Relief fund launched for undocumented N.Y. residents reeling from Ida damage: ‘Every New Yorker matters’
Undocumented New Yorkers whose homes and belongings were destroyed by the remnants of Hurricane Ida earlier this month can receive as much as $72,000 in financial assistance under a new relief program rolled out by state and city officials on Monday.
The $27 million program aims to ensure that undocumented residents — whose immigration status excludes them from most federal relief programs — can receive the same type of Ida aid as their citizen neighbors, Gov. Hochul said.
“This is a day that demonstrates one thing: That every New Yorker matters,” Hochul said during a press conference at the Queens Museum in Flushing. “Let me repeat that: Every New Yorker matters.”
Ida killed 13 city residents, devastated entire neighborhoods and caused millions of dollars in property damage when it slammed into New York on Sept. 1.
Unlike New Yorkers with legal immigration status, undocumented residents have not been able to apply for Ida-related financial compensation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a major disaster declaration issued by President Biden that covers Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland counties.
The new fund seeks to plug that gap by funneling the $27 million to community groups in the impacted counties that will distribute the money to undocumented residents without asking for proof of immigration status, according to Hochul’s office.
Applicants for the fund must still submit proof of property damage and other records.
“The difference will be you do not need to prove citizenship,” she said.
Like the FEMA fund, applicants can receive upward of $36,000 to cover damages to their homes. Another $36,000 is available for other types of property damage and financial losses.
Eligible residents have until Nov. 27 to apply. They can submit applications by calling 800-566-7636.
The program is bankrolled by $20 million from state government coffers and $7 million from Mayor de Blasio’s administration.
De Blasio, who did not attend Hochul’s press conference in Queens, said in his daily briefing that more than 5,000 undocumented immigrants in the city were “affected very directly by Ida,” according to his administration’s estimates.
“We’ve seen this with COVID, we’re seeing it again with the hurricane — it hit in an unequal way,” the mayor said. “The folks who were hurt the most, in many cases, were not only working-class people, hardworking, struggling people, immigrants, but, in many cases, undocumented immigrants.”
Several state lawmakers who joined Hochul in Queens stressed that the new fund is a matter of fairness, as undocumented immigrants are ineligible for a variety of state and federal benefits even though most of them pay taxes.
Nancy Ospina, an undocumented housekeeper from Queens who appeared at Hochul’s press conference, said her apartment was completely destroyed by Ida and that she “lost everything” to the storm.
“All these years, I’ve done my taxes,” Ospina said in Spanish, holding back tears. “Thank you, governor, for doing something for us.”
