NEW YORK — New Yorkers are facing a mounting housing and energy affordability crisis. A new report shows the Green Affordable Pre-Electrification Fund (GAP Fund) would pay to fix up approximately 10,000 homes, making them healthier, more livable, and ready for cost-saving weatherization and electrification upgrades. The Senate and the Assembly both included versions of the GAP Fund in their one-house budgets, and now legislators and advocates are calling for the inclusion of $200 million for the GAP Fund in the final budget.
he report reveals that between 550,000 and 1.1 million low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in New York State face significant barriers to accessing energy efficiency and electrification programs due to unresolved health and safety issues in their homes. The report, for which WE ACT 4 Change provided financial support, finds that a $200 million annual investment in the Green Affordable Pre-Electrification (GAP) Fund (S.3315/A.2101) could help remediate at least 10,000 homes per year, enabling them to qualify for critical energy efficiency upgrades.
The report highlights that nearly 70% of LMI households in New York State reside in older housing stock, which often contains hazardous conditions such as lead, mold, asbestos, and other structural code violations. These health and safety issues make it nearly impossible for these households to access existing energy efficiency programs that could lower their energy costs and improve living conditions. Because state programs do not cover pre-electrification remediation costs, thousands of households remain locked out of New York’s clean energy transition.
At a press conference held today outside the Legislative Correspondents Association (LCA) press offices, state legislators and advocates joined forces to call for $200 million for the GAP Fund in the final budget.
Senators Kristen Gonzalez, Cordell Cleare, and Anna Kelles, Assembly Energy Committee Chair Didi Barrett, and Assembly Members Linda B. Rosenthal and Pete Harckham joined representatives from Alliance for a Green Economy, WE ACT 4 Change, NY Renews, New Yorkers for Clean Power, Energy Democracy Alliance, and NYPIRG in emphasizing the importance of this critical investment.
Kristen Gonzalez, Senate sponsor of the GAP Fund, said, “To meet our CLCPA goals, to become a greener New York, and to help working-class New Yorkers afford the transition to clean energy– we need the GAP Fund. If passed in the State Budget, the GAP Fund would provide 10,000 middle-to-low income households $200 million to retrofit their homes to be safe, sustainable, and affordable. In the midst of an affordability crisis and the climate crisis, the urgency is clear, and I urge the leaders of our state to include this fund in the final budget.”
“We know that the oldest buildings needing the most repair are also the most energy inefficient. This analysis shows that by funding pre-electrification upgrades and making energy efficiency programs easily accessible to low and moderate income folks, we can have a huge impact both reducing costs and improving well being for a large number of people,” said New York State Assemblymember Anna Kelles.