Governor Hochul Awards $51 Million in Grants Throughout the State to Support Homeownership for Over 1,000 Households

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that 1,060 households will benefit from $51 million in grants to support affordable homeownership. The awards will help low- and moderate-income families make repairs, accessibility modifications or safety upgrades to their homes, replace manufactured homes, and provide down payment assistance for first-time buyers. Today’s announcement complements Governor Hochul’s $25 billion comprehensive Housing Plan which is on track to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

“This investment will make the dream of homeownership attainable and manageable for more than 1,000 households, allowing families and individuals across New York to live safely and affordably in homes of their own,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration is committed to increasing affordability for families and putting every tool at our disposal to work to address our housing crisis.”

The grants — administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal — were awarded to nonprofit organizations and localities to help preserve affordable housing, support veterans and older New Yorkers, increase access to homeownership, and strengthen local economies.

A summary of awards by region is below:

The awards are made through state and federally funded programs including NYS HOME, NYS Community Development Block Grant, Access to Home, Access to Home for Heroes, Access to Home for Medicaid, Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement, and RESTORE.

Each program accepts applications in an annual competitive funding round.

• NYS HOME Program funds can be used to acquire and/or rehabilitate single-family housing, provide down payment assistance, replace dilapidated mobile and manufactured homes as well as provide tenant based rental assistance to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income.
• NYS Community Development Block Grant Program provides federal funds to help localities with projects that improve communities and benefit their residents. Housing grants can be used to rehabilitate owner-occupied or renter-occupied homes, down payment assistance for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers, and private water/wastewater system assistance for low- and moderate-income homeowners.
• Access to Home program provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income persons with disabilities so that they can continue living safely and comfortably in their residences or return to live in their residences instead of in an institutional setting.
• Access to Home for Heroes provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income veterans with disabilities.
• Access to Home for Medicaid provides financial assistance to make residential units accessible for Medicaid-eligible persons with disabilities.
• Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement program assists low- and moderate-income homeowners to replace dilapidated mobile or manufactured homes that are sited on land owned by the homeowner with a new manufactured, modular, or site-built home.
• RESTORE provides financial resources to assist senior citizens with the cost of making emergency repairs and addressing code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety or affect the livability of the home. Assistance for the cost of these critical repairs enables seniors to continue to live independently in their homes.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Increasing access to housing and making homeownership an affordable reality is critical for all New Yorkers. The $51 million we announced today through a variety of programs will provide resources people need to make necessary home repairs and accessibility modifications, provide help with down payments, replace manufactured homes, and allow more than 1,000 households to live safely and securely in their communities. Thank you to our partners on the ground who are putting this investment to work on behalf of New Yorkers.”

Governor Hochul’s Housing Agenda

Governor Hochul is committed to addressing New York's housing crisis and making the State more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers. As part of the FY25 Enacted Budget, the Governor secured a landmark agreement to increase New York's housing supply through new tax incentives for Upstate communities, new incentives and relief from certain state-imposed restrictions to create more housing in New York City, a $500 million capital fund to build up to 15,000 new homes on state-owned property, an additional $600 million in funding to support a variety of housing developments statewide and new protections for renters and homeowners. As part of the FY23 Enacted Budget, the Governor announced a five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. More than 50,000 homes have been created or preserved to date.

The FY25 Enacted Budget also strengthened the Pro-Housing Community Program which the Governor launched in 2023. Pro Housing Certification is now a requirement for localities to access up to $650 million in discretionary funding. To date, more than 250 communities have been certified.