Long Beach pol begs 2nd chance for those who missed NY Rising’s deadline

Six months after NY Rising closed to new applicants, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, citing “a variety of compelling circumstances,” is asking Gov. Cuomo to extend the deadline.

Weisenberg said constituents have complained that they endured constantly changing criteria, did not understand the significance of the deadline or did not have access to technology required to apply for the program. He requested that the program be reopened, and that the deadline for enrollment, which ended April 11, be extended until Dec. 31.

“It’s a cry for help, from people who are still devastated because of the difficulty and changes in the process,” said Weisenberg, who is retiring when his term ends this winter. “Too many people that are deserving are not going to do what they need to do to be able to have some kind of stability in their life and recover.”

State officials respond that the program remained open for a year, was well publicized, and is currently serving thousands of South Shore residents.

Weisenberg said that many residents came to his office since the enrollment period ended in April, and told him they were unaware of the deadline and as a result cannot obtain grant money they needed to fix their homes. Long Beach has a large elderly population that is not as proficient with technology or does not have access to it, he said.

“People had disabilities, problems in their families, a lot of people were not properly given information to understand that there was a deadline,” Weisenberg said.

In his letter to Cuomo, he asked that NY Rising be temporarily reopened for “individuals who did not apply due to difficulties with electronic applications; a lack of knowledge about the publicized deadlines because of long-term re-locations; religious restrictions on mainstream media viewing, and in some instances, a limited understanding of the significance of the deadline due to illness, age or disability.”