MAYOR GIULIANI AND CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER PETER VALLONE ANNOUNCE
NEW STEPS TO HELP SENIORS THROUGH HEATING COST CRISIS

Pledge Additional $5 million in City Aid to Help Seniors to Pay Skyrocketing Heating Bills

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone today announced that the City is committing an additional $5 million to supplement the Department for the Aging's (DFTA) Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) to help ease the impact of steeply rising home heating costs on New York seniors.

"The City of New York is doing what it can to help some our most vulnerable residents-senior citizens-cope with the spike in prices caused by the OPEC monopoly," Mayor Giuliani said. "This one time assistance will help seniors make it through one of the most expensive winters on record. Seniors shouldn't have to face a choice between staying warm and eating. With this aid, they won't have to."

"This winter has been one of the costliest heating seasons in memory," Speaker Vallone said. "For our seniors living on fixed incomes, help is on the way. We are raising the income eligibility standards beyond the City's HEAP program to make cash assistance available to many more seniors. This will help them save hundreds of dollars in heating expenses through the rest of the cold season."

Department for the Aging Commissioner Herbert W. Stupp said, "Thanks to Mayor Giuliani and the City Council, older New Yorkers who have been terribly pressed by the high cost of their energy bills will be able to manage more comfortably this winter."

Councilmember Julia Harrison, Chair of the Committee on Aging, said, "This year's steep rise in heating costs has put a tremendous strain on senior citizens. They've had to dip into everything from meal and clothing money to their savings accounts just to keep warm. This program will get them the help they need right away."

Currently under HEAP, seniors whose income level is less than $1,030 per month, or less than $1,383 for a two person household, qualify for federal aid to pay heating bills. The average check paid out to senior households under HEAP is $100.

To offset the sharp increase in heating costs this winter, the income eligibility threshold to qualify for heating assistance is being raised, effective through the end of this winter. The income eligibility thresholds are being raised, for all senior-headed households by as much as $5,000 per person per year. At least 50,000 additional households could be served under the new threshold. The total cost to the City will be $5 million.

 

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