The Statewide Section 8 Program was created in 1976 to administer the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 vouchers and certificates across New York State. Our goal is to provide tenant based housing assistance in the form of Housing Choice Vouchers to eligible low and very-low income families living in the State of New York.
Today, the Statewide Section 8 Program provides housing assistance to nearly 40,300 families. Approximately 18,000 landlords receive housing assistance payments of over $350,000,000 annually
The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) administers the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program through sub-contracts with Local Administrators, in most instances on a county-wide basis. These Local Administrators make all day-to-day administrative decisions based on their community's needs in accordance with U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. This relationship has proven to be an effective way of administering programs and maximizing local and Statewide resources. HCR Local Administrators operate Section 8 Programs in the following counties:
| Albany | Herkimer | Saratoga |
| Allegany | Jefferson | Schuyler |
| Cattaraugus | Lewis | Seneca |
| Cayuga | Livingston | Steuben |
| Chautauqua | Madison | St. Lawrence |
| Chemung | Nassau | Suffolk |
| Chenango | Niagara | Sullivan |
| Clinton | Oneida | Tioga |
| Columbia | Onondaga | Tompkins |
| Delaware | Ontario | Ulster |
| Dutchess | Orange | Washington |
| Essex | Orleans | Wayne |
| Franklin | Oswego | Westchester |
| Genesee | Otsego | Wyoming |
| Greene | Putnam | Yates |
| Hamilton | Rockland |
The HCR Subsidy Services Bureau currently manages over 7,300 vouchers subsidizing low income families within the five boroughs including 3565 Tenant Protection Vouchers awarded to HCR by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Approximately 50% of voucher recipients are elderly and/or disabled persons on fixed incomes.
The Enhanced Section 8 Outreach Program (ESOP), located in downtown Yonkers, New York, is a HCR Local Section 8 Administrator. ESOP is a special fair housing mobility office that has assisted over 500 participants to date in securing quality housing in economically and racially mixed neighborhoods of Westchester County.
The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) combines Housing Choice Voucher subsidies with public and private resources to assist participating families in achieving self-sufficiency and attaining economic stability within a five-year period. HCR administers the FSS Program in 32 counties throughout New York State and, with a current enrollment of 2,149 families, the program has graduated over 1,900 participants since 1998.
The Housing Choice Voucher Home Ownership Program enables current eligible rental participants to use their voucher subsidy toward a mortgage payment. Since the year 2000, this program has successfully assisted 328 families in achieving home ownership making HCR one of the leading PHAs in the United States for Section 8 homeownership closings.
In 2006 HCR was awarded $1,000,000 in funding from U. S. Department of Health & Human Services to administer the Assets for Independence (AFI) Program, which enables community-based nonprofits and government agencies to implement and demonstrate an assets-based approach for helping low-income families move up from poverty toward economic stability. With matching funds being provided by the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation, AFI families use accrued savings in their Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) toward closings costs and other expenses in the purchase of their first home via the HCR Section 8 Homeownership Program.
HCR administers the federal Family Unification Program (FUP) under which Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are provided to families for whom the lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in the separation, or the threat of imminent separation, of children from their families. Vouchers awarded under the FUP program are administered in accordance with HUD regulations for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
HCR administers the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Program in Albany, New York, executing Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contracts with private property owners who agree to rehabilitate their privately-owned housing and to house eligible families.
HOUSING OPERATIONS - SECTION 8 PROGRAM
Michael Skrebutenas - Executive Deputy Commissioner
Alan L. Smith - Assistant Commissioner
Vincent G. Fagon - SEMAP/Quality Control Supervisor
Patricia Watler Johnson - Communications Coordinator
Deborah A. Moore - Homeownership Coordinator
Helen Downing - Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinator
Blanca Cardona - Director, Subsidy Services Bureau
For more information, call the HCR Statewide Section 8 Program or e-mail Section8Info@nyshcr.org
Last updated on 11/08/10