towns, and villages located in non-entitlement areas with a population under 50,000 and counties with an unincorporated population of 200,000 are eligible to apply for CDBG funding. Eligible applicants must be in substantial compliance with all applicable State and Federal laws, regulations, and Executive Orders that pertain to the CDBG Program.

Download Eligible Communities List

New York State Regional Economic Development Regions

Determining LMI Data

To determine your projects Low-and-Moderate Income (LMI) eligibility, click here. For assistance in using this tool, please contact your assigned Community or Economic Developer.

Low-and-Moderate (LMI) eligibility map tool

There are three types of housing projects eligible for CDBG funding:

• Housing Rehabilitation

• Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance

• Private Water/Wastewater System Assistance

The primary goal of any housing project is to increase the supply of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents. Through a needs analysis and detailed survey of income and housing conditions, each applicant will be able to determine the most suitable approach for addressing these goals.

Housing Rehabilitation

The CDBG program is highly flexible, allowing for communities to develop an approach to housing rehabilitation that best suits their needs. Examples include:

• Direct financial assistance as a grant or loan or a combination thereof
• Target area for substandard housing located in a defined geographic area
• Non-target area approach for substandard housing on scattered sites
• A focus on a certain income categories (i.e. below 50% of the median income)
• Selection criteria based on severity of need or first come, first serve approach
• Rehabilitation can be for owner-occupied or renter occupied
• Rehabilitation on vacant units for low- and moderate-income persons

Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance

CDBG Homeownership programs provide financial assistance to low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers for the purchase of homes. As with the rehabilitation activities, the program is designed to be flexible so communities can determine the appropriate means of assistance. Activities include the following:

• Direct financial assistance including down payment assistance and closing costs

• Counseling of prospective homeowners to ensure applicants have an understanding of program obligations, budgeting, and overhead costs.

• Minor rehabilitation of certain houses that are otherwise structurally sound.

• Successful homeownership applications include information on the manner in which the program will be marketed to potential applicants, a list of potential eligible applicants to document the market and need, real estate data including average cost of homes and number of homes available within the price range and evidence that the amount available is sufficient to address the need.

Private Water/Wastewater System Assistance

The CDBG program can help assure safe drinking water and wastewater systems to thorough activities such as drilling of private wells, construction or rehabilitation of septic systems, and installation of lateral connections to low- and moderate-income households from the public water/sewer mains. Applications for funding of lateral connections can be stand-alone projects or can be part of a larger public infrastructure project. However, in order for a community to construct the laterals out of CDBG funds, the homeowners must be low- and moderate-income.

Successful applications for private water/wastewater systems will include evidence that property owners are eligible and willing to participate in the program, information as to how the program will be marketed, and information on the level of subsidy and type of subsidy (loan or grant).

Maximum Grant Amounts

Drinking Water – Sanitary Sewer – Storm Drainage – Flood Control
Counties, Towns, Cities or Villages
$1,000,000

*With NYS Co-Funding Initiative
$1,250,000

Joint Applicants
$1,500,000

*Joint Applicants with NYS Co-Funding Initiative
$1,750,000

*For certain “co-funded” Public Infrastructure projects, applicants may apply for an amount of funding not to exceed limits identified above. “Co-funded” projects are those projects that include other State and/or Federal sources including, but not limited to, USDA Rural Development and/or the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). In order to qualify for this higher funding threshold, the applicant must clearly demonstrate that other co-funded sources are firmly committed and in place at the time of application. Please contact OCR for more information.

Public Facilities
Counties, Towns, Cities or Villages
$1,000,000

Single Family Housing Rehabilitation – Multi-Family Housing Rehabilitation – Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance – Standalone Water & Wastewater Systems/Laterals
County
$1,000,000
Towns, Cities, or Villages
$500,000

Manufactured Housing Replacement
County
$1,500,000
Towns, Cities or Villages
$750,000

Planning
Counties, Towns, Cities or Villages
$50,000

CDBG Objectives

Support a mix of rehabilitation and conversion activities to preserve and increase affordable housing for homeowners and renters
Encourage investment in communities by assisting local governments in devising and implementing economic development strategies to revitalize viable communities and provide economic opportunities that principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons
Revitalize the vibrancy of New York's communities and enhance the quality of life
Develop and implement strategies that facilitate the coordination of CDBG
funding with other Federal, State, and local community development resources.

Grant Administration Manual

The Grant Administration Manual outlines some of the key tasks that should be conducted when administering a Community Development Block Grant, and provides useful information regarding program requirements, regulations, policies and procedures. It contains exhibits and forms to be referenced or used during the implementation of the CDBG program or project.

Announcement of Changes to Grant Administration Manual

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 1: Getting Started

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 2: Environmental and Historic Review

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 3: Financial Management

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 4: Procurement Standards

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 5: Eligible Activities

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 6: Construction Requirements

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 7: Other Federal Requirements

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 8: File Maintenance

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 9: Modifications and Amendments

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 10: Monitoring

CDBG Grant Administration Manual Chapter 11: Reporting Requirements