Governor Cuomo Announces $20.4 Million in Grants Awarded to Help Low- and Moderate-Income New Yorkers Repair or Replace Their Homes

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $20.4 million in grant awards have been made to nonprofit organizations and municipalities in every region of New York State to help low- and moderate-income homeowners make repairs to their homes or replace dilapidated manufactured homes. The 58 grants were awarded through several programs administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

"New Yorkers deserve to be able to own and maintain their homes without breaking the bank, and these awards provide support to homeowners throughout the state who are trying to make ends meet during this pandemic," Governor Cuomo said. These awards will help New Yorkers make important repairs, make their homes more accessible and replace dilapidated manufactured or mobile homes."

Through HCR's Office of Community Renewal, grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and municipalities through a variety of state and federally funded programs aimed at creating and preserving affordable housing, improving and revitalizing neighborhoods, and strengthening local economies. This includes: Access to Home, Access to Home for Heroes, Access to Home for Medicaid, Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement, RESTORE and the NYS HOME Local Program.

OCR issues grant awards to units of local government and nonprofit organizations throughout New York State. This structure, called Local Program Administration, leverages the expertise of local partners and expands OCR's capacity statewide.  

A breakdown of OCR programs and funding awarded is available below:

Access to Home 
The Access to Home program provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income persons with disabilities. This assistance with the cost of adapting homes enables individuals to safely and comfortably continue to live in their residences or return to live in their residences instead of residing in an institutional setting.  

HCR awarded seven Access to Home grants totaling $955,000. 

Access to Home for Heroes 
The Access to Home for Heroes program provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income veterans with disabilities.

HCR awarded three Access to Home for Heroes grants totaling $600,000. 

Access to Home for Medicaid  
The Access to Home for Medicaid Recipients program provides financial assistance to make residential units accessible for Medicaid-eligible persons with disabilities.  

HCR awarded seven Access to Home for Medicaid Recipients grants totaling $1 million. 

Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement  
The Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement program assists low- and moderate-income homeowners to replace dilapidated mobile or manufactured homes that are sited on land owned by the homeowner with a new manufactured, modular or site-built home.  

HCR awarded eight MMHR grants totaling $3.7 million. 

RESTORE 
The RESTORE program provides financial resources to assist senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety or affect the livability of the home. Assistance for the cost of these critical repairs enables seniors to continue to live independently in their homes.  

HCR awarded 10 RESTORE grants totaling $1.3 million. 

NYS HOME Local Program 
HCR administers NYS HOME Local Program funds to expand the supply of decent, safe, and affordable housing throughout the state. Among the various activities allowed, HOME funds can be used to acquire and/or rehabilitate single-family housing, provide down payment assistance, replace dilapidated mobile and manufactured homes as well as provide tenant based rental assistance to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income. 

HOME awards include: 

• Fifteen awards totaling $4.2 million to assist homeowners with repairs 
• Seven awards totaling $3.5 million for down payment assistance  
• Three awards totaling $3.5 million for manufactured home replacement 
• Three awards totaling $1.7 million for tenant-based rental assistance 

A complete list of awards is available here.

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "Our $20.4 million in awards will make a huge difference in the lives of homeowners across the state. By funding accessibility modifications, addressing emergency repairs and replacing obsolete manufactured homes, we are ensuring that seniors, disabled adults, veterans and other low- and moderate-income households can remain living safely and securely in the place they call home."