More on Long Island seek help to pay for heating

Despite mild temperatures so far this winter, home-heating oil has stayed above $4 a gallon and more than 55,000 Long Islanders -- an increase from last year -- are getting help from the federal government and private charities to pay for it.

The Nassau and Suffolk county departments of social services, which administer the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program locally, say the numbers of households getting help are up by 22 percent over a year earlier in Suffolk, to 33,866 families as of Dec. 31. In Nassau, the number is 21,541 households through Dec. 31, up about 2 percent from the total for all of last season. Most heat with oil. Gas this winter has been cheaper than last year.

"Our projections are that this [increase in demand] will not let up even if the winter stays relatively mild," said Gregory Blass, Suffolk's social services commissioner. His Nassau counterpart, John E. Imhof, said, "The benefits of the so-called economic recovery have not reached those struggling to make ends meet."

In both counties, officials say the increased pleas for help with heating costs track with increases in those seeking food stamps under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As Long Island continued to lose jobs last year, an additional 12 percent, or 4,100 Nassau County households, got benefits last year, raising the total to 38,829 as of late December.

In Suffolk, officials said the average monthly food stamp caseload last year was 48,250, up 18 percent from 2010.

One local charity, however, the United Way of Long Island, said requests for help from its Project Warmth heating cost assistance program are running behind last year's by 35 percent -- to 405 this season through Jan 31. Spokeswoman Julie Robinson-Tingue credits warmer weather.

The federal energy program has less money available this year than last because of budget cuts, although local officials say it's common for the program to receive supplemental funding late in the season if needed. New York State officials expect $374.7 million this season, down from $521.6 million last winter. Those cuts have reduced the maximum basic grant per household from $650 last year to $500 in both counties. Exact grant amounts vary by type of heating fuel and other factors.

Heating oil averaged $4.191 on the Island as of Monday, according to the state, 12.2 percent higher than a year earlier and the highest since April. Cold weather in Europe is the latest reason being given by experts for the high prices in the face of lower demand in the United States.

The Oil Heat Institute of Long Island says the average home uses about 900 gallons of oil a year for heat and hot water, and estimates that consumption this winter is off by about 30 percent.

WHO TO CALL FOR HELP

Nassau County residents
Call (516) 227-7605 and leave a message.
Seniors aged 60 and over and anyone permanently disabled may apply to: Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs
60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., 2nd Floor North Entrance
Uniondale, NY 11553

All others, including seniors in an emergency, must apply in person, or designate someone to apply for them, at:
EAC Inc., 175 Fulton Ave.,
Hempstead, NY 11550

Suffolk County residents
Call (631) 853-8820 between 8 AM and 4:15 PM Monday through Friday if you have an active food stamp or temporary assistance case. Other Suffolk residents should call the HEAP Hotline at 853-8825.