Nassau County - Long Island, New York

Abrahams Approves Funds for Senior Meals Program

Village of Hempstead to receive $167,850; Village of Freeport, $193,871 in mortgage tax revenue

Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) joined fellow lawmakers in approving funds for meal delivery for the County’s senior citizens. The program is designed to provide full meals to nutritionally at-risk seniors, many of whom are low income, frail and/or minority.

“This home delivery system is another example of Nassau County’s commitment to the health and well-being of our senior citizens,” Abrahams said. “It is up to all of us to ensure that seniors receive all of the support and help they need, and I am proud to approve this measure.”

The funds for the program, totaling $183,025, come in a supplemental appropriation from the New York State Office for the aging. Other supplemental appropriations approved by the legislature for senior citizens programming included:

 

  • $256,224 to provide coordinated supportive services to those elderly who are in greatest social and economic need, to enable them to remain out of institutions for as long as possible.The County is required to provide a 25 percent in-kind match.
  • $246,349 to provide case management, nonmedical in-home services and ancillary services for functionally impaired elderly in Nassau County who are above Medicaid eligibility and who are unable to function independently in their own home.The County is required to provide a 25 percent in-kind match.
  • $28,483 to provide one or two home-delivered meals daily, up to five days a week, to qualified elderly who are homebound.The County is required to provide a 10 percent in-kind match.

In other business, the Legislature approved a measure regulating the connections to the County municipal separate storm sewer system, and the regulation of non-storm water discharges into the system. Enforcement will be handled by the Department of Public Works.

The Legislature authorized the County to file an application for federal assistance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each year the County must submit to HUD an Annual Plan outlining the proposed use of funding allocated to the Nassau Urban County Consortium under the three aforementioned programs, collectively referred to as the “Consolidated Programs” in addition to program income expected to be received during the program year. The following is a list of proposed programs and their Federal Fiscal Year 2007 allocations:

 

  • Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG): $16,053,189 - a Federal entitlement program with the objective of assisting low and moderate-income persons, eliminating slums and blight and/or addressing urgent community development needs.
  • HOME Investment Partnership Program/American Dream Downpayment Initiative: $3,656,976/$51,164 - a Federal housing initiative with the primary objectives of expanding the supply of owner and rental housing for low income households. Funding is targeted to projects which will provide rental, homeownership and transitional housing for extremely low, low and moderate-income households through new construction, acquisition and substantial rehabilitation activities.
  • Emergency Shelter Grants Program (ESG): $684,660- a Federal entitlement program which provides funding to improve the quality of existing emergency shelters and to increase the number of developing shelters for the homeless. ESG funds are used for renovation, conversion of buildings, rehabilitation, essential and/or social services, homeless prevention activities and homeless shelter operating costs.

 

The Program is 100% Federally funded.

The Legislature also approved a resolution to disperse more than $22.5M from Nassau County mortgage tax revenue to the County’s 64 incorporated villages. The Village of Hempstead will receive $167,850, and the Village of Freeport will receive $193,871.

“I am delighted that we can continue to offer our fiscal support and cooperation at a time when the villages really need it,” Abrahams said.

The Legislature also approved the County’s participation in a federal aid transportation project for the rehabilitation of Nassau Road in Roosevelt. The County is eligible to receive reimbursement of up to 80 percent of approved construction costs, up to a maximum of $1,396,800.

The next full Legislative session is scheduled for September 5, 2007.