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Q&A
Council Member Brannan questions Commissioner Park about HEAP funding and program closure
0:43:48
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147 sec
Council Member Justin L. Brannan inquires about the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) funding in the executive plan and its premature closure in January. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park explains the federal nature of HEAP funding, reasons for the sudden closure, and the state's response to the situation.
- The executive plan includes $27.4 million for HEAP in FY '25 only.
- HEAP applications were running higher than anticipated statewide, leading to an early closure.
- The state reallocated $35 million to allow the program to remain open after initial closure.
- Concerns were raised about the president's proposal to eliminate the HEAP program.
Justin L. Brannan
0:43:48
I want to ask two more things.
0:43:50
I'm gonna turn it over to the deputy speaker.
0:43:52
The executive plan includes an additional 27,400,000.0 in HEAP, the the federal home energy assistance program, but it's FY '25 only.
0:44:02
So how is that amount determined, the 27,400,000.0?
Molly Wasow Park
0:44:07
I'm sorry, you're speaking about HEAP?
Justin L. Brannan
0:44:10
Yeah.
0:44:10
Executive plan includes $27,400,000 for Heap but it's for FY '25 only.
Molly Wasow Park
0:44:18
So with all of our grant funds we typically mod them in as the year goes by so that we are adjusting to know what we are getting from the state and how we are claiming.
0:44:33
Chief Johnson, anything you want to add there?
Chris Mann
0:44:35
Yeah, the only thing I would add is that the funding was added when the state reopened the application process.
Justin L. Brannan
0:44:40
I wanna ask about that too.
0:44:41
So it was reported, I guess, in the press that back in January, I think, the city received notice from the state that the HEAT program was closing applications two months ahead of schedule.
0:44:55
After that initial panic, Governor Hochul's office announced that the state would reallocate $35,000,000 from an unspecified source to allow these programs to remain open.
0:45:06
Do we know why this premature closure happened?
Molly Wasow Park
0:45:13
So Heap funds are federally funded.
0:45:15
There's a fixed dollar amount and the way that the program has traditionally been run by the state is they take applications and at the point at which they run out of money they will close the door.
0:45:27
Applications statewide, this is not a New York City specific issue, applications statewide were running higher than anticipated which is why they shut program door very suddenly given that it was in the peak of winter and that there were very serious ramifications.
0:45:44
We're pleased that the state was able to find additional financing, but I think it really reflects the critical nature of the program and the concern that we have with the president's proposal to eliminate it.
Justin L. Brannan
0:45:55
But from what you know, when they announced in January that they were suddenly shutting this down two weeks early or two months early, was it because they got a call from Washington saying the money's not coming or was it something else?
Molly Wasow Park
0:46:09
Because they had run out of the current year allocations.
Justin L. Brannan
0:46:12
I see.
0:46:12
Okay.
Molly Wasow Park
0:46:12
So they added state funding.
Justin L. Brannan
0:46:14
Got it.
0:46:14
Okay.