Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Rockland’s Office of Community Development Assistant Director Maria Frank made an announcement yesterday, Sept. 29, to inform the county that applications are now open for access to grants from federal CARES Act funding.
The county received $3,550,162 for the purpose of preventing, preparing for and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We know Rockland is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and this funding is just one of the ways we in county government are working to support local businesses, nonprofits and residents,” Day said. “We are here to help these groups navigate the application process and federal requirements of this program.”
The grants are available to small businesses for employee retention and operating costs and to nonprofits for activities and services benefiting individuals and communities affected by the pandemic, as well as to individuals in need of rent relief.
The Small Business Grant Relief Program will award minimum grants of $5,000 and maximum grants of $45,000 to allow businesses to keep operating and prevent closings and layoffs related to Covid-19 orders and policies.
The Nonprofit Public Services Program will support activities that prepare for, prevent and respond to difficulties related to the pandemic ”” specifically, those that benefit or assist low- and moderate-income populations.
The Rent Relief Grant Program will fund up to six months of past-due rent, along with six months of past-due utility bills if funding allows.
To qualify, applicants must be able to document a 30% income reduction since March 1, 2020 and total income must not exceed 80% of Rockland County’s area median income, which is $66,850 for an individual, $76,400 for a two-person household and $95,450 for a four-person household. Residents of public housing are not eligible.
Location Requirement
According to the county, federal requirements mandate that only certain areas of the county are eligible for CARES assistance. Those areas of eligibility are those that are a part of the 2019 HUD Action Plan Urban Consortium: the towns of Clarkstown, Haverstraw and Stony Point and the villages of Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Grand View, Haverstraw, Hillburn, Kaser, Montebello, New Hempstead, Nyack, Piermont, Pomona, Sloatsburg, South Nyack, Spring Valley, Suffern, and West Haverstraw.
Recipients must be registered and located in these municipalities (in the case of businesses), serving county residents located in them (in the case of nonprofits) or be located in them (in the case of households).
