How to Apply for Rent Relief in New York |
Weather: Mix of sun and clouds. High in the mid-70s. |
Alternate-side parking: In effect until June 19 (Juneteenth). |
 | | Robert Presutti for The New York Times |
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After losing her kitchen job last year, Ana Galvez, a Bronx resident, found herself unable to catch up on her rent payments for the first time in a decade. Her debt for her two-bedroom apartment, with rent and other fees accumulating since March 2020, could exceed $25,000. |
Now, applications are open for the state's Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which will offer help to New Yorkers who have struggled to make payments during the pandemic, like Ms. Galvez (shown above). |
Here's what to know about the program: |
The website includes information on the documents that will be needed and what to do if they are unavailable. |
Citizenship and immigration status do not affect eligibility. Landlords can apply on behalf of tenants, though some personal information from tenants will be necessary. |
How much could I receive? |
Those who are approved for the program could receive relief for up to 12 months of rental arrears dating from March 13, 2020, along with missed payments for gas or electric utilities. For some households, up to three months of additional rental assistance will be covered. |
How does this differ from previous efforts? |
The program plans to distribute more than $2 billion in assistance. |
Another rent relief initiative last year set aside $100 million, though less was ultimately distributed. Extensive qualifications and documentation made the process difficult, said Ellen Davidson, a lawyer at the Legal Aid Society who represents tenants, and many applicants did not qualify. The program was aimed at helping to pay only a percentage of rent. |
But Jay
Martin,
executive
director
of
the
Community
Housing
Improvement
Program, a group that represents landlords, said that there was still little communication with property owners around logistics in the development of the process, an issue that he worried would magnify barriers. |
What if I run into problems while applying? |
So far, tenant and landlord groups say they have heard of a range of obstacles. Some people, for example, have reported needing to clear their browser's cache for the application to work, after receiving error messages. |
Applicants can call a state hotline at 844-691-7368 for assistance, and many local organizations are also helping to navigate the process and hurdles. |
| Stefanos Chen contributed reporting. |
Senior centers will be allowed to restart in-person indoor programming this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. [amNY] |
The police will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew at Washington Square Park on certain days following complaints from residents. [Gothamist] |
An art gallery in Manhattan that commemorated the anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre was vandalized with white paint. [NBC 4 New York] |
And finally: Broadway's rebound takes another step |
The return to stage is gaining steam. |
The producers of "Pass Over," a bracing play about two Black men trapped on a street corner, announced this week that they plan to begin performances on Broadway in the first week of August, advancing the industry's planned restart by nearly a month. |
"Every single day it feels like New York specifically, and Times Square in a focused way, is coming back to life, and I want our show to be part of that," the show's playwright, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, said. "I want our show to be a very visible and very instrumental part of leading that charge, and so after we had done our due diligence and I knew that it was a safe thing to do, I said yes." |
Broadway has been closed since March 12, 2020, and resumption plans have shifted several times. Three juggernauts, "Hamilton," "The Lion King" and "Wicked," chose the initial restart date — Sept. 14 — and then "Hadestown" chose Sept. 2. "Pass Over" now has the earliest performance date announced thus far. But it remains possible that another show could begin even sooner. |
Still, "Pass Over" has some characteristics that make it easier to stage in this era: The cast consists of three actors, and the show runs an intermission-free 85 minutes. The play is also timely: The two leads are immobilized by their fear of dying at the hands of the police, a concern that has been much a part of the national conversation over the past year. |
The producers said that they expect to perform to full-capacity audiences at the August Wilson Theater — an anticipated 1,190 seats, during previews as well as post-opening — and that they will consult with the health authorities and labor unions before determining which safety protocols will be in place. |
"This is not about opening early, opening first or anything like that," said Matt Ross, the play's lead producer. "It was about, 'How soon can we bring this story, which I feel is really vital, to audiences?' and 'How soon can we employ people in a way that is safe and responsible?' We feel that this is the right time for us." |
It's Wednesday — get out and about. |
Metropolitan Diary: Second Avenue station |
It was early one evening, and I was in the Second Avenue subway station in the East Village. I was on my way to Brooklyn for a friend's birthday party. |
An accordionist playing polka classics was on the platform. She wore a 1950s-style dress that made her look much older than she probably was. |
As I waited for the F to arrive, I stood by one of the riveted steel columns preparing a last-minute gift: an old wrench from my tool collection. |
I like giving such objects away to friends. Despite being rusted and worn, the tools convey an honest beauty. They become art objects in my mind after losing their function. |
The final touch was adding a note on the side. I used an old plastic label maker from my childhood, clicking out the letters "H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y" on faux-wood-patterned tape. |
A train pulled into the station as I cut off a final piece of plastic. The woman with the accordion wandered toward me while she continued to play. |
"Don't label me," she said with a smile. |
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