Half-way through a summer of scorching heat waves, New York state has closed applications for this year’s cooling assistance program.
The program covers the cost of an air conditioning unit or fan for eligible, low-income households with members who are vulnerable to heat. That includes households with a member who has a medical condition exacerbated by extreme heat, and those with children and older adults.
A spokesperson for the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance said the program opened on April 15, two weeks earlier than last year, to encourage early applications, so more A/C units could be installed before the hot weather arrived.
The program closed on July 19. After all applications are processed, the state expects to have served more than 27,000 New York households with the $22 million of federal funding earmarked for the program.
That’s an increase from last year, when officials said $17 million in federal funding was used to help over 21,000 households.