NYC Water Board also authorizes extending credit to approximately 12,000 senior citizen homeowners & new credit for multi-family buildings for FY18
Mayor de Blasio today announced that more than 53,000 low-income homeowners are receiving an automatic $115 credit on their water and sewer bill. In addition, the New York City Water Board has authorized the extension of the credit to approximately 12,000 additional senior citizens in FY18. The Water Board has also approved a new $250 per residential unit credit, to begin next year, for multi-family buildings that meet certain affordability, conservation and performance criteria. The new Multifamily Affordable Housing Credit will provide a total of $10 million of assistance to properties, serving as many as 40,000 units, while helping to incentivize affordability.
“We are putting water rate relief directly into the hands of low-income homeowners and senior citizens across the city,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Maintaining reasonable water and sewer rates is a key piece of the affordability puzzle for hard-working New York families.”
In 2015, the Home Water Assistance Program provided the first annual credit to 12,500 low-income homeowners who qualify for the federal Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). In 2016, the program was expanded to also include low-income senior and disabled homeowners who receive a DOF property tax exemption. Beginning in FY18, the program will reach senior citizens with a combined annual income of less than $50,000. DEP partners with HRA to identify qualified residents that receive a HEAP benefit, with DOF to identify customers with property tax exemptions, as well as HPD and HDC to identify eligible multi-family buildings that conserve water and enter into an agreement to keep rents affordable.
The $115 credit will appear on the next water and sewer bill for the following customers:
Bronx: 4,717
Brooklyn: 16,659
Manhattan: 101
Queens: 23,149
Staten Island: 8,451
“In New York City we know that every drop of water counts, but we also know that every dollar counts,” said DEP Acting Commissioner Sapienza. “Over the last few years tens of thousands of low-income residents have benefitted from the Home Water Assistance Program and we are thrilled to now expand it to even more of our senior customers, while still keeping water and sewer rates affordable for all New Yorkers.”
“We are proud to work with the Department of Environmental Protection to extend this important benefit to eligible New Yorkers,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “Programs like this and the Home Energy Assistance Program help seniors and other low income homeowners stay safely in their homes and communities.”
“The City is leaving no stone unturned in the effort to preserve and expand the stock of affordable housing across the city,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “This new Multi-Family Affordable Housing Credit will extend needed relief to owners struggling with rising operating costs, helping to safeguard the long-term affordability and health of their buildings. We are grateful to DEP Acting Commissioner Sapienza for his leadership in conserving our precious water supply while supporting programs to create a more affordable and sustainable future for our city.”
“The expansion of the water and sewer bill credit in addition to the new Multifamily Affordable Housing Credit will ease the financial burden for many older New Yorkers,” said Department for the Aging Commissioner Donna Corrado. “Seniors shouldn’t have to choose between maintaining the roof over their head and paying for other essentials.”
