By Olivia Winslow

Updated October 20, 2023 8:13 pm

Long Island public assistance recipients with at least one child under 17 are among 120,000 statewide to get an extra $100 one-time payment from federal pandemic-era emergency funds other states failed to use, Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced.

New York received the $12 million in federal funding to provide a “one-time Family Economic Support payment to low-income families with children,” the governor said in a statement. Called the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund, it will be administered by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and will provide households with children aged 17 and under that receive public assistance with a payment of “approximately $100,” the governor’s announcement said.

The money comes from the federal Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund, part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and created to help needy families during the COVID-19 pandemic. New York initially received $128 million through the fund.

One-time payments were scheduled to be issued beginning Tuesday. Eligible families were to be notified by mail that they would be receiving a payment. About 120,000 families statewide with children under 17 are eligible, the governor said.

Just over $318,000 was allocated for Long Island: $203,800 in Suffolk County and $114,400 in Nassau, according to a spokeswoman for the governor.

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Suffolk’s Social Services Commissioner Frances Pierre said in a statement that the department “supports additional measures and funding mechanisms to further assist our residents who are in need to cover critical expenses and such households who are facing economic hardships.”

Nassau County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rebecca Sanin, president and chief executive of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, said: “In an environment in which inflation continues to make it challenging for families to meet the most basic of needs and with a looming federal shut down that could further harm Long Island families, this modest, one-time assistance for families battling the traumatic experience of poverty will be welcomed.” 

Hochul said, “Due to our success in providing assistance from the federal Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund to some of our most vulnerable residents, New York has qualified for additional funding that went unused by other states. This federal funding further helps households that suffered from the economic toll caused by the pandemic and gives these families a quick infusion of cash to assist with their expenses.”

According to Hochul, the federal Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund has already helped hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers with their essential needs, including:

• In February 2022, $19 million was provided to households enrolled in public assistance or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, with $140 for each child aged 3 or under to defray the cost of diapers.
• In April 2022, the fund provided $730 in food benefits to more than 28,000 multigenerational households. The one-time payments helped about 31,500 adults over the age of 55, providing more than $23 million to families throughout the state.
• In May 2022, families on public assistance with a child 17 or younger in their household received a payment of $250 from the fund to help pay for housing expenses, bills, and other critical needs. Roughly 110,000 households received payments totaling nearly $28 million, potentially helping more than 216,000 children.
• In August 2022, more than $44 million was distributed to help families with children receiving public assistance to cover back-to-school and early life nutritional expenses. Payments totaling $39 million were made to the households of 184,000 school-aged children. Additionally, $5 million in payments were made to households with children ages 3 and under, potentially benefiting about 34,000 toddlers.
• In September 2022, nearly $3 million in payments were made to more than 2,700 older adults living in multigenerational households that receive public assistance.