https://www.newyorkled.com/nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-74000-free-air-conditioners-for-the-elderly-and-most-vulnerable/With the aim of protecting New York City’s most vulnerable during the upcoming hot months, Mayor de Blasio stated that 74,000 free air conditioners would be provided to low-income seniors and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents. The announcement came today during his daily COVID-19 Response Press Conference.
Eligible individuals in need of air conditioners will be contacted with installations to begin next week.
As per a press release issued by the Mayor’s Office:
The City is also petitioning the Public Service Commission (PSC) for $72 million to help pay the utility bills for 450,000 vulnerable New Yorkers so they can afford to run their ACs and keep cool. The program would ensure that vulnerable New Yorkers can afford to use their air conditioners and protect families from preventable heat-related illness and death, including relief for COVID-19-discharged patients at greatest risk and NYCHA residents paying their own energy bills. As more families experience economic insecurity due to COVID-19, they may not be able to prioritize an air conditioner purchase or the corresponding utility bills, thereby increasing the risk of heat illness and death and compounding inequitable impacts of COVID-19.
Through the CARES Act, the Federal Government also allocated an additional $900 million in funding for the nationwide Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). The City is advocating for the State to allocate the use of its share in winter heating subsidy funds from the federal CARES Act for summer utility bill relief.
Topic: A/C’s available for low income seniors (Read 239 times)