By Rick Pezzullo–
The North Tarrytown Housing Authority in Sleepy Hollow was one of 10 public housing agencies in New York State to receive a share of more than $2 million to deal with financial shortfalls.
Overall, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $25 million to 181 public housing agencies (PHAs) nationwide.
The North Tarrytown Housing Authority, which owns and manages the 86-bedroom complex Margotta Court at 126 Valley St., will receive $164,794.
“The Coronavirus pandemic severely affected many public housing authorities in HUD Region II, New York, and New Jersey. Early on, HUD provided COVID-19 relief funding to assist with the emergency, and PHAs responded immediately to the needs of their residents, providing additional services to keep them safe,” said HUD Region II Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel. “This new funding will help stabilize the authorities that need additional resources, ensuring residents continue to live in safe, sanitary, and stable housing.”
PHA awardees facing shortfalls are defined as having less than three months of operating expenses held in reserve. While PHAs of various sizes may have been eligible to receive funding, HUD is concerned with the ability of small and very-small PHAs to generate resources to supplement their public housing program, and therefore prioritized these PHAs in the distribution of funds.
To establish that PHAs that receive shortfall funding take appropriate steps to ensure long-term financial solvency, HUD will undertake the additional monitoring of all PHAs that receive funding under this category. Additionally, HUD has identified and informed the PHAs of recommended actions that the PHAs can take to improve their financial performance. PHAs that receive Shortfall funding are required to develop a plan identifying action items the PHA can take to improve their financial performance.
“Public housing agencies, like other organizations, have been impacted by financial disruptions from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dominque Blom, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at HUD. “Supporting PHAs in this way is critical to serving HUD-assisted households. These funds stabilize PHAs so that they can meet the needs of residents and taking steps toward long-term financial stability.”
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