The transfer of up to $2 million in Emergency Rental Assistance Program funding is going to the towns of Babylon and Brookhaven to help residents who are having trouble paying their housing leases due to the pandemic, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Thursday. Credit: John Roca

Suffolk officials on Thursday announced the transfer of up to $2 million dollars in federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program funding to the towns of Babylon and Brookhaven.

The county got $14.5 million in such money, called ERAP funding, to help renters having trouble paying their housing leases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and paid $10 million in assistance in all to 500 renters in Smithtown and the five easternmost towns.

But the county doesn’t have enough qualifying applicants for the remainder of the money, a Suffolk spokeswoman said.

In contrast, Babylon and Brookhaven towns have exhausted their funds but still have applications from residents looking for help, officials there said.

The federal rental assistance funding is distributed through the state. Lower-income renters can qualify for help paying up to a year of overdue rent and up to three months of future rent under the program.

"We know the pandemic really highlighted and exacerbated a lot of the challenges and struggles that people are facing in the region. At the top of that list is housing," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said at a Central Islip news conference. “These additional funds …will help provide renters with a lifeline.”

The state’s rental assistance application portal soon will close, with no new applications — which can be submitted on the web page for the state's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance — accepted after 9 p.m. Friday. 

Deputy County Executive Vanessa Baird-Streeter said there are “over 100 applications in the pipeline” that could receive the funding. She said many are in limbo because landlords must agree to accept the money and some have yet to sign off.

 Sondra Cochran, Wyandanch Community Development Corporation’s executive director, said her office had to install an additional phone line to handle the call volume they received for rental assistance and still are getting several calls a day.  

As of Jan. 6, Babylon had distributed $15.5 million in ERAP money over 920 payments and Brookhaven distributed $44.2 million among 2,585 payments, according to the state. 

Babylon has 794 applications for rent assistance pending, but numbers weren't immediately available Thursday for Brookhaven. 

"We will certainly put this money to good use to help out our residents in need," Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said in an email.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said in a statement that many residents still are experiencing “residual economic hardship” from the pandemic.

“We helped a lot of people in need,” he said. “Now, we have the opportunity to help even more people."

A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We’re celebrating Women’s History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

Celebrating Women's History Month at Newsday A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We're celebrating Women's History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We’re celebrating Women’s History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

Celebrating Women's History Month at Newsday A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We're celebrating Women's History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

Latest videos

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME