By Craig Giammona
At a morning news conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Housing Authority Chairman Tino Hernandez said the city would provide an additional 22,000 Section 8 housing vouchers over the next two years. The expansion of the Section 8 program stems from a $100 million federal budget increase and will allow the city to open its housing voucher waiting list for the first time in 12 years, city officials said. Bloomberg said the Section 8 list was closed in December 1994 due to federal budget cuts.”This really is a very big deal in the housing business,” Bloomberg said.Bloomberg said 12,000 vouchers will be distributed this year and 10,000 next year.Section 8 vouchers allow qualified city residents to rent housing from private landlords. The eligibility requirements are fairly complex, city officials said, but generally begin with income guidelines set by the federal government. A family of four making $35,000 could qualify for Section 8, city officials said.Qualified families put 30 percent of their income toward the “Fair Market Rent” established by the federal government, while NYCHA pays the balance directly to the landlord.One difficulty for the city could be finding landlords who are willing to accept Section 8 vouchers.”It's never easy in New York City, the market is tight,” Hernandez said. About 30,000 private landlords currently accept Section 8 vouchers in New York. Hernandez said work has already begin to identify more who are willing to participate in the program. In addition, NYCHA has begun updating its waiting list, which because it dates back to 1994 contains a good deal of outdated information.”We currently don't have the pool to do 22,000 over the next two years,” Hernandez said. “We had 127,000, but we're not finding some people.”NYCHA will begin accepting Section 8 applications this week, Hernandez said. The applications must be postmarked by May 14. The applications are in English, but Hernandez said translated instructions will be available on the city's Web site.Reach reporter Craig Giammona by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
