On Wednesday April 30th CMS and its coalition partners informed members about the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program (SCRIE) and staff attorney Sylvia Nunez from the Jewish Association Serving the Aging (JASA) highlighted the resources that JASA provides to elderly NYC residents.
CMS staff attorney, Kenny Minya began the meeting with a presentation on the Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE). SCRIE is a program that offers eligible seniors an exemption from future rent increases. SCRIE helps tenants who are 62 years and older, live in rent stabilized apartments and pay one-third of their monthly income in rent. Qualified candidates will have their rent frozen and the city of New York will give the landlord a property tax card which is equal to the amount of future rent increases. Tenants who qualify cannot make more than twenty-nine thousand dollars a year and the lease has to be in their name. Recently some members of the City Council introduced legislation to expand income eligibility requirement for SCRIE from twenty-nine thousands dollars to fifty thousands dollars. This expansion could extend eligibility to an additional twenty-four thousand senior households. IF the City Council approves this legislation the law will go into effect on July 1st.
After Kenny’s presentation JASA staff attorney Sylvia Nunez stressed the importance of long term planning for elderly New Yorkers. She highlighted the legal services that JASA offers in order to help seniors make decisions about their long term care. She emphasized the importance of having a health care proxy, an appointed power of attorney, a written will and a guardian in order to ensure that health decisions and financial decisions are made by a trustworthy person. She encouraged members to contact JASA to receive legal advice for their long term plans.
After the meeting representatives from Catholic Charities, the Queens Public Library, and Fidelis Health Care connected with members and provided them with information about their services.
For more information about SCRIE click here.
For assistance with the application forms and other questions contact CMS. Call 347-472-3500.
For more information about JASA click here or call 718-286-1500.
