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New Yorkers can now apply to HEAP, a federal program that helps low-income households cool their homes each summer. But the initiative’s future is once again uncertain, as the White House looks to slash its funding next year.
As unusually warm weather hits the city this week, New York is opening applications for an annual federal program that helps low-income households cool their homes—though the initiative’s future is once again uncertain as the White House looks to slash its funding next year.
New Yorkers can now apply for this summer’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which provides free AC units to households with kids under 6 or adults over 60, or whose members have a medical condition that makes them vulnerable to heat. Participants must also meet income requirements, which are based on the number of people in their home (a single person, for instance, is eligible if they earn no more than $3,473 a month, or $41,676 a year).
The aid will be doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds run out, officials said. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is publicly available, some 21,225 New York City households applied for the benefit—the highest in six years—though only 13,138 actually received it, officials said.
That uptick in demand comes as climate change fuels increasingly hot weather. Heat kills more than 500 people a year across the five boroughs, a number that’s also grown over the last decade, according to the city.
“High temperatures can put some of our fellow New Yorkers, including older adults and children, in grave danger. I urge anyone who may be eligible for this potentially lifesaving benefit to apply as soon as possible,” said Barbara C. Guinn, commissioner at the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers HEAP at the state level.
People may not be able to apply next year, however. President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal wants to eliminate funding for HEAP, cutting its $4 billion budget entirely. The loss would have significant impact: in addition to cooling assistance, HEAP provides subsidies in the winter that helps around 1 million low-income New York City households pay their heating bills.
Trump made similar threats against HEAP last year. His new budget proposal says the administration will instead lower families’ energy costs “by unleashing energy production.” The president has slashed clean energy programs since taking office for the second time, pledging instead to reinvest in polluting fossil fuels and targeting states’ that pursue climate-friendly projects like offshore wind.
“The program rewards States such as New York and California, two of the top recipients for LIHEAP funding, which have implemented antienergy [sic] and anti-consumer policies that drive up home energy prices,” the White House’s budget proposal says.
In a statement Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul—who has herself earned the ire of environmental advocates this year, after she proposed weakening the state’s climate law—said Trump’s attempt to kill HEAP would “make life harder and more expensive for hard-working families.”
Rising energy costs and rate increases have led to a growing number of New York households that are behind on their utility bills, totaling nearly $1.8 billion in debt as of December, according to AARP and the Public Utility Law Project.
New York City residents can apply for HEAP cooling assistance online through the Human Resources Administration’s ACCESS NYC portal, or by visiting an HRA Benefits Center in person.
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