New Emergency Assistance With Rent, Small Business Grants: County

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — As the number of new coronavirus cases continues to spike in Suffolk, new emergency rental assistance and grants for small businesses will be distributed, County Executive Steve Bellone said.

On Friday, Bellone announced the launch of a new Suffolk initiative, "Bringing Assistance for COVID-19 to Operating Professionals", a rental and small business assistance program for county residents and business owners facing hardships due to the ongoing pandemic.

The new two-part BACKSTOP program will distribute nearly $600,000 in emergency rental assistance to residents and provide nearly 150 small businesses with grants up to $10,000, Bellone said.

Applications for the rental assistance program and for the small business assistance grant program will open on Dec. 17.

“We are now nine months into this pandemic, and with cases surging once again we need to provide residents in need tangible assistance,” Bellone said. “This new rent relief program coupled with financial aid to struggling small businesses will provide help to some of our most vulnerable residents.”

The rent program will provide a one-time rental assistance payment to eligible applicants in an amount up to 100 percent of one month’s rent, up to a maximum of $2,500, Bellone said.

The program funds residents in existing rental units.

Here's how it works: The applicant will be required to fill out and sign a self-certification form to verify their income and how they were affected by the pandemic, Bellone said. Landlords must participate and funds will be distributed directly to the landlord.

All applications are due on Jan. 15, 2021, and a lottery will be held to select awardees. Prior to the application deadline, the county will provide outreach to community-based organizations to help people through the application process.

For additional information on participating municipalities, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, and income eligibility, click here. In order to qualify, according to Bellone, applicants must:

• Be a Suffolk County resident who is currently occupying a legal permanent housing unit (no hotels, motels, or dorms) within one of the participating consortium municipalities.
• Have a fully-executed lease that has been in effect for a minimum of one month at the time of application, and has a term of at least one year.
• Have a total household income within the HUD guidelines, which has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Meet the 2020 income guidelines

Business assistance

Suffolk County will launch its own COVID-19 small business assistance grant program: With $1 million available of Community Development Block Grant funding, the county will provide nearly 150 small businesses with a grant of up to $10,000, based on their number of full-time employees, Bellone said.

Businesses with up to 10 employees will be eligible for a maximum grant of $5,000, while businesses with 11 to 50 employees will be eligible for a maximum of up to $10,000 in grant funding, he added.

The program is designed to assist struggling small businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Eligible businesses include gyms, hair salons and barber shops, nail salons, restaurants, bars, and taverns, Bellone said.

Businesses must be located within one of the participating municipalities to be eligible for funding and can apply to the grant program starting on Dec.17. Additional eligibility details can be found here.

Due to finite resources, Bellone again urged Washington to pass a comprehensive disaster assistance package that will not only protect essential workers, but provide critical relief to families in crisis and small businesses that are struggling to survive.