New York City residents may be eligible to receive $5,000 stimulus checks as the state received more financial aid from United States President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan compared to other regions.
A 70-page report was released by New York City officials last week that detailed plans to use the money that the region received from the Democratic president. The program, which totaled about $5.9 billion in stimulus funds, includes $5,000 payments that would go to 1,800 artists who struggled financially during the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Stimulus Checks
The program will also provide a $65 million relief fund for taxi medallion owners, and $125 million will be set aside for support that would prioritize homeless people across the city. In the report, authorities said that the announced measures are only just the tip of the iceberg and that officials are still prioritizing the vaccination of all residents against the coronavirus infection.
"It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive report on the City's recovery efforts. The City's decisions to invest these funds now will help keep New Yorkers safe, restart the economy, rebuild the tax base, increase equity, and enable greater economic growth in future years," the report wrote, Business Insider reported.
Other plans included in the document are a $1.5 billion program that aims to increase employment and support small businesses and $52.5 million in funding to support the city's tourism and bring it back to pre-pandemic levels.
Hard-hit restaurants can expect to receive financial support from a $172 million fund if they have fewer than 100 employees, which account for about 98% of all local businesses. The report notes that small businesses are crucial to New York neighborhoods and that it was vital to have them thrive to ensure an equitable recovery, CBS News reported.
Some small businesses will be eligible for grants or loans, while others can receive legal services that they need to change or terminate commercial leases. About $330 million from the total funding will go to Test & Trace, the contact tracing initiative in the city, led by NYC Health + Hospitals.
Delayed Distribution of Financial Assistance
After Biden signed his stimulus plan into law, $22.5 billion of the $350 billion in state and local funding was divided evenly between all states and the District of Columbia. The remaining money was then given to regions based on unemployment statistics. The top of the list included New York, California, and Texas, as the states with the highest jobless rates.
Despite the available funds, many regions have been slow to distribute the money to residents who needed them. In July, Biden set aside $50 billion to support renters at risk of being evicted, but only 4% of the total aid was given out. Rural areas have also not spent the entirety of the $8.5 billion funding for medical care due to the surge of the Delta variant and the rising number of coronavirus cases.
New York City authorities plan to set aside $1.45 billion to expand its vaccination program and improve testing of COVID-19 in the region, Yahoo News reported.
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