De Blasio touts housing initiative for low-income residents with HIV, AIDS
Participants march in the 29th Annual AIDS Walk New York in Central Park on Sunday, May 18, 2014. Credit: Charles Eckert
The fight against AIDS and HIV is now in its fourth decade, but many advocates are working to ensure the cause doesn't lose its urgency because "this crisis continues and we have more to do," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday, speaking in Central Park for the GMHC AIDS Walk.
"This is one of the things a citizen can do that makes a huge difference, standing up and acting because the fight continues," he told about 30,000 participants in the walk, which raises money and awareness. "Sometimes when the struggle goes on so long, people lose their sense of urgency . . . but you haven't let that happen. You feel the passion to keep fighting."
The mayor touted an initiative with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that seeks to help low-income New York City residents living with HIV or AIDS.
The measure, announced by de Blasio and Cuomo in February and part of the fiscal year 2015 state budget, caps the rent of those who qualify at 30 percent of their income. New York City will cover about two-thirds of the program's cost, while the state will pay for the remaining one-third.
The housing subsidy provides the residents with a "measure of justice," de Blasio said Sunday.
The mayor also said the city's Human Resources Administration and its Health and Hospitals Corporation offers services for people with HIV and AIDS.
De Blasio Monday is set to deliver the keynote address at Internet Week New York, outlining the role of the technology industry in the city's economy.
CORRECTION: The attendance was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
