New York, NY – August 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — In 2009, the United States Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), providing $5 billion nationally for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), and HCR received approximately $396 million. Our WAP sub-grantees put this funding to work-making more than 70,000 homes of low-income people safe, affordable, and energy efficient-far exceeding our original goal of 45,000 housing units.
ARRA required our sub-grantee network to quickly expand capacity and production, creating jobs and economic opportunity. HCR’s weatherization staff was there to help our sub-grantees manage this growth, while keeping the program in compliance with a myriad of new and existing federal regulations, including new rules for Davis-Bacon compliance. WAP sub-grantees utilized ARRA funds to serve New Yorkers in virtually every living situation imaginable, including tenants and homeowners living in large apartment complexes, single family homes, co-ops, condominiums, mobile homes, and supportive housing. New York weatherized more multi-family, rental housing than any other state.
Here are the facts on how ARRA funds in the Weatherization Assistance Program were spent in New York State:
WAP sub-grantees weatherized more than 70,000 homes in New York State using ARRA funds
On average, energy cost for these housing units will be reduced by 25 percent or more
More than 1,400 New Yorkers were employed directly with ARRA funds
HCR’s Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity put new procedures in place to assist sub-grantees in reporting participation by minority and women-owned businesses in WAP
HCR actively collaborated with the State Department of Labor and Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to match weatherization job openings with State-sponsored training programs to target disadvantaged and dislocated workers
HCR program and fiscal staff monitored almost 20 percent of the units weatherized with ARRA funds, far exceeding the federal requirement.
These efforts will have a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of New York families.
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