NY Governor: $20 Million Available in Home Resiliency Grants, Loans

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that up to $20 million is available for eligible homeowners in flood-prone areas to make proactive flood mitigation and energy-efficiency improvements to their homes. The money is the latest round of funding for the Resilient Retrofits Program.

“We are committed to building resilient communities and ensuring more New Yorkers are protected from extreme weather before it occurs,” Governor Hochul said in a press release. “By expanding our successful Resilient Retrofits program, eligible homeowners have access to additional resources that can help keep their families and their homes out of harm’s way.”

According to the announcement, eligible homeowners earning up to 120 percent of their area median income can apply for up to $50,000 — half of which is available as a grant and half as a three percent low-interest loan. The program’s funds can be used to cover the cost of proactive improvements such as installing flood vents, sump pumps, and backwater valves or backflow preventers. The money can also be used to move utilities above the flood line, add insulation, electrify heating systems or install energy-efficient appliances or lighting.

Resilient Retrofits is managed by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, a permanent office that assumed the portfolio of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery in 2022.