Cash assistance is being dispersed or in the pipeline to nearly 500 applicants, with some slated to get multiple payments, but nonprofit administrators don’t expect the full pool of money to be used up.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has included the leftover funds in her proposed budget, without a specific plan for what comes next.
Groups distributing the dollars are pushing for the creation of a permanent relief fund for undocumented New Yorkers affected by natural disasters in the future.
“I don’t see a scenario where they’ll actually spend the full amount,” said Becca Telzak, deputy director of Make the Road New York, one of the six community-based organizations administering the funds.