Alex Ryley

Director, Elderly Project

Dear Friends,

Happy May Day!  Today’s not only the first day of May, but also the start of the HEAP Cooling Assistance Program.

As I did last year, I’d like to lay out for you the process by which your clients may apply for this helpful program, which begins today, and continues only until the money runs out.  So your eligible clients should apply right away.  

I am told by my contact at the HEAP program that everything — including the application forms — is the same as last year, so what follows below is mostly a repeat of my email to you of last spring.  Please let me know if your clients encounter any difficulty in applying.

General information

The HEAP Cooling Assistance program provides for the purchase and installation of air conditioners or a fan to eligible households. (If an air conditioner cannot be safely installed, a fan will be provided.) Only one air conditioner or fan, not to exceed $800 with installation, will be provided per dwelling.

A household may be eligible for a Cooling Assistance program benefit if:

  • The applicant and household members are United States Citizens or qualified aliens, and the household includes an individual with a documented medical condition that is exacerbated by heat AND
    • The household’s gross monthly income is at or below the current income guides for the household size (click here for the guidelines)
    • The applicant receives:
      •  SNAP benefits or
      • Temporary Assistance or
      • SSI or
      • a regular benefit greater than $21 in the current heating season
    • The applicant currently does not have a working air conditioner or the air conditioner s/he has is five years old or older; and
    • The applicant did not receive a HEAP funded air conditioner within the past ten years.

The application process is the same as it was last year. The general guidelines are:

  • If the applicant received HEAP this past winter OR receives SNAP benefits, the applicant may submit the simple 2-pp. Cooling Assistance Application along with a medical note.
  • All other applicants must submit the 2-pp. Cooling Assistance Application AND the full 5-pp. HEAP application, along with the medical note  and other required documentation.  (See below for instructions.)  Again, these applicants must submit BOTH applications.

Click here for the 2-pp. Cooling Assistance Application.
Click here for the full HEAP application.
Click here for HRA’s instructions for applicants already receiving HEAP or SNAP benefits.
Click here for HRA’s instructions for applicants NOT already receiving HEAP or SNAP benefits.

To obtain an application in person, applicants may go to the lobby of 1 Metro Tech Center in Brooklyn, or the Coney Island office, at 3050 West 21st Street, 1st Floor, in Brooklyn.  To request that an application be mailed to an applicant, one may call (212) 331-3126.

Where should applications be mailed?

Here is the mailing address for all applications (please do NOT mail applications to VOLS):

HRA/Home Energy Assistance Program
PO BOX NO. 1401
Church Street Station
New York NY 10008

Other important information!

Please note these other important items:

  • If HRA receives an application that is missing information or is otherwise problematic, I am told that HRA will place the application in “pending” status and will telephone the applicant.  If the applicant would like HRA to contact someone else, like a social worker, about the application, the applicant should write this on a Post-it and place the Post-it on the front of the application.  Note, however, that the long-form HEAP application has on its p. 4 a section where an “Authorized Representative” may be named.  Applicants submitting only the short-form application do not have this option.
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