A one-time $1,000 grant is available only to residents who occupied a housing unit in Zones 1, 2, or 3 before September 11, 2001 and continue to live there through the date of their application and the date of the award. These grants provide compensation for the substantial and extraordinary personal, family, and living expenses these residents may have incurred as a result of the disaster.

This payment is excludable as income and resources in accordance with the disaster relief provisions of SI 00830.620 and SI 01130.620.

A second grant is available to families with one or more children under the age of 18 making a 1-year commitment to occupy rental units or owner-occupied housing in Zones 1, 2, or 3. These “family grants” are available regardless of whether the grant recipient resided in the zones on September 11, 2001. The one-time grant amount is $1,500 if the unit is in Zone 1 and $750 if the unit is in Zones 2 or 3. The family grants are intended to compensate families for the extra reasonable and necessary personal, living and family expenses they incurred or will incur because of the continuing effects of the September 11, 2001 disaster. The family grants are expected to be reasonably equal to these expenses from the time the grant recipients began residing in Zones 1, 2, or 3 through the first anniversary after the grant is made, excluding personal, living, or family expenses that are reimbursed from other sources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) and private insurance.

This payment is excludable as income and resources in accordance with the disaster relief provisions of SI 00830.620 and SI 01130.620.

A third grant is for individuals making a 2-year commitment to occupy rental units or owner-occupied housing in Zones 1 or 2 (“2-year commitment grant program”). These grants are available regardless of whether the grant recipient resided in Zones 1 or 2 on September 11, 2001. In general, these grants equal 30 percent of monthly rent or, for owner-occupied units, 30 percent of mortgage payments, maintenance and real estate and related taxes. The maximum grant amount is $12,000 for Zone 1 units, and $6,000 over 2 years for Zone 2 units. The minimum amount is $4,000 over 2 years for units in Zone 1 and $2,000 over 2 years for units in Zone 2.

These payments are excludable from both income and resources to the extent that they do not exceed the minimum of $4,000 per unit for individuals residing in zone 1 and $2,000 for individuals residing in zone 2. The minimum grants are excludable as disaster relief; however, any amount beyond the minimum grant amount more closely resembles an incentive payment to remain in or relocate to lower Manhattan and cannot be readily excluded. Please see the NOTE below.

NOTE: Any cases involving payments above the minimum levels for the 2-year grants must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there are other applicable exclusions. These cases should be referred to the Program Operations Center, Region II.